Flexible benefits praised in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland''s employment minister has announced new measures which will provide more flexible benefits for parents in the workplace.
Sir Reg Empey said yesterday (June 28th) that, as of July 18th, the right to request flexible working conditions is to be extended to parents of children under 16 years old.
Currently, this right only applies to those with offspring under six years of age, or to parents of children with disabilities.
This move means employers have to consider any request for flexible working very carefully as they can only issue a negative response if there is a valid business reason.
The minister said: "The right to request flexible working has been a success to date, and in announcing the extension, I am seeking to build on that success."
Flexible working requests in the rest of the UK already follow the under-16 rule, so the new legislation brings Northern Ireland into line with England, Scotland and Wales.
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