§ Miss Joan Lestorasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether research has been carried out by his Department into the cost to employers of implementing the European Community draft directive on voluntary part-time work.
§ Mr. GummerA number of organisations, including the TUC, EOC and CBI, were consulted by this Department when the draft directive was issued. Most employers' organisations, especially those representing small firms, expressed concern about the likely cost of implementation. Further enquiries of these organisations made by this Department produced evidence of varying costs, according to the proportion of part-time employees in the workforce and other factors.