On Tuesday this week the DTI announced its proposals to impose on employers a duty to consider requests for flexible working, accepting the recommendations of the Work and Parents Task Force. Details of the proposals have now been made available, as set out below.
The duty will apply in respect of employees who have a minimum of six months' continuous employment and who are parents of children under six or of disabled children under eighteen. The Government has said that it will consider extending the duty to non-employees (perhaps to those who are "workers" within the definition set out in other recent legislation) and to parents of older children.
The duty to consider will consist of a series of procedural steps:
