Nursery World - Opinion: In my view - Patricia Hewitt, MP

Nursery staff know all about work/family balance - both other people's and their own.

Although my two children are now in their twenties, I remain eternally grateful to the young women - and one young man - who helped our family (how?). I hope it's only a coincidence that two of them went on to become police officers!

As Cabinet Minister for Women, I was determined to make life a bit easier for parents. As well as paid paternity leave and better paid maternity leave, I gave all parents with children up to age six the 'right to request' shorter working hours. That law - which, of course, includes nursery workers themselves - has helped over a million parents change their working hours. Indeed, it's been so successful that it has now been extended to carers and, soon, will be to parents with older children.

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