The government has announced an extra 4.5 million parents in the UK will be able to request flexible working hours. The proposal follows an idependent review by Imelda Walsh, HR director of Sainsbury’s for the Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform and will extend the right to request flexible hours to all workers who have children aged below 16.
This is obviously great news for parents who need more help balancing work and family life.
The review highlighted that flexible working is not just an issue for women, with men making up 45% of employees who currently opt for flexible working hours. It also found that small business generally have a better record on accepting flexible working requests than larger companies.