Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw welcomes recent improvements to the right to request flexible working including removing the length of service requirement. However, it still operates on the assumption that workers can freely negotiate flexible working when few have little power to do so. There is a risk for low-paid women workers asking for flexible working because they can be seen or perceived as unreliable, making them feel even less secure at work. 1 in 3 requests for flexible working are turned down and workers in low paid jobs have the least access to flexible working.
“The Government’s commitment to making flexible working the default is welcome, as is the right to guaranteed hours and notice of shift change but more needs to be done to level the playing field between worker and manager, to help rid the labour market of one-sided flexibility.”
Usdaw is calling on the TUC and unions to continue making the case for further changes to flexible working rights including:
- a duty to indicate options in all job adverts and subjecting refusals to greater scrutiny and appeal.
- the introduction of the right to written reasons, a right of appeal and the power of tribunals to make wider recommendations.
Paddy Lillis continues: “We welcome the Labour Government’s commitment to review the current parental leave system. Unions have a strong track record of winning improvements to parental rights for working parents and carers however our scope is limited by the current statutory framework of parental leave which is failing millions of working parents.
“The current system needs replacing to reflect the reality of today’s labour market. It needs to support both parents to make meaningful decisions about how they combine paid work with care; reduce pregnancy and maternity discrimination and promote gender equality by closing the gender pay gap.
“At the very least pay and leave rights must be accessible to all regardless of employment status and available from day one. Entitlements need to be individual, stand-alone, well-paid and help to rebalance childcare between parents more equally. Furthermore, any reform must not diminish but extend and improve existing rights and should be part of a package of wider reform including improvements to childcare and flexible working.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion