FLEXIBLE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY EMPLOYMENT?

In line with the Government's other proposals for the reform of employment tribunals and the resolution of workplace disputes, the Department for Business, Industry and Skills has launched a new Consultation called 'Consultation on Modern Workplaces'. The proposals include:

• an extension in the ability to request flexible working - this would extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, not just those with children under 17 (or 18 for parents of disabled children), it would allow employers to prioritise competing requests, allow more temporary changes to terms and conditions as well as permitting more than one request in a 12 month period. This will not be a right to work flexibly - requests could still be turned down by employers.
• flexible parental leave to be introduced in April 2015 - this would keep 18 weeks' maternity leave for mothers to be taken in a continuous block around the time of the birth and would retain the current statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance arrangements and two week's paternity pay and leave. The remaining maternity leave would be reclassified as 'parental leave' and could be taken by either parent or both. There is also a proposal to allow employers and employees to agree for parental leave to be taken in blocks, or on a part-time basis. The government seeks employers' views on extending the age limit for taking unpaid parental leave beyond the existing limit of the child's fifth birthday and giving fathers the right to unpaid leave to attend antenatal appointments.
• an amendment to the Working Time Regulations to comply with European law - this will require annual leave to be carried over in situations where annual leave has not been taken because of sick/maternity/parental leave and where the leave cannot be rescheduled in the current leave year. The proposal limits carried-over holiday for sickness absence to the four weeks' compulsory paid leave under European holiday laws (i.e. the employee would not be able to carry over the extra 1.6 weeks they receive, above the European entitlement, under the UK holiday laws). The government is also considering proposals to allow employers to 'buy out' that extra 1.6 weeks or to require employees to defer that leave until the first six months of the following leave year if this can be justified in terms of business need.
• equal pay - in situations where an employer is found by an employment tribunal to have discriminated against women in contractual or non contractual pay cases the tribunal would have the power to order the employer to carry out an equal pay audit.

See the Consultation here. It runs until 8 August 2011, and we will keep you informed of its outcome.