New flex working law under threat - Building Gender Balanced Business

The plans to extend flexible working to several million parents in April 2009 in the UK seemed to be under threat when it was reported that Lord Mandelson,the new Minister for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform would be reviewing the policy. Regarded as a potential burden on business during the present economic slowdown, the law faced postponement.

Supporters of flexible working voiced their disapproval swiftly, claiming that the new law would help workers and make businesses more competitive. The Guardian’s Anne Perkins pointed out that the economic impact of increasing the number of women in the workplace would be worth as much as £23 billion.

On October 21, the Financial Times reported that the Labour government was likely to leave the flexible working policy in place after all. In a letter to The Guardian, Alistair Tebbit, head of employment policy at the Institute of Directors (IoD) referred to one of the IoD’s recent surveys, which showed that 86% of its members were already operating flexible working. So where is the evidence that the new rights need to be enshrined in law, he asked.