Neediest mothers denied flexible working
Flexible working arrangements are not accessible to the parents who need them most, such as lone or low-paid mothers, new research has found.
A survey of 2,000 mothers of children aged 12-18 months by the National Centre for Social Research, presented at a conference on Tuesday, found that single mothers, low-paid mothers or those working for companies without trade union recognition were much less likely than other mothers to have access to part-time work, job sharing, flexible working hours and home working.
The report said, 'A substantial proportion of these mothers did not seem to have access even to arrangements they were legally entitled to, such as the right to request flexible working and to take parental and emergency leave.'
Researchers found that 76 per cent of mothers returned to work after having a baby and those with a low-earning partner were more likely to return to work than women whose partners were in top income groups.
However, 15 per cent of mothers who returned to work reported a decrease in their earnings, despite not having reduced their working hours.
Twenty per cent of mothers said their employer did not provide parental or emergency leave and 22 per cent said their work offered no support with childcare or other types of support, including career breaks and retraining after maternity leave.
The report's author, Ivana La Valle, criticised current legislation.
She said, 'For the right to request flexible working arrangements you need to have been in the job for a certain amount of time. This discriminates against mothers who have been out of employment and want to re-enter the workplace but who need flexible working from day one.'
Download the research, entitled Maternity Rights and Mothers' Employment Decisions, at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep496.pdf.
