More bad news for employers

May 20 2008 by jez Davison, Evening Gazette

TEESSIDE’S small business community has condemned the Government’s decision to extend flexible working rights as another body-blow for the employer.

Parents with children up to the age of 16 will be granted the right to ask to work from home. Business Secretary John Hutton said the move could help employers get the best out of parents in their workforce.

But Tees Valley bosses believe it will undermine their control of the business and that the Government is going too far in championing employee rights.

Diana Kaye, of Diana Kaye Florist, in Yarm, said: “It never ceases to amaze me how each piece of legislation is bad news for the employer. I try to accommodate staff needs wherever possible but how can you work from home in a retail environment?”

Alex Adamson, contracts manager for Middlesbrough-based CT Contractors, admitted the new flexible working laws would be “difficult to manage”.

He said: “I can see why the Government has introduced it but it will have ramifications across the board for small businesses. The Government should consider putting together a benefits package and a template guide that helps small firms to cope with the increase in flexible working requests.”

Joel Kerr, of Hartlepool-based Joel D Kerr Funeral Directors - which employs about 14 staff - said the move would “cripple” small firms which require the majority of their staff to be office-based. “Our office has to be manned so that we can offer a service to grieving families,” he said.

There are fears the move could spark a rise in litigation if requests are not granted on the grounds that the employee’s job is predominantly office-based.

But Joe Thornhill, a partner in Ward Hadaway’s employment team, said this was unlikely to happen as employers could legitimately refuse requests “on a wide range of grounds”.

He said: “Employers have tried to accommodate current flexible working laws as much as possible. However, it is becoming more difficult for companies to manage their business in a cost-effective way.”

Some firms are worried the proposed extension, which will give around 4.5million more workers the legal right to request flexible hours, will lead to decreased productivity and lost revenues. Flexible working regulations have already cost business an estimated £1.6bn since 2002.

On Teesside, about 50,000 workers representing nearly 5% of the working population are now based at or usually work from home - an increase of 56% since 1999.