Flexible working welcomed by employers, but concerns grow over increased administrative burden

The political parties’ efforts to put family-friendly and flexible working practices at the heart of their manifestos have met with a mixed reaction from business groups and employers.

Greater workforce flexibility was a common theme for the parties, with Labour offering a “father’s month” of paternity leave, the Conservatives offering a new system of shared parental leave over the first year after the birth, and the Liberal Democrats pledging to extend the right to request flexible working to all staff.

The CIPD welcomed the emphasis on flexible working, and pointed out that many organisations already offered this option to all their staff.

“Employers have long since been much further ahead than the government, and legislation needs to catch up now,” said Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD. “In many cases employers are prepared to consider any sensible request from any member of the workforce.”

He also welcomed the principle of greater equality in leave for fathers and mothers, adding: “Employers will have less of an excuse to discriminate against young women on the grounds they are going to become mothers.”

But EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, expressed concern over whether the business benefits of flexible working would outweigh the burden to employers that legislation on the issue could bring.

David Yeandle, EEF head of employment policy, said: “All the emphasis has been on employers responding to staff requests, and all the costs and implications of that will be borne by the employer. There is a limit to how much flexibility any company can offer. Sometimes there will be hard choices about who can have that flexibility.”

Yeandle also warned that complications would arise from the potential changes to paternity leave outlined by the parties. Both the Tories and Liberal Democrats have advocated systems that give parents more flexibility in sharing parental leave entitlements, building further on a principle that has already been introduced by Labour.

Emmott said that employers who already offered maternity leave above statutory requirements may have to adapt paternity leave policies to make them similarly attractive to new fathers.

Nationwide Building Society is one employer that introduced flexible working arrangements for all staff in advance of current regulations. John Wrighthouse, HR director at Nationwide, said: “We welcome manifesto pledges that will give people more choice in how and when they work. We’d recognised that such choice was a powerful motivator that contributed to performance.”

Although Nationwide already offers enhanced paternity leave, Wrighthouse was mindful of how new laws could be implemented. He added: “Careful consideration will need to be given to any new rights that extend paid time off, to lessen the impact to some businesses, and particularly small employers.

“The key for any government will be to ensure that the legislation is practical, workable and avoids unnecessary complication and administrative burden.”

Source: Michelle Stevens, PM Online, www.peoplemanagement.co.uk