Warning issued over flexible working plans

News Article - Friday, May 16, 2008

filed under: Business

Small businesses are being warned that the decision to extend the right to request flexible working to more people could create an "employment nightmare" for them.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) states that costs and paperwork could be increased for smaller firms as a result of the planned extension of the right to request flexible working and new rules governing agency workers.

Under the government plans, millions more parents will be able to ask for flexible working arrangements to enable them to look after their children, with the right to request flexible working extended to parents of children as old as 16.

The government insists that the changes will boost exam results, pupil behaviour and employee productivity, but the FSB suggests that small businesses will struggle to cope with the new rights and the reforms could cost businesses up to £50 million.

Alan Tyrrell, FSB employment chairman, said: "You can't have an extension of flexible working and at the same time clamp down on the means by which many small businesses cope with it, which is often through temporary workers."

Currently parents of children under six and carers of the disabled are able to ask their employers to allow them to work flexibly, but the new extension to the system will see another 4.5 million parents become eligible.

Small firms concerned about changes to legislation can invest in accounts software in order to keep track of their financial commitments and payroll.

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