Flexible working plans cause concern

Plans to roll out laws forcing employers to accommodate flexible working have been met with concern by small business groups.

The Prime Minister outlined the proposals as part of the government's Draft Legislative Programme, which previews legislation that will be put forward in the Queen's Speech in November.

Under one of the measures, there would be an extension of the right to work flexibly to include employees with older children

Other proposals include equal employment rights for temporary staff, and the right for employees to request time off for training.

Several small business organisations have warned that the combination of measures is likely to squeeze small firms.

"The announcement today puts small businesses in an impossible position," said the Federation of Small Businesses' (FSB's) employment chairman Alan Tyrrell.

"You can't have an extension of flexible working and at the same time clamp down on the means by which many small businesses cope with it, which is often through temporary workers."