Work and Families Bill
10:30 am
Norman Lamb (Shadow Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, Trade & Industry; North Norfolk, Liberal Democrat)
May I also welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Bayley? It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I, too, welcome the two Ministers to this morning’s debate and, although he did not welcome me in his introductory remarks, I welcome the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk).
We support the Bill’s objectives. In many respects, it is an acknowledgment of the revolution that has occurred in the workplace from the days when it was dominated by men, who were the single breadwinners. The world has changed much since then when people worked full-time and were the sole breadwinners. There is an economic imperative for facilitating women remaining in employment, but in a way that also meets the needs of families and of children. There is equally a need to ensure that fathers are able to achieve a better work-life balance.
There are concerns about some of the Bill’s details. There is clearly a need, probably shared on all parts, to ensure that we avoid over-burdensome obligations, particularly on small employers. One of the amendments that I have tabled seeks a way of reducing the burden on them. We must be alert to that, because although is it right to ensure that mothers and fathers can achieve the better work-life balance that we are all striving for, we must recognise that when any employee takes time off work, it has an impact on the employer. The impact is greatest on small employers, and everything must be done to ease the burden on them.