Employment relations minister Edward Davey announced that the right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of children aged under 18 from April 2011 – benefiting nearly 300,000 more people. A consultation will be launched later this year looking at how to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, and the design of a new system of flexible parental leave.
Currently, the right to request flexible working is available to parents of children aged under 17, parents of disabled children under 18 and carers of certain adults.
Working Families chief executive Sarah Jackson said: "We’re pleased to see the extension of the right to request flexible working to parents of children under 18 from next April. Closing this loophole will particularly benefit parents of disabled children who don’t currently have a right to request if their 17-year-old is not entitled to DLA [Disability Living Allowance] under the strict terms of the legislation.
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