Expert Witness: Family-friendly policies

Why employers are required to be increasingly flexible

Summary:

Provisions under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999 and the more recent Work and Families Act 2006 – not to mention a possible reinterpretation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – mean that parents and carers have rights to increasingly flexible work arrangements. However, employers’ obligations only go so far. Diana Kloss explains.

MOST of us at some time in our lives have responsibilities as carers for young children and, later, for aging parents. Some of us have dependants who are disabled. Financial considerations and the desire to preserve independence mean that most carers prefer to do paid work if it is available rather than rely on social security benefits. Nevertheless, domestic emergencies…

Diana Kloss is a barrister, part-time employment judge, Acas arbitrator and author.

Author: Kloss D

Tags employment law flexible working pregnancy, menopause and reproductive health

Occupational Health at Work April/May 2008 (vol. 04/6) pp34-35

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