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12th June 2008

NEWS IN BRIEF

Following an independent review into the right to request flexible working, the Government has agreed to extend the right to parents with children up to the age of 16.

The review by Imelda Walsh (HR director of Sainsbury’s) also found that:

• Any change should be implemented at once (rather than having a staged introduction) to avoid confusion for business and employees
• Small businesses generally had a better record on accepting flexible working requests than larger ones
• Business would benefit from increased information and guidance about dealing with flexible working requests
• Flexible working should not be considered a “women's issue” as the latest figures show that men make up 45 per cent of the 14 million employees who work flexibly
• More work should be done to raise awareness of the right to request flexible working, both among employees and employers.

About six million employees currently have the right to request flexible working (3.6 million parents and 2.65 million carers). Of the requests received in the last year, 91% were approved. The Government’s Third Work-Life Balance Survey of employers shows they largely have positive views about promoting work-life balance.

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