7/23/2008 7:15:00 AM
The Independent 23 July
The government is to encourage more fathers to work part time or flexible hours so that they can spend more time with their children.Ministers will promise to extend the right to request flexible working to an extra 4.5 million people in talks with trade unions and Labour activists this weekend. It is currently available to parents with children up to the age of six, and will be extended to those whose children are up to 16.Senior Labour sources told The Independent yesterday that ministers want to rebalance the party's "family-friendly" policies to recognise the importance for children to see more of their fathers. "The key is to be modern and fair," one said. "Many mums want to work and dads to see their kids, rather than work crazy hours."Ministers believe that, as well as enabling parents to juggle work and families, the move will help society by ensuring that boys in particular have more contact with their fathers. They hope that over the long term this will reduce problems such as knife crime, which some experts have attributed partly to the absence of male role models in many families.Independent
General
E-mail a friend |
del.icio.us| Bookmark|
Permalink |
Comments
(0) |
Post RSS