The right to request flexible working has been extended to include parents with children aged under 18 years.  This amendment is likely to come into effect from 6th April 2011 and means that parents of children aged up to 18 can request flexible working.  This applies to parents of both disabled and non disabled children.

The plans for this amendment to the Flexible Working Regulations were announced in September 2010 in an attempt to make the regulations fairer, more inclusive, and easier for employees to identify whether or not they are eligible to apply for flexible working.

The government will issue a proposal in January 2011 and complete consultation in March 2011 with the hope that the regulation amendment take effect in April 2011.  In line with this timeline, employers should ensure that they are prepared to amend their policies and procedures in line with the new regulations.

This means specific changes to the eligibility requirements outlined in an organisations Flexible Working Policy.  It is important for organisations to maintain family friendly policies such as this.

Furthermore, employer organisations should also consider the impact of this amendment on other Policies such as their Maternity or Retirement Policy. Employees receiving flexible working requests should also be updated on the Policy amendments and trained on the details of the amendments to ensure they are able to provide the correct advise to employees.

Although the TUC has said that they will continue to push for universal rights in relation to Flexible Working Requests, they have welcomed the amendment.