Just one in 10 small firms allow flexible working

Government plans to extend the right to flexible working to more parents next year have been dealt a blow after research found just 14pc of small firms allow workers to take up the perk.

A study of 5,000 small businesses each employing up to 250 people in the UK found just over one in 10 allowed their staff to work flexibly. Under current law, workers with children aged 16 or under are entitled to ask their employer whether they can work flexibly, which must be considered formally by the business. However, firms can justifiably reject the request on business grounds.

The Government aims to extend the right to request flexible working to parents with children under the age of 18 from April 2011. All workers will eventually get the right regardless of whether they have kids, the Government has vowed. However, for many workers in small businesses, the new law may not make much difference, according to the survey conducted by Virgin Media Business and covering 22.8m staff.

In stark contrast, the study found 69pc of the FTSE 100 enabled staff to fit their jobs around their personal lives. However, the figures still showed nearly a third of the large businesses did not offer flexible working to staff.

Source the Telegraph