The Government has published Regulations extending the right to request a flexible pattern of work to parents and carers of children under the age of 17. Currently, the right applies only to employees with caring responsibilites for children under the age of six (under 18 if the child is disabled), and carers of adults who are 18 or over.

The extension is in response to an independent government review, conducted by Imelda Walsh, HR director of J Sainsbury plc, the results of which were published in 2008 and the extensions to the right to request a flexible pattern of work came into force on 6th April. See the extensions on the governments website.

Business Link are now offering practical advice on how this could be supported by businesses with a free guide on how to offer this to your staff.

So how can your business respond to requests for flexible working patterns from your staff? We believe that changes in technology over the past year now provides solutions to enable your staff to work remotely without compromising security.

We now offer hardware solutions that enable your staff to access information held on your business servers without the need for any special computer equipment or additional software installation. All that is needed is a computer with an internet browser (such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome). They simply click on a special portal to your business and once past the security have access to a range of information on your network as you choose.

Interested in knowning more? Why not call us to for a free discussion on how we can help you make flexible working a reality.