WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Government floats elder care plan
Patricia Hewitt, trade and industry secretary, is considering a move to extend flexible working rights to employees who care for sick or elderly relatives.
Hewitt told a conference organised by Father's Direct in London, 5 April 2004:
"We need to consider how we support fathers who want to spend more time with their children. After all, only one in ten fathers are asking for flexible working ñ compared with nearly four times as many mothers. So should we allow parents to divide the second six months of maternity leave between them? Or should we follow the Scandinavian example and create a 'daddy month' that only the father can take? We also need to consider whether we go on giving priority to families with young children -- or whether it's time to extend what we've done for them to carers who are looking after elderly or disabled relatives."
CIPD urges government to extend flexible working rights to all workers
In response to the announcement the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has urged the government to consider extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, rather than just carers, when it reviews the legislation three years after its introduction.
Mike Emmott, head of employee relations comments:
"In practice nearly three out of four employers say they are willing to consider requests 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.'
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Posted 5 May 2004