The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)
I am announcing today that I intend to repeal shortly the regulations on extending the right to request flexible working to parents of 17-year-olds that were laid before Parliament on 16 December 2010 and that were due to come into force on the 6 April 2011.
The Government remain committed to extending the right to request flexible working to all employees in due course. We will consult on this extension later in the spring.
The Government are constantly listening to the views of all stakeholders including business, and it has recently become clear that this small extension to the flexible working regulations could be an unhelpful complication at this important point in the UK’s economic recovery when employers need to focus on growth and creating jobs. We therefore intend to repeal these regulations, which will also avoid multiple changes to the flexible working regulations over the coming years.