The right to flexible working is to be extended to parents of children up to the age of 16 under new plans unveiled by the government today.
Ministers said the change, on which they will now consult, would result in an extra 4.5m employees being able to request from their boss a variation in hours, go part-time or to work from home. Around 6m are currently allowed to do.
Prime minister Gordon Brown claimed the extension, which is the result of a review by Sainsbury's HR director Imelda Walsh, would be welcomed by parents and employers alike.
"The right to request flexible working has been working for lots of people over the last few years," he told BBC Breakfast. "It is working for parents of young children and now it can apply to children under 16 where families need time off to help bring [them] up.
"A lot of employers will welcome it.
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