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Further Family Friendly Changes - Government announces plans to extend right to request flexible working

The Government has announced that the right to request flexible working will be extended to all parents of children under 18 years old from April 2011.

Currently, the right to request flexible working is available to parents of children aged under 17 and disabled children under 18.  Carers of certain adults currently also have the right to request flexible working. Parents must be continuously employed by the same employer for more than 26 weeks before a request for flexible working can be made.

The Government has also announced it will launch a consultation later this year which will look at how to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, and examine a new system of flexible parental leave.

The Government claims that the initial extension should benefit 288,000 employees and make it simpler for employers to identify whether an employee is eligible to make a request.

Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey described the plans to be contained in the consultation as “much more ambitious”. The consultation is likely to include details of a parental leave system that encourages shared parenting from the beginning of a pregnancy.

Parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011 will also enjoy the extended rights under the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations. Under the Regulations, if a mother returns to work early, employed fathers may effectively ‘share’ the mother’s maternity entitlement by taking up to six months extra leave, which in some cases will be paid.

Please contact the employment team at The Byrne Practice to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have about family friendly rights.  They can be contacted on 01302 711211 or employment@tbplaw.co.uk