7 November 2007

Kedgley's Flexi-work Bill expanded, could pass by Christmas

Green MP Sue Kedgley said she is delighted that her Flexible Working Arrangements Bill will complete its committee reading stages in Parliament today, and should have its final reading and become law before the end of the year.

Ms Kedgley said she was particularly pleased that the new legal right to request flexible working hours will be extended to any employee with caring responsibilities.

"Any employee who is looking after children, dependent or disabled adults, or whänau, will have a right to request flexitime arrangements - changing their start and finish times, adjusting the hours they work, seeking to work from home, or any other flexible arrangement that will enable them to better juggle the competing demands of paid employment and caring responsibilities.

"Employers will have a statutory duty to consider any such request seriously, and to seek to accommodate it," Ms Kedgley says.

Ms Kedgley said she hoped the bill would help usher in a more flexible working hours culture in New Zealand, as it has in the United Kingdom.

"New Zealand has one of the longest and most inflexible working hours in the world, and the amount of time parents are able to spend with their children has declined steeply as a result.

"New Zealanders are in danger of becoming a nation of wage slaves, with no time for their children or community work. Many employees are feeling overloaded, tired and chronically stressed while trying to juggle full time paid work and caring for families at the same time - and we are starting to realise the price society is paying for this. "

"I hope this Bill will help to ease this stress, and encourage more flexible workplaces which seek to meet the needs of employees wherever possible.

Ms Kedgley said flexible working arrangements not only made life easier for parents and children but had significant benefits for employers and the economy as a whole.

"Numerous studies have shown that employees who are offered flexible working arrangements are more motivated and productive. Overall, studies indicate they are absent less often, have fewer stress related health problems and there is a generally lower incidence of staff turnover in firms that have flexible work arrangements in place," Ms Kedgley says.

ENDS

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