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Manufacturers' organisation EEF said that time was needed for companies to adjust to the current legislation.

The organisation warned that the Government risked denying employees with legitimate reasons for asking to work flexibly the opportunity to do so.

Practical problems

The call was made on the back of a major survey of manufacturers showing that employers have seen some positive benefits from flexible working.

The survey also showed a majority of companies have experienced practical problems with implementing the current legislation, however, and are opposed to extending the right to request flexible working beyond those employees already covered.

Peter Schofield, EEF’s director of employment and legal affairs, said manufacturers have seen benefits from the introduction of flexible working, but added that the last thing they need now is to have to consider more and more requests.

“They need to be given time before this right is extended to more employees. If it is extended, they are more likely to say ‘no’ and some people who really need to work flexibly could then miss out," he warned.

Extension on a phased basis 

EEF also believes the legal right to request flexible working should only cover employees with caring responsibilities.

For other employees, employers will increasingly provide flexible working arrangements on a voluntary basis to attract and retain the brightest and the best.

EEF believes first line managers and supervisors should be given more support and advice on handling flexible working arrangements before any consideration is given to extending the current legislation.

If it is then extended to other groups of carers, such as the parents of older children, this must be done on a phased basis that enables employers to cope gradually with requests from more employees.

EEF is also firmly of the view that employers must continue to have the ability to reject requests for flexible working on genuine business grounds and that the right to request flexible working should only apply, as now, after 26 weeks’ employment.

"There is a limit to flexibility in any workplace and employers must, as now, be able to say ‘no’ where there are genuine reasons to do so," Schofield said.

Extra pressure on other employees 

The survey found that over two-thirds of companies had received a request for flexible working in the last twelve months.

Employers saw the main benefits of flexible working as leading to better relationships with employees, improved motivation and reduced staff turnover. Two-thirds of employers reported that flexible working had created practical problems.

The most common were extra pressure on other employees, difficulties arising from sections being left short-staffed and difficulty in managing flexible working practices.

Companies were overwhelmingly opposed to extending the current flexible working legislation. If the legislation is to be extended, they felt that this should be done in stages.

The statutory right to request flexible working was introduced in 2003 for parents of young and disabled children, provided they have worked for their employer for 26 weeks.

Walsh Review 

In 2007 the scope of the law was extended to cover carers of certain adults. Employers have a duty to consider requests from these categories of employees but they are able to reject flexible working requests on one or more of a number of business grounds.

The Government has asked Imelda Walsh, human resources director at Sainsbury’s, to lead an independent review to determine how the right to request flexible working should be extended to parents of children older than six.

The Walsh Review is expected to report in the next few weeks. EEF’s survey and recommendations have been submitted to this review.

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Related links

• EEF