Government should extend flexible working rights to all

In response to the announcement that the Government plans to extend flexible working rights to carers, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, one of the UKís leading research organisations on work-life balance issues, today urges the Government to consider extending the right to all workers when it reviews the legislation three years after its introduction.

Mike Emmott, Head of Employee Relations comments, The CIPD welcomes this as further evidence that the Government is considering extending the right to request flexible working. However we should prefer the Government to be bolder. The evidence suggests the existing arrangements are working well. In practice nearly 3 out of 4 employers say they are willing to consider request for flexible working from all employees, not just parents. This reduces the likelihood that some employees will feel badly treated because they believe that others are being given preferential treatment. In a recent CIPD survey, just under half of organisations (47%) reported that many employees who are not entitled to the right resent those who are.

Where individuals can establish a positive work life balance, both employers and employees benefit. This does not necessarily depend on how employees spend their time away from the workplace, or on the specific demands placed on them, though caring responsibilities - whether for younger or older family members - will often be particularly important. We shall continue to argue for the statutory right to apply to all employees, not just to particular groups.

In October, the CIPD was the first to investigate how employers have reacted to the new right. A Parentís Right to ask revealed that almost two in three employers who have received statutory requests have agreed to at least half of them, either in the form submitted by employees or in modified form. Nine out of ten employers say they have had no significant problems complying with the new right to ask, with cost an issue for just 1%. And 60% of employers say that the current package of family friendly rights has not tipped the balance too far in favour of working parents - underlining support for the new right.