Schedule 6 - Minor and consequential amendments
Employment
6:30 pm
Miss Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley, Labour)
I want to comment on what my hon. Friend the Minister said about the benefits to business from saving money on recruitment.
Before I became a Member of Parliament I ran a small organisation with 20 to 25 people and on several occasions dealt with requests for changes in flexible working time to deal with childcare and other commitments. It was always difficult and, because some of the requests came from highly skilled research people, the advertising costs were substantial. Accommodating those employees meant that one not only retained skilled staff but saved considerable costs in advertising and subsequently in retraining and skilling. That is only one example. People tend to think about the costs of such requests, but there are also benefits from saving money.