FLEXIBLE WORK FOR PARENTS

As foreshadowed in vague (and it seems, somewhat inaccurate) reports in the Sunday papers, the government has today announced its new proposals to help parents work more flexibly - primarily to allow working parents to work part-time. The proposals will apply to parents of children under 6 years old (and to parents of disabled children under 18 years old).

According to this afternoon's DTI press release, the proposals will operate in the following way:

"- The employee makes a written request to their employer, which is followed up by a meeting. The employer should make a practical business assessment on how the flexible working can be arranged. It is estimated, on the basis of current practice, that 80% of requests will be settled at this meeting.

"- If a request cannot be accepted, the employer must fully explain the business reasons in writing. The employee can appeal a negative decision using dispute resolution and ultimately go to an employment tribunal. Estimates, based on current practice, suggest that only 1% of requests will end up at a tribunal."

A copy of the full press release is available here.