Dated: 17 November 2010
Commenting on Theresa May’s speech today about the Equalities Act and the Government’s plan to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, Alistair Tebbit, Institute of Directors’ spokesman, said:
“Theresa May should let businesses decide for themselves how they manage their staff rather than creating new employment rights and lecturing directors and managers about how they should be introducing more flexible working arrangements for their employees. The people running businesses have a vastly better idea of how to manage their employees than any government minister.
“A government truly committed to being pro-enterprise would be thinking about abolishing the existing right to request flexible working. To do the opposite, and extend the right, suggests that the Government’s claim to be backing SMEs is a pretty hollow one. We know that creating another formal employment right will only add to the excessive amounts of administration firms have to undertake to comply with existing regulations.
He added:
“Yes – flexible working brings benefits to some businesses, but why formalise in law a request process that takes place informally already, especially when there is no evidence at all that this would lead to more flexible working opportunities? This is another example of bad policy-making which we’d hoped the new Government would avoid.”
