Less stress and better productivity, claims Government
Less stress and more productivity were promised by the Government following the introduction of new flexible working laws, which came into force yesterday.
Today is the first working day on which parents of children under the age of six, and disabled children under 18, can ask their employers to seriously consider requests to work flexibly so they can juggle home and work lives. The new measures to help parents achieve better "work-life balance'' also give fathers the right to two weeks' paid paternity leave, increase maternity pay and grant parents who adopt new rights covering pay and leave.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "This is a very exciting day for parents with young children, because for the first time the Government is saying family-friendly working is something that every parent should be able to have.
"But what we are also saying is this is good for the employer. People who can balance work and family life are less stressed, this helps boost productivity."
"Black day for business"
However some business leaders warned the new law would damage firms and cause resentment among workers with no young children. Ruth Lea, head of policy at the Institute of Directors, said business had faced a flood of "costly, distracting and time consuming'' red tape since Labour came to power in 1997.
She said: "The extensions to family friendly policies may seem progressive but they will hurt businesses, cause resentment in the workplace and are redolent of discredited 1970s feminist ideology.''
Coupled with increases in National Insurance contributions, April 6 would be a "black day'' for business, said the IoD.
The Government hit back though claiming new research showed that nine out of ten bosses believe flexible working is low cost and good for business. The DTI Work-Life Balance 2003 survey of more than 1,200 workplaces and 2,000 employees revealed that many employers had already introduced work-life balance arrangements. The Government claimed the study showed that flexible working "delivered real improvements to businesses while being cost effective."
Survey findings
Just over eighty percent (82%) of employers said they have some work-life balance practices in place already and 81% of these reported a positive effect on employment relations. Three-quarters (75%) said they had a more motivated and committed work force as a result of flexible practices and three-fifths (60%) reported reduced turnover of employees.
The survey also revealed that 26% of all employees already work flexitime and that a one third (35%) of managers and professionals would like to work from home on a regular basis.
The DTI said the new rights had been designed to work for both small and larger businesses and across sectors. Requests for flexible working would have to be considered by employers against the needs of the business as a whole. The survey showed that 66% of employers surveyed believe that business considerations should come first, although 84% said they would make a "special effort" to accommodate the difficulties faced by parents of young or disabled children.
The DTI also launched a booklet - "Flexible working: The Business Case" showcasing fifty SMEs and larger companies from a wide range of sectors across the UK who, it said, have seen "direct business benefits" as a result of adopting work-life practices.
The Work-Life Balance Trust, which campaigns for flexible working, said that if only 10% of parents with young or disabled children exercised the new right, employers will have to respond to 360,000 requests. The Group claimed the new laws would be seen as the beginning of a chain of events that finally toppled the UK's long-hours culture. It also warned that few employers were ready for the "flood" of requests expected to be sparked by the new law.
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