The Work and Pensions Secretary

Minister calls for wider fl exible working rights

British government ministers are considering giving all
employees the right to ask for fl exible working hours "from
the beginning" of a new job as part of plans to encourage a
fundamental shift in working habits.
The Work and Pensions Secretary, Yvette Cooper, says her
offi ce is working with employers and organisations such as
the federation of small businesses to draw up new ways of
supporting men as well as women and non-parents as well
as parents working more fl exible hours.

The current rules are limited to parents of children under 16
and carers, and Cooper wants to extend them. "You want
people to offer fl exible working from the beginning and
we need to look again at how the legislation can support
different ways of doing that," she said.

"There will be some areas where it's not possible to fi t
round particular school hours or particular things where the
nature of the business makes it hard - but what you need
is the cultural change for everybody to think differently."
Cooper's proposals come as the government announced
that fathers will be given the right to six months' paternity
leave.

There will be a legal right to take the mother's place at
home for the last three months of a nine-month maternity
break; they would receive £123 a week in statutory pay.
Fathers would then be entitled to take a further three
months' unpaid leave. The move was criticised by some
business leaders.

(From: The Guardian, Friday 29 January 2010 -slightly adapted)