§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans her Department has to extend legislative provisions on flexible working. [168893]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe current Employment Relations Bill includes a technical clause to address original drafting oversights to the flexible working law concerning protections against unfair dismissal.
The Government are committed to reviewing the impact of the flexible working law and has no plans to extend the provisions of the law until after the review in 2006. Currently, the law provides eligible parents of children under six and disabled children under 18 with a legal right to apply to work flexibly. An issue that the review will consider, which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has indicated should be a priority, is extending the law to wider groups of carers, such as carers of elderly or sick relatives.