Flexible working

Fears that extending the right to work flexibly would prove burdensome to business are grossly exaggerated, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

The organisation has carried out research using Freedom of Information requests revealing how few disputes about the right to request make it to the tribunal. It found that, of 218,100 tribunal claims that were lodged with the employment tribunal in 2010-11, only 277 (0.13%) concerned flexible working. Of the 277 claims, 229 were settled and 48 reached a hearing, just 10 of resulted in success for the employee.

Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser for the CIPD, said the figures “demonstrate beyond any doubt that the fears expressed about the impact of extending the right to request flexible working are grossly exaggerated.” He added that “the right to request is not a burden on business but an example of ‘light-touch’ regulation that is more likely to support — rather than inhibit — business performance.”