Open AccessWork-life balance and the legal right to request flexible working arrangements
Author(s) -
Lisa Dancaster
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir ekonomiese en bestuurswetenskappe/south african journal of economic and management sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.277
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 2222-3436
pISSN - 1015-8812
DOI - 10.4102/sajems.v9i2.1144
Subject(s) - unfair dismissal , dismissal , legislation , work (physics) , balance (ability) , family friendly , work–life balance , government (linguistics) , state (computer science) , business , family life , public relations , law and economics , law , political science , economics , engineering , psychology , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm , neuroscience , computer science , socioeconomics
In 2003, eligible employees in the United Kingdom acquired the legal right to request flexible working arrangements. The government believes that this new right will provide parents with greater choice and support in balancing work and childcare, whilst being compatible with business efficiency. This article critically appraises this new right and examines how it is applied in relation to other UK legislation on discrimination and unfair dismissal. An overview of international studies on corporate efforts to introduce family-friendly arrangements, and an overview of governmental efforts to address the reconciliation of work and family-life is provided in this article, with a view to arguing that there is a need, in South Africa, for state policy regarding work-life balance and for further research into corporate efforts to introduce family-friendly work arrangements