News

12th September 2005

Family laws having negative impact on businesses

Requests from parents of young children to work flexible hours are having a negative impact on businesses, according to the CBI.

In a report published today, the CBI says that businesses are suffering as managers are spending more and more time dealing with requests for flexible working hours.

One of the key findings is that employers are devoting a great deal of time and energy to ensuring that the right to request flexible working is resulting in more flexible work patterns for thousands of employees.

The survey of 420 firms found that the proportion saying the family laws have negatively impacted their business has risen from 11 per cent to 26 per cent since last year.

Over three quarters of all firms reported spending an increasing amount of time dealing with related administration, and just under 60 per cent reported that valuable senior management time was being diverted to compliance.

Since the implementation of the Employment Act in 2003, employers have accepted requests to work more flexibly in 90 per cent of cases.

TUC leader Brendan Barber says flexible working is one of the most important rights introduced by the government but the CBI urged the government to be "very careful" before extending the law to cover parents of older children too.

"Companies still need to get the job done," said CBI deputy director general John Cridland.

"The temptation to overwhelm them with unjustified employment law, just to placate the trade union movement, must be resisted."

In response to the CBI's comments, Mr Barber said, "The right for new parents to request flexible working, to which employers can too easily say no, is one of the most popular rights introduced by this government as a result of union campaigning.

"For the CBI to see this as simply a way of placating unions rather than of retaining and motivating staff, says a great deal about their attitudes to the modern world."

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