WORKING FAMILIES POLICY, RESEARCH and CAMPAIGNS

We believe that:

Flexible working should be made available for all employees

Employers increasingly understand the connections between work-life balance and business success. Encouraging leaner, smarter working hours can bring productivity gains, and everyone benefits from reduced absenteeism and stress. However, all workers – regardless of their caring responsibilities – should be able to balance their work and outside commitments, throughout their working lives. As a first step, we are campaigning for the right to request flexible working to be extended to all parents (not just those with children under 6 or disabled children under 18) because the need to work flexibly doesn’t stop when a child starts school.

Click for more information:

• WF policy briefing on flexible working 2006
• Work and Families Bill Second Reading 2006
• WF response to draft regulations on maternity and adoption leave and pay and flexible working 2006
• Work and Families Act: a summary of the main changes
• WF response to Choice and Flexibility May 05
• Links to research publications on flexible working
• Interactive flexible working guide
• Flexible working guide for SMEs
• Factsheet on flexible working

Quality part time work must be available

We want to see flexible working extended to all jobs, at every level. Working flexibly needn’t mean giving up responsibilities, promotion, pay and prospects. We want to encourage part time and flexible working in senior jobs to help close the gender pay gap and so there are senior people to act as role models. We also want more jobs advertised on a flexible basis so that people can start working flexibly from day one – which is particularly important for parents of disabled children and others with heavy caring responsibilities.

Phone for more information:

• Flexi-exec
• Culture change
• Cranfield University School of Management research on the links between flexible working and productivity.

There must be equal opportunities for men and women in sharing work and caring responsibilities

Unless both men and women can choose which partner will be the carer, we will never tackle the gender pay gap. Government encouragement and employer action is needed to allow men to take a greater role in bringing up their children. We want to work towards it being as acceptable for a man to take time out of the workplace to be a carer as it is for a woman.

Click for more information:

• WF response to the Government consultation on the detail of Additional Paternity Leave and Pay
• WF letter to the Secretary of State about APL
  

Good quality, affordable accessible childcare and eldercare should be available for all

A lack of appropriate childcare is the single biggest barrier to work – especially for parents with disabled children. As the population ages, more people will become carers of adults and many will need support in combining their caring and working roles. Employers can do more to make childcare and eldercare affordable. We support the call for tax breaks for carers of older people. Government action is needed to improve the quality and supply of childcare places.

Click for more information:

• WF policy briefing on childcare 2006
• Childcare Bill Second Reading briefing 2006

There must be more support for families with disabled children

Parents of disabled children face significant difficulties in combining work and caring responsibilities. However, many want- and need - to work for economic reasons, for their own health and wellbeing, and to act as a role model for their children. These parents have particular needs for flexible working and suitable childcare. We want changes to the benefit and tax credit systems to take account of the high costs of caring for a disabled child. We want to see one key worker for families with disabled children to help them access services and plan the care they need.

Click for more information:

• WF submission to the Treasury review of support for disabled children and their families
• Make it Work for you
• Making WORK work

That the issue of poverty in work must be addressed

The widely accepted solution to “poverty” in today’s society is to be in paid work.   A number of Government initiatives – including the introduction of the national minimum wage and working tax credits – have acknowledged the fact that paid work alone will not necessarily lift everyone out of poverty, and that we need a wider focus on household incomes and outgoings. However, many of our callers demonstrate that these initiatives - though welcome - do not make work “pay” for everyone.  Many of our callers would identify themselves as being both in work and in poverty.

Click for our discussion paper

• Poverty in Work (pdf)

Other consultations

Click for more information:

• Holiday consultation response
• Working Families response to the Government's consultation on pensions reform
Working Families response to the good childcare inquiry