Yvette Cooper seems to have dropped any softly-softly approach to reforming the British labour market and dropped a big one on the business community, not least the business secretary Lord Mandelson.

Combined with yesterday’s announcement of the 3 month paternity leave, the right for everyone to ‘ask’ for flexible working arrangements clearly defines a new approach to Britain’s labour market in favour of lifestyle/family versus money/working hours. HR departments around the country are staring teary-eyed at the mountain of paperwork that awaits.

Is this a reaction to cuddly Cameron’s ‘broken Britain’? Legislation that will allow Britain’s families to be families rather than chasing the mighty £ at the cost family time. Who cares? If Cooper pulls it off it will finally tip the scales in favour of families.

No longer will parents be the only ones that can claim flexible work – it’ll be a level playing field. If you don’t want flextime, as a non-parent, don’t have it. But it is there if you want it and that makes all the difference in the subtle hierarchies of the workplace. Before parents had something the others didn’t, now they can choose to use what everyone has the option to use. Big difference.

This is Cooper’s email, whether you’re a Brit or not send her a message of support. She’s going up against small-minded business and the Dark Lord himself, she’s going to need it.

BTW – this is the second day in a row I’ve big’d up a labour minister, it won’t become a habit, I promise.

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New rights for families are good news for business | Left Foot Forward

It is also worth noting that rights including the right to request flexible working, equal treatment rights for part-time workers and stronger protection against unfair dismissal have played a role in limiting job losses during the …

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Further, by changing existing maternity pay into a flexible parent pay that working parents receive at the same rate, bureaucracy can be removed and new flexibility can be introduced. With the payment going to families and not being …

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Workers spend on average 52.6 minutes commuting every day, but London workers have the longest commute, averaging 78 minutes, followed by workers in the South East who travel for 56.4 minutes a day.

Workers in Wales and the South West have the shortest average journeys to work of 41 minutes and 44.8 minutes respectively.

Data from the official Labour Force Survey revealed that men working full-time spend 7.6 minutes longer commuting than women who work full-time.

Men in the South East spend 13.6 minutes more commuting to work than women – the largest gap in the UK.

Meanwhile workers in well paid jobs, such as managers and senior officials (68.6 minutes) and professionals (61.4 minutes), have the longest commute times while those in low paid occupations, such as cleaners and labourers (40.4 minutes) and retail and customer services (41.4 minutes), have the shortest commutes.

Employees working part-time hours were also found to have shorter average commute times than full-time workers.

Men working full-time spend 60.4 minutes commuting compared to 42 minutes when they work part-time, while women working full-time spend 52.8 minutes travelling to work compared to 38.6 minutes for part-timers.

Brendan Barber, the TUC’s General Secretary, said: “UK staff experience a double-whammy of working some of the longest hours in Europe and then spending nearly an hour every day getting to and from work.

“All that wasted working time spent stuck on crowded trains and congested roads costs the economy over a quarter of a billion pounds every year, not to mention the stress it causes staff and the time it means they miss spending with friends and family.

“Parents who can’t do long commutes because of school or nursery runs often have to take lower-paid work nearer home instead.

“With employers focused on getting through the recession, many will have taken their eye off the ball in offering flexible working.

“But remote working and flexible shifts can reduce commute times, save on office space and reduce energy costs – saving companies money and helping staff enjoy a better work-life balance.”

Article from Personneltoday.com