Flexible Working

The Children and Families Bill would provide new entitlements for employees relating to the right to request flexible working.

Provisions include, but are not limited to:

  • Clauses 101-102 make changes to the circumstances in which an employee can make a request for flexible working, and to the procedure which employers must follow on receipt of such a request.

MPs are particularly interested in your comments on the practical implications of specific clauses of the Bill. Please make clear whether your comment relates to a specific clause.

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2 Responses to Flexible Working

vee says:
February 26, 2013 at 11:07 AM
With all the changes in benefits ruling with an emphasis on getting people back to work and less reliant on a benefit culture.... what forsight the government is now showing to make things even more difficult to be able to work and maintain a healthly work/family life balance.

By withdrawing these flexible working options they will be making what is just about managable into something that is dam impossible.. there are only so many hours in a day and only so much one person can do ... by restricting the support and degree of flexibility families and children will suffer through parents being stressed,depressed,anxious, angry,turning to alcohol to relieve this and all the other issues relating to alochol consumption.
So at the end of the day what quality of life will the children have ?
When oh when are they going to look at something like this in a holistic way... seeing how one thing affects another instead of an instant cost cutting and to hell with the consequences appraoch to decision making??
Do these people not live in the real world?
terry m says:
February 25, 2013 at 02:27 PM
clause 101. How can MPs take away the rights of workers to work flexible, I am a carer for my wife and I would like to be flexible it should not be up to someone in HR who makes the decision

Related information

What is Public Reading?


Public Reading is an initiative to give members of the public the opportunity to provide their views on Bills before they are made into law. This is the first Public Reading to be run by the House of Commons and is a pilot of the process. Comments on the Bill will be made available to the Committee of MPs responsible for examining the Bill in detail so that they can take them into account when deciding whether to make changes to the Bill.

About the Children and Families Bill


The Children and Families Bill contains provisions to change the law in several areas relating to children and families.

Explanatory Notes


The Government publishes explanatory notes alongside a Bill to assist readers in understanding the proposed legislation

Additional Comments?


Comments on areas not covered by the listed Bill topics, or broader comments on the Bill as a whole (including anything that you think should have been included in the Bill but is not) should be posted as an additional comment. As this Public Reading is a pilot, we are also keen to hear your views on the public reading process itself.

Public Bill Committees


A Bill Committee is appointed for each Bill that goes through Parliament and is named after the Bill it considers. Public Bill Committees have the power to take written and oral evidence. The Committee examines the Bill line by line and reports its conclusions and any amendments to the Commons, where MPs debate the Bill further.

Pre-legislative Scrutiny


Some provisions in the Children and Families Bill were published in draft form last year so that MPs could scrutinise them and recommend changes to be made before the Bill itself was introduced to Parliament. Four different Committees from the House of Commons and the House of Lords examined draft clauses.