April 12, 2004—New statistics released by the UKs Department of Trade and Industry show that employers are granting almost 8 out of 10 requests to work flexibly, following the introduction of new legislation one year ago.
The DTI says that since last April almost a quarter of those parents given the right to ask to work flexibly have done so. Seventy-seven percent of requests were fully accepted, and another 9% resulted in some form of compromise.
Over the first year of implementation, employees in sales and customer services were most likely to request flexible working (19%). Female employees with children under 6 were more likely to make the request than their male counterparts (37% compared to 10% respectively).
The Employment Act 2002 came into force on 6th April 2003 and introduced a package of ‘family friendly’ working rights, including the requirement that employers ‘seriously consider’ requests by parents with children under the age of 6, or disabled children under 18, to work flexibly.
Reprinted with permission; copyright 2004 i-FM
