Flexible Working Rights to be Extended

The right to ask for flexible working is to be extended to parents with children aged up to 16. The announcement was made by Business Secretary John Hutton who said the move would give a "Big Boost" to busy parents. 

Some employees who are parents of young children and those who are carers of adults have a right to ask for flexible working arrangements.  Currently the right to ask for flexible working is limited to parents whose children are under 6 years of age (or under 18 if the child has a disability).

Following the recommendations of a Review the right to request flexible working is to be extended to parents of children aged up to the age of 16.  It is likely that this extension will come into force in April 2009.

The Review also concluded that more work should be done to raise awareness of flexible working and that employers would benefit from more guidance on how to deal with flexible working requests.