Plans to extend right to request flexible working

The government has announced plans to extend the right to request flexible working to include the parents of older children.

At the moment the law entitles working parents of children aged six or under and of disabled children to ask their employers for more flexible work patterns.

The proposed changes, which were set out in the Queen’s Speech, would see that entitlement extended to older children.

Imelda Walsh, human resources director at Sainsbury’s, has been asked to lead a review of how the changes could be implemented.

Introducing the measure, John Hutton, Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, said: “The right to request flexible working not only helps millions of parents juggle work and family life, but can also benefit business by improving staff retention and productivity.”

Mr Hutton added: “We want to do more to support families while ensuring British businesses can compete in the global economy, so now is the right time to consider how we can extend the right to request to parents of older children.

“We are fortunate to secure Imelda Walsh to undertake this review. Her experience in promoting family friendly policies at Sainsbury’s will be an asset as we consider what further progress we can make.”

So far some 14 million employees work flexibly, or have done so within the last 12 months, with arrangements including working from home, working part-time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

New figures show that 91 per cent of workplaces that received requests in the last year approved all requests.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equalities, said: “Families are the framework of our lives and matter not just to individuals but to our communities, the economy and society as a whole. We have already built a strong foundation of support for families through the right for parents with children under six to request flexible work, but as any parent knows, older children can need just as much support and guidance which is why we are exploring this idea.”

A formal consultation will be held after the results of the review are published in order to gauge the views of business, employers and unions.

Business groups, however, warned the government against imposing too strict a regulatory burden on employers.

Sally Low, director of policy and external affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The government's proposed review must recognise that businesses, particularly smaller businesses, are already working flexibly. Over 90 per cent of respondents to a BCC survey indicated that they offered at least one form of flexible working to employees. This was driven by personal conviction rather than legislation.”

Ms Low added: “Government must ensure that they do not take a heavy handed regulatory approach, which may not address the real barrier to flexibility which is a lack of management expertise in many SMEs. Our research suggests that more businesses would be flexible if they felt confident that they could also achieve their commercial objectives.

“This review must avoid recommendations which impose further legislative burdens on small business which would harm UK competitiveness.”

John Cridland, the CBI’s deputy director general, said: “The CBI welcomes the government's plan to review when and how the right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of older children. It should beware of increasing numbers eligible to request too far too fast, however, as this could jeopardise the future flexibility of those currently eligible.”