Extended flexible working will benefit millions
06.04.09
“The extension of flexible working will benefit millions of retail workers across the country”, said John Hannett, General Secretary of Usdaw, the shopworkers’ union.
The right to request flexible working will now be extended to parents of children up to and including the age of 16 as of today. It had previously applied only to parents of children up to the age of 6. Usdaw has been at the forefront of the campaign for this new right.
John Hannett commented: “I am delighted that the Government is extending the right to request flexible working to an additional 4.5 million parents of older children. Flexible working has already been a success for millions of parents of younger children and for carers who have already been given the right to request it. Businesses have also benefited from increased productivity so both families and employers will be winners from the new legislation.
“Usdaw has been at the forefront of campaigning for the right to request flexible working to be extended to parents of older children. We were delighted that one of Gordon Brown’s first acts as Prime Minister was to set up Imelda Walsh’s review and that now millions of working parents with older children will benefit from the extension of the right.”
Malcolm Calaby is an Usdaw member, who will benefit from the change. He and his wife Shirley have two daughters, Rosie 13 and Holly 12. Malcolm is very pleased about the extension of the right to request flexible working to parents with older children:
“After the age of six, children don’t stop needing to be cared for. Both my wife and I work, so the right to request flexible working could be very useful to us.
“In the past one of us has had to take unpaid leave to look after one of our daughters if she was ill. This can get very hard on the finances. We also struggled to juggle school holidays between us. I’m delighted at this sensible move from the Government, which will undoubtedly benefit countless families in our position.”
