Home work

Research into the effects of the family-friendly legislation introduced in 2003, which extended maternity pay and introduced paternity pay, has found a big increase in the number of working parents taking advantage of benefits such as flexible working.

Nearly 50% of mothers and 31% of fathers worked flexible hours last year, compared with 17% and 11% respectively in 2002, according to a recent Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits survey by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Work and Pensions.

In 2005, mothers took an average of six months’ maternity leave compared with only four months in 2002. The number of fathers taking two weeks’ paternity leave also increased from 22% in 2002 to 36% last year.

The DTI and DWP also claim the legislation has improved retention rates. The number of women who changed employer when they returned to work after maternity leave dropped from 41% in 2002 to 20% last year. The government plans to increase paid maternity leave from 26 to 39 weeks and make a proportion of the leave transferable to partners.

Alan Johnson, former secretary of state for trade and industry, says that employers have made a significant contribution to the success of the legislation. “Employers recognise the benefits of better enabling employees to balance work and home lives,” he says. “It saves time and money on recruitment and training, while ensuring they keep the staff with the skills they need.”

The Trades Union Congress and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development want all workers to be able to work flexibly, regardless of whether they have children, as is already the case in some European countries.

Flexible rights

In Germany and the Netherlands, for example, the right to request flexible working applies to all employees, except those employed in small firms. Since 2003, in the UK the right is limited to the parents of children under six, and disabled children under the age of 18 and, from April 2007, employees caring for adults. Even then, employers are only obliged to give such requests “reasonable consideration”. Flexible working rights are enforceable by the courts in Germany and the Netherlands, whereas in the UK it is limited to a right to request to work flexibly.

The TUC believes that the right to request flexible work in the UK should be extended to all workers, including older employees approaching retirement and those wishing to learn new skills.

Rebecca Clake, CIPD organisation and resourcing adviser, says: “Flexible working practices can be advantageous to organisations and employees. They give people more control over when and where they work and this leads to more focused and motivated employees. The introduction of flexible working allows employees to gain more control over their work-life balance and can act as an important tool in the organisation’s recruitment and retention process.”

Fair system

Clake adds that the new working arrangements also help attract underused groups, such as parents and students. However, a central issue among employers is how to implement and operate flexible working in practice as some employers perceive such schemes to be difficult to implement and unfair to other workers.

“A significant number of employees have highlighted that line managers report difficulties implementing flexible working practices,” says Clake. “Organisations need to do more to get their line managers to buy-in. They need to set clear criteria against which flexible working requests are assessed. This will enable line managers to make informed decisions on requests for flexible working and demonstrate fairness between employees. Employers should look for opportunities to use flexible working where employee needs and business needs coincide,” says Clarke.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber says: “Many UK bosses are too short-sig hted to grasp the fact that a flexible approach to work is not something to fear or too expensive, but a change that makes sound business sense, both in terms of company profits and staff recruitment and retention. The UK’s long hours culture will never be challenged if it’s only parents and carers who can ask to change their hours, and if it remains all too easy for inflexible employers to say no.”