Work and Families Bill

I suspect that we will return to this in Committee. We recognise that the right to request has been successful since it was introduced. Everyone, including employers’ organisations such as the CBI, agrees that it has worked in balancing the needs of employers and employees. It is encouraging that 90 per cent. of requests are being accommodated by employers. That has had a positive impact on the families who have benefited and on business. In looking to extend it, it is right that the Government should do so only one group at a time. As the Secretary of State acknowledged, Britain’s carers make a significant contribution to our society. Indeed, it is estimated that they save the Treasury about £57 billion a year. They deserve the same life chances that we all take for granted—to enjoy a fulfilling career and to have a healthy life and financial stability in old age. Many carers want to continue working and enjoy the independence and the break from their caring responsibilities that work provides. More than 2.5 million of the 6 million or more carers juggle care with paid work, but as many as 50 per cent. have been forced to give up work because of their caring responsibilities. Flexible working and the promotion of family-friendly policies are good for employers and benefit business, with improved employee relations, greater staff retention, lower recruitment costs and a happier, more motivated work force. That is why we will support the Government’s aim of extending the right to request to carers. We are, however, concerned that the definition of ““carer”” needs careful consideration. As the hon. Member for Worsley (Barbara Keeley) said, we must ensure that we get it correct. What plans do the Government have to work with carers’ groups and businesses to ensure that it not only benefits the groups that it is intended to benefit but is workable for the businesses that will put this into practice? It is clear that some employees feel increasingly put upon or hard done by as a result of parents or carers being allowed rights such as the right to request. Many of these new rights work only because of the goodwill of work colleagues who do the extra shifts or accommodate the changes in work patterns for employees. It is important to ensure that the system does not build up resentment in the workplace. Many businesses are now seeing the case for allowing all employees the right to request flexible working. I would be interested to hear what discussions the Government are having with the CBI and others on extending these rights further in due course. As I said, we support moves to help families and to give them greater control over their working and family lives. However, we all recognise that any family-friendly policies in the workplace will be successful only if they help business to innovate and to stay competitive. The measures that we have talked about, along with better child care and increased support for parents, allow business to make better use of its work force. They allow employers to retain skilled and effective staff and to keep up morale. The business case has been proven. That is why, in so many cases, business has been leading the way. We should pay tribute to that. Many businesses have found yet more innovative ways to help their staff and to get the best out of them. But the Government’s measures will not work if they affect competitiveness. There is no point in being family-friendly if we are not job-friendly. When the Secretary of State went on the ““Today”” programme to herald the Bill, he prayed in aid the CBI and claimed that the Bill was supported by business, but that is not quite the case. Yes, the CBI supports the extension of paid maternity leave and the extension of flexible working, as well as the increase from 28 days to two months of the notice period for employers when the mother intends to return to work, and the clarification about reasonable contact. However, business has grave concerns about other parts of the Bill. As the CBI said in the briefing that it sent out today:"““Serious concerns remain over Additional Paternity Leave and whether the Government will deliver significant support for employers””." In the words of John Cridland, the CBI’s deputy director general:"““The government cannot have its cake and eat it””." Employers were originally told that this would be a ““balanced”” Bill giving increased rights to employees, with greater powers for and decreased burdens on business. However, several of the measures set to help business that the Government flagged up at an earlier stage have been dropped, seriously affecting the balance between family-friendly and employer-friendly policies. Why did the Government decide not to proceed with the proposed transferable maternity leave and pay scheme that they outlined in their election manifesto earlier this year? The hon. Member for Burnley (Kitty Ussher) mentioned that in her intervention on the Secretary of State. Do officials believe that there is a significant risk that the manifesto pledge on transferability would contravene equality legislation? It would be interesting for Members who will serve on the Committee to see the legal advice that the Government received. The Government have a habit of ditching manifesto commitments, but it is unusual to see it so early after a general election. There is genuine concern in business that the Government are not, as they first proposed, implementing transferable maternity leave, which the CBI accepted as long as it was administratively simple, but are instead introducing a new right to paternity leave. There is a real difference between those two things.