WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Coalition government proposes to extend right to request flexible working
The Queen’s Speech to Parliament on 25 May 2010 set out the coalition government’s priorities and legislative agenda for the coming Parliamentary year.
Among the more eye-catching proposals of interest to reward professionals is a commitment to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees.
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Queen’s Speech:
“My government will remove barriers to flexible working and promote equal pay.”
The Coalition: Our programme for government (published 20 May 2010):
“We will extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, consulting with business on how best to do so.”
And:
“We will promote equal pay and take a range of measures to end discrimination in the workplace.”
The right to request flexible working is currently available to employed parents of children aged 16 and under, parents of disabled children up to 18 and carers of certain adults.
According to the coalition, extending the right to request flexible working to all employees will “ensure that individuals within the wider caring structure, e.g. grandparents and neighbours will be able to take a more active role in caring and manage their work and family lives effectively”. It adds: “This extension will also help to remove the stigma attached to flexible working requests at the moment.”
The government intends to “consult fully with business and families, to identify the best way to make this extension”.
Action to tackle gender pay gap
The gender pay gap has declined since 1975, so that now the full-time mean pay gap is 16.4%. The coalition said: “Nevertheless progress toward equal pay for women is slow, and more action is needed than is provided in the Equality Act 2010.”
It reckons that the causes of the gender pay gap are “complex and include the concentration of women in particular industries; the negative effect on wages of having previously worked part time or having time out to look after family; formal educational levels and unobservable factors, which could include sex discrimination”.
According to the coalition: “Action to tackle the pay gap could involve a range of non-legislative and legislative measures. These include extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, promoting a system of flexible parental leave and looking to promote gender equality on the boards of listed companies.”
Responses to Queen’s speech
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
www.cipd.co.uk
Charles Cotton, Reward Adviser, CIPD, said:
“As the Department for BIS has correctly identified, flexible working is good for businesses, individuals and society. We have campaigned for the extension of flexible working and welcome the government’s commitment to do so in the near future.
“The CIPD also welcomes that the government is committed to reducing further the equal pay gap. We believe that the government is right when it says that the causes of the gap are complex, so there can be no simple quick fixes. What we need is a coherent approach to improving the earnings opportunities for woman that takes into account the role of education and society as well as employers. In the coming months, we will be looking forward to hearing from the government how some concrete proposals on how it intends to help women.
“While it is commendable that the government has identified parental leave as a way to improve women’s earning potential, flexible parental leave will only become a reality when there is a step-change in the reward policies of UK organisations that encourages more fathers to take their statutory rights. This is something that will only be achieved through cultural change – and legislation is emphatically not the answer. The new government will have to think imaginatively if it is to nudge and lead this change. CIPD research shows that only 40% of organisations offer working fathers two weeks’ pay at or near the full rate of pay, while around a quarter (24%) offer no paid paternity leave beyond the two-week statutory level.”
Eversheds
www.eversheds.com
Audrey Williams, Head of Discrimination, Eversheds, said:
“More employees are expected to be given the right to ask for flexible work arrangements under the coalition government. At present, only parents of children under the age of 17 have that right. Before the election the Conservatives pledged to extend the law to parents of 17-year-olds but the Liberal Democrat influence has led to a more extensive proposal that will benefit all employees, not just parents. But it is unlikely that employees will be able to insist on flexible working. Any new law will probably be based on the existing model for parents, which simply enables employees to ask for flexible work arrangements and to have their request considered formally.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP
www.pwc.com
Stephen Gummer, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP, said:
"The extension of flexible working to all employees is a natural extension of existing rights, reflecting a cultural change in terms of providing far greater work-life balance and removing much of the stigma that still attaches to flexible working.
"The challenge for employers will be balancing the proposed changes to flexible working with the needs of their respective businesses, in terms of business continuity. Having robust reporting and monitoring systems in place for implementation will be critical to ensuring consistency of application, and avoid discrimination related claims that could arise if things are not done properly. We welcome the opportunity to put both ours, and our clients views forward to government as the consultation process gets underway."
Want to know more?
You can dowload the full transcript of the Queen's speech and view a full list of the legislative bills at www.number10.gov.uk/news/topstorynews/2010/05/queens-speech-2010-3-50297.