Flexible working rights for more parents

The right was first introduced in 2003 for parents of children under the age of six, or 18 in the case of a disabled child, which affected more than 3.5 million employees. Ministers extended the scope to include carers of adults earlier this year, which affected another 2.6 million workers.

Now, as part of the forthcoming legislative programme, the Government has said it will consider moves to extend the right to request flexible working further. The issue appears to be not 'if' the right will be extended, but whether the upper age limit will rise to age 9, 12 or 17.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked Sainsbury's human resources director Imelda Walsh to lead an independent review.

The Government said research showed that people worked better when they could strike a better balance with their personal lives.

New figures released today revealed that 91% of workplaces who received requests in the last year approved them all. Around half of new mothers now work flexible hours, compared with fewer than one in five in 2002, while the proportion of new mothers who have changed their employer when returning to work has halved to 20% in the same period.

Level playing-field

Mike Emmott of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said: "The light-touch nature of the existing right to request has had a positive impact on work-life balance without causing undue difficulties for employers.

"However, the danger with ever larger groups of people entitled to request flexible working, and a smaller number not entitled to do so, is that divisions will grow up in the workplace."

He added: "Many enlightened employers already allow employees to work flexibly regardless of their family status. An extension of the right to request to all workers would level the playing-field, without compelling employers to offer flexible working where this is incompatible with business needs."

The CBI said it welcomed the review, but that the Government should beware of widening the availability of flexible working "too far too fast".

Parliamentary programme

Also in the next session of Parliament the Government will bring forward an Employment Bill it said would increase protection for vulnerable workers while lightening the load for law-abiding businesses. In particular the Bill would replace the current employment dispute resolution system.

The Parliamentary programme also included a Bill to make the UK the first country in the world to introduce a legally-binding framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions - the Climate Change Bill.

Finally of interest to employers will be the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, which will aim to "reduce unnecessary burdens" placed on businesses by local authority regulation.