Opinion divided on flexible working
Reports that the Government may row back from extending the right to seek flexible working have been met with a mixed reaction from charities, childcare organisations and nursery providers.
Gill Smith, who runs the Gooseberry Bush Day Nursery in Camborne, Cornwall, said it 'would help immensely if people were not on flexible working' and that when the nursery fills up and has 80 children attending part time it is 'something of a nightmare'.
She explained, 'It is the coming and going and working out which bit of care is funded and which isn't that is a growing problem.'
However, the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI) said that if Business Secretary of State Lord Mandelson postpones next April's planned extension of the right to request flexible working to parents of all children up to 16, it would be 'a major setback for many families'.
The Government may also ditch plans to extend paid maternity leave next year from 39 to 52 weeks to help small businesses during the recession.
Addressing a reception organised by the FPI to mark Parents' Week, Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said, 'Those who want to put flexible working on hold to protect businesses are wrong - flexible working is not an unnecessary cost, it is an opportunity. Businesses need maximum flexibility in difficult times. It isn't about being nice, it is essential.'
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said it believes flexible working can 'help families find the right balance between home and work life'.
But she acknowledged that it 'presented particular issues for day nurseries in terms of changing patterns of childcare use and requests from their own staff teams for flexible working hours'.
She added, 'Both of these can be an added pressure on margins as nurseries start providing new childcare sessions and have to develop innovative working patterns to retain staff.'
Steve Alexander, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said that while families need increased flexibility at work and in childcare choices, providers see them as 'a further cost pressure as revenue becomes further stretched by accommodating parental choice'.
He added, 'Lord Mandelson's proposals neither serve parents nor tackle the underlying challenges providers face in balancing costs against income.'
Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, said, 'Flexible working is one of the most effective tools which a business can use to retain staff, to avoid the costs, complexity and risk of redundancies, and to focus on maintaining motivation, commitment and performance.'
