A paper examined the conditions and causal pathways that led to family provision by employers in the United Kingdom and Germany. The skill structure and level of the workforce were important conditions for firm-level engagement. In the UK the impact of trade unions was negligible, and the design of schemes was usually based on unilateral management decisions.
Source: Timo Fleckenstein and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, The Political Economy of Occupational Family Policies: Comparing workplaces in Britain and Germany, Barnett Papers in Social Research 4/2008, Department of Social Policy and Social Work/University of Oxford (01865 270325)
Links: Paper
Date: 2008-Oct
An article examined the introduction of the term 'work-life balance', the reasons for it, and its significance at the policy level, especially in terms of its implications for the pursuit of gender equality. At the policy level, its use was more a matter of strategic framing than substantive change. Nevertheless, because of the government's largely gender-neutral approach to the whole policy field, it was important to make explicit the tensions in the continuing use of the term.
Source: Jane Lewis and Mary Campbell, 'What's in a name? "Work and family" or "work and life" balance policies in the UK since 1997 and the implications for the pursuit of gender equality', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 42 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Oct
A think-tank report said that too many parents who wished to nurture their children at home for the first few years were being forced back to work by financial pressures when their children were babies. It called for a raft of new measures designed to give families 'genuine choice' over whether mothers or fathers stayed at home when their children were very young and in need of intensive nurturing and attention. They included front-loading child benefit in the first three years of life and changes to the tax and benefits system to boost family income.
Source: The Next Generation, Centre for Social Justice (020 7620 1120)
Links: Report | Summary | CSJ press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that women were 'lulled' into believing that having children would have little effect on their lives, compared to those of their own mothers: becoming a mother carried an enormous penalty, and women on the lowest incomes paid the highest price.
Source: Sally Gimson, Listening to Mother: Making Britain mother-friendly, Family and Parenting Institute (020 7424 3460)
Links: Report | FPI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jul
A report examined the flexible work agenda in Scotland compared with two other small European Union countries – Denmark and Hungary. Lack of flexibility in working patterns prevented many employees, especially women, from achieving their preference of balancing unpaid and paid work responsibilities. Lack of flexibility could also lead people aged over 55 to leave the labour market altogether when they might have preferred to work flexibly instead.
Source: Linda Boyes et al., Sustainable Working Lives, Scottish Council Foundation (0131 225 4709)
Links: Report | Summary | Literature review
Date: 2008-Jul
A survey found 'overwhelming support' for flexible working practices among companies. 86 per cent of business leaders said that their organization operated flexible working practices; and 93 per cent said that they would operate flexible working even if there were no legislative requirement.
Source: Flexible Working: The new world of work, Institute of Directors (020 7766 8866) and Unum
Links: IOD press release
Date: 2008-Jun
The government announced that an extra 4.5 million parents would gain the right to request flexible working, following the publication of an independent review. It accepted the recommendation to extend the right to request flexible working to all parents of children up to age 16 (instead of just those with children under 6 or with disabled children).
Source: Press release 15 May 2008, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (020 7215 5000) | Imelda Walsh, Right to Request Flexible Working: A review of how to extend the right to request flexible working to parents of older children, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: DBERR press release | Walsh Report | TUC press release | Fawcett Society press release | 4Children press release | IES press release | CBI press release | CIPD press release | BBC report | Personnel Today report | Telegraph report | FT report
Date: 2008-May
The opposition Conservative Party said that it would introduce a system of 'flexible parental leave' allowing parents to have up to a year off between them following the birth of a child, with entitlement swapped between the parents.
Source: Press release 14 March 2008, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Conservative Party press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report | BBC report | FT report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2008-Mar
An article examined the evolution of work hours for women and men during family formation and development. A substantial movement towards part-time work for women occurred with the first birth and continued steadily for 10 years. The gender gap in hours subsequently diminished, but persisted even after children had grown up. Births had little impact on men's hours, although there was some adjustment in the balance of work hours for couples following births and last school entry.
Source: Gillian Paull, 'Children and women's hours of work', Economic Journal, Volume 118 Issue 526
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Feb
The government published the responses to a consultation on the administration of additional paternity leave and pay. Responses had been generally positive, and indicated that respondents were keen for the administration of the scheme to be kept as straightforward as possible and to reflect existing maternity, paternity, and adoption provisions where possible. There would be a further consultation on the legal and technical aspects of the draft regulations.
Source: Work and Families: Additional Paternity Leave and Pay Administration – Government Response to Consultation, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: Response | Consultation document
Date: 2008-Feb