Right to Request Flexible Working Extended 
Added : 8th July 2008
If you wish to discuss this further with our HR Consulting team please call 0800 0665 894 or email
The Government has recently accepted the recommendations by Sainsbury’s HR Director, Imelda Walsh, to extend the right to request flexible working to parents of children up to the age of 16.
Walsh was commissioned by the Government to review flexible working arrangements and it would appear that her recommendations have gone further then many employers had expected.
The right to request flexible working is currently limited to parents of children up to the age of six, or to 18 years for parents of a disabled child. By extending the right to parents of children up to the age of 16 it is expected to benefit an additional 4.5 million working parents.
Walsh’s report also suggested that the extension be implemented at once, rather than a staged introduction, to ensure that confusion for employers is limited. However, many small employers have criticised this approach and have suggested it fails to give them the necessary time to prepare for the changes.
The EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has suggested that the change will lead to an increased number of employees going to employment tribunals should their request for flexible working be rejected by their employer. This has been dismissed by Walsh who stated that ‘there is very little evidence that the right to request flexible working will lead to employment tribunals.’
The Government will now consult on implementing the proposals and is expected to change the law as soon as April 2009. This is likely to have a particular impact on small employers where balancing operational needs against flexible working can be a constant headache.
If you wish to discuss this further with our HR Consulting team please call 0800 0665 894 or email
Sign up to our RSS