Parents back extension of flexible working

More than three quarters of working parents back the extension of flexible working, a poll by WorkingMums has found.
The poll of 490 working parents found that 78% backed the extension of flexible working ot parents of children under 16 which comes into effect on 6^th April. Only 9% were not in favour and the rest were undecided.

One woman said she had just been forced to quit her job with an international company because her young family needed her. “Being a parent is the most important role of all yet you sign up for a 35 hour week and they expect 70 with no consideration of the impact it has on your family life,” she said.

Another said her hours had been creeping up so she looked for a part time job, but with school holidays and childcare costs it wasn’t really worth her working. She concluded: “The employment market does not support a family’s needs.”

But one woman said working mums were asking for too much. She had had to sacrifice her career, she said, in order to look after her oldest child. She didn’t see why women complained about childcare problems when they could organise themselves with “a little cooperation” or could put “proper” jobs on hold for a while.

Most of those who commented on the poll disagreed and felt that more needed to be done to encourage flexible working. One woman who had returned from Australia where she said flexible working was commonplace described her problems finding new flexible work in the UK. “I think that UK businesses need to open their eyes to the enormous talent and skill of mums like me going to waste,” she said. “And most of us, having gained all of the multitasking skills a motherhood entails, would more than likely achieve the same result even if only working school hours and term time.” Read Working Mums’ statement on the extension of flexible working.