Employees 'should work flexibly'
Wed 20 Feb 2008
Employees should have the right to work flexibly, particularly those who are parents or have responsibility for looking after others, the TUC has said.
The trade union body spoke out after a speech by the business and enterprise secretary, John Hutton, in which he suggested that businesses might find themselves overwhelmed with requests for flexible working.
While a review on the issue is pending, Mr Hutton said initial findings indicated that the danger of a barrage of requests for flexible working could prove problematic.
However, the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber has warned the government not to back track, claiming it is an important right for working families.
"The business lobby has opposed the right to request flexible working at every stage, despite the fact that millions of parents and carers have benefited without any cost to employers," he argued.
"As the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has said, it would be easier for employers to manage a universal right to request instead of having to examine each case to see whether or not it comes within the increasingly complex definitions in the regulations."
The government announced all workers had a right to ask for flexible working in 2007, although has yet to go further.
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