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In a bid to ease the impact of the recession, the Government may attempt to delay plans to extend rights to flexible working.
Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, has instructed his department to find ways to relieve the financial pressures on businesses and survive the economic downturn. In a so called "action programme for business” It appears he has resolved “to be completely focused on getting UK business through the present economic downturn and emerging stronger on the other side".
Amid competing packages from the Conservatives to lessen the impact of the recession, other cost-cutting measures being examined include: increased government borrowing, help for small businesses, restraints on repossession for defaulting homeowners and a potentially divisive part-privatisation of the Royal Mail.
Labour's plans to extend family-friendly employment policies, including the right to ask for flexible working from parents with children under the age of six, were to be extended to those with children under the age of sixteen. A proposed extension of paid maternity leave from 39 to 52 weeks may now also be put on hold.
However, Lord Mandelson’s floated proposals have quickly stirred up controversy. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development issued its response saying that the plans would “do more harm than good”.
Patricia Hewitt, one of his predecessors, was quoted saying, "I understand the need and desire of any new secretary of state to look at what is going on in their department, but I do not think people should see flexible working as a cost to business, and therefore something to be cut back on. It can be of real benefit to employers."
As a plan to deal with the problems facing the economy, the TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber hit out at the idea as, "an astonishingly irrelevant response".
He added, “Postponing a simple right to request flexible working would not save a single job in the small business sector".
The right to request flexible working has been introduced in stages since its launch in 2003, with numerous changes taking place in that period to apply to greater numbers of individuals. There are currently 14 million employees in the UK working flexibly.
At time of writing (21 October 2008), precise details of the Government's plans were still emerging. Employers and employees may therefore wish to seek clarification from an employment lawyer or HR specialist.
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