The majority of firms plan to ignore new flexible working regulations and will continue to follow their own procedures.
A report by law firm Linklaters and campaigning charity Parents at Work reveals more than 50 per cent of firms would have to overhaul their procedures in order to comply with the new legislation.
However, three-quarters of those polled said the new laws would not make them more likely to grant a flexible working request because they had their own rules in place.
Employers expressed concern the new system would be more unwieldy than their current methods of dealing with requests.
The flexible working legislation comes into force on April 6. Under the new laws, parents of children under the age of six or disabled children under the age of 18 will be entitled to request flexible hours.
Thursday March 27 2003
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