• Work-Life Balance Campaign
• Flexible Working Provisions
• Childcare
Work-Life Balance Campaign
• Just 12% of workplaces currently offer
flexitime working (other than part-time work), and only 6% help
with childcare arrangements during school holidays.
• Evidence is that where flexible practices
are available, take-up is low. Employees perceive barriers to
working flexibly: 62% of men say that part-time work, can adversely affect
their career.
(Source: WLB 2000 Baseline Survey)
• The result of the fourth round of the
work-life balance campaign, announced in June 2002, will see
more organisations benefiting from the Challenge Fund, bringing
the total number to over 400.
Flexible Working Provisions
• Parents want flexible working hours not
reduced hours.
• Following the introduction of new employment
rights in April 2003, 3.8 million parents are now entitled to
have their requests seriously considered by their employers.
• It is estimated this will generate 509,000
additional requests from parents to work flexibly. Our assumption
is that 418,000 parents every year will obtain new flexible working
patterns.
• The proposals will lead to an increase
in mothers entering the labour market, choosing to work because
flexible working is available for the first time. (estimated 55,000
women)
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Childcare
• Childcare is increasingly a central part
of our economy and is an important business sector in its own
right.
• In 2001, the childcare and playwork sector
in England employed 275,000 people - up by 21% since 1998.
• Getting childcare provision right is crucial
for employers to have skilled people available to them.
• At the moment, a third of mothers taking
paid maternity leave from their jobs do not return after having
a baby, because they cannot work the hours they want.
• This costs employers a great deal in recruitment
and training costs. If employers offer more flexible working hours,
we can save them around £64 million a year.
• In April 2003, the Government introduced
a new package of maternity and paternity rights- extended maternity
leave, improved maternity pay, paid paternity leave and paid adoption
leave as well as new child tax credits and the right for employees
with young children to request to work flexibly.
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