Millions of parents with children up to the age of 16 will be able to request flexible working from their employers from today, under a change to the law which will dramatically increase the number of people entitled to ask for more family-friendly conditions.
Legislation introduced in 2003 allowed parents with children under the age of six to request flexible working from employers who were obliged to "seriously consider" any application and only reject it if there were "good business reasons for doing so".
Today's change means that an extra 4.5 million parents will now have the right to ask for flexible working, in addition to the 6 million parents and carers already eligible.
"Children don't stop needing their parents' time when they reach their sixth birthday," Harriet Harman, minister for women and equality said. "As any parent knows, older children going through the teenage years need just as much support and guidance. Mothers often tear their hair out trying to balance earning a living with bringing up their children and need more flexibility at work. And fathers want to be able to play a bigger part in bringing up their children."
The law gives all employees with children aged 16 and under and who have worked for a company for more than six months the right to ask for flexible hours - which could mean anything from working from home, working part-time, working agreed hours over fewer days, term-time working to job-sharing. Whether or not the employer agrees depends on whether they believe the arrangement would have a detrimental impact on the business. Employees only have the right to ask for child-friendly working arrangements but there is no guarantee that they will be granted them.
Business secretary Lord Mandelson is reported to have attempted to postpone the extension of the flexible working provision, which was promised last December, amid concern about the costs to companies which are struggling because of the recession, but he was overruled.
The Confederation of British Industry was uneasy over the timing of the announcement. "Although we accept the extension of the right to request flexible working, we don't think now, in a recession, is the best time to implement it," said John Cridland, the deputy director-general.
Sarah Williams-Gardener, director of Opportunity Now, which campaigns for gender equality in the workplace, welcomed the government's progressive approach. "The majority of workplaces are still designed around a mid-20th century lifestyle, with an outdated approach to where, when and how work happens," she said.
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