News

Western Mail, Wednesday 15th November 2006

Marcella Maxwell of Chwarae Teg said; “More women are now working in leadership positions but we know that overall this number is still low and that the glass ceiling is still alive and well in many organizations. UK businesses are putting themselves at a real disadvantage by not selecting the best executives from the largest talent pool possible. According to very recent research being undertaken by University of Glamorgan, the contribution women could make to leadership in business is curtailed by sexism and ignorance and also that even when an organization clearly stated in its human resources policy to value both the transformational leadership skills preferred by women and the more traditional style favored by men, in reality the female approach was largely dismissed. According to research by Cranfield School of Management the percentage of women in executive jobs was ‘miniscule’ compared to the number of women in employment”.

Work and Families Act

“An online tool to help small businesses comply with the forthcoming changes to the Work and Families Act has been launched. The new legislation applies to parents of babies due to be born or adopted on or after 1 April 2007. The lengthy statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave will increase, and workers will have to give their employer more notice if they want to change the date of their return to work. Employees who care for an adult will also, for the first time, be given the right to request flexible working. The interactive tool, from Business Link, helps managers establish employees’ entitlement to paternity , adoption pay and leave, as well as flexible working. It will complement its existing tools that calculate maternity-related benefits”.

Source: “Work and Families Act changes to maternity, paternity and adoption leave all covered”, peoplemanagment.co.uk, 4th October 2006

http://www.cipd.co.uk/news/cipdupdate/_newsletters/_cipdupdate041006.htm

31 October 06, Chwarae Teg Conference

The conference will be held on the 29th March 2007 at the Hilton Hotel, Cardiff. The key note speaker is Sir Digby Jones. Watch this space for further information or contact hayley.dunne@chwaraeteg.com 029 20 478912.

Response to amendments to Flexible Working Regulations

1 October 2006

Marcella Maxwell, Chief Executive at Chwarae Teg:

“As many employers make their way to work on Monday morning, they may well be preoccupied with the new raft of legislation in place that looks as if it offers benefits to the employee rather than the employer.

“From April 2007, The Work and Families Act 2006 which comes into force on 1st October, for the first time, carers of adults will have the right to request flexible working. From the same date, working mothers will benefit from nine months statutory maternity pay rather than the current six months entitlement, while fathers will also benefit from plans to introduce a new right giving them extended paternity leave, whereby they will be able to take up to six months additional paternity leave at the standard rate if the mother returns to work before taking her full entitlement.

“Refusal to consider flexible working could result in the breach of the Sex Discrimination Act, which is applicable to everyone, male and female, regardless of how small an enterprise is. But this Act should not be seen as merely an exercise in compliance but as an opportunity for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors to modernise working patterns and reap the business benefits.

“Chwarae Teg welcomes these changes and urge employers not to panic at the prospect of these new measures. These Rights are designed to enhance work life balance and should deliver major gains for any organisation offering employees the chance to have control over when and where they work, and providing opportunities for individuals to have a fulfilled life inside and outside work.

“There is a strong business case for making flexible working an option. It is not by chance that major companies such as BT and Admiral have long since championed flexible working practices. Not only does it help improve recruitment and retention of staff ultimately reducing costs by attracting the most talented staff and retaining skilled employees, flexible working practices can increase production as a result of better motivation, reduced stress and absenteeism.

“Although work life balance is an issue for all workers, it continues to be women who are the primary care givers. With roughly one third of the UK workforce being women of child-bearing age, it is important for business and the economy that skills and experience are not lost because of lack of flexibility in the workplace. Many women would be more inclined to return to or join a family friendly environment after pregnancy or if they find themselves the primary carer of an adult relative.

“It’s important to remember that the new laws are not intended to make life harder for employers, but are about changing the way we all work to make organisations of all sizes as inclusive as possible. Reforming working patterns can be good for businesses, good for individuals and families and good for the economy.

“There are a number of advisory bodies to help organisations of all sizes deal with business cases for flexible working such as Chwarae Teg who run the Work Life Balance in Wales website -www.wlbinwales.org.uk, on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The site has some useful information and case studies from small businesses successfully operating flexible working policies. Other organisations that can provide advice include DTI, OPSI, Wales TUC, EOC and ACAS.”

The draft regulations can be viewed can be viewed on the DTI website. http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/workandfamilies/index.html

The Work and Families Act which will bring these provisions into force can be viewed on the OPSI website. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/ukpga_20060018_en.pdf

Last Updated: 08/08/2007 13:08:41 By Richard Perry