Tribunal statistics obtained from a freedom of information request made by the CIPD show the right to request flexible working is not a burden on business as only 277 claims were lodged and just 10 were successful.
People Management magazine have reported that figures obtained by the CIPD under a freedom of information request show that out of 218,100 employment tribunal claims made in 2010/11, there were just 277 alleging that organisations had not observed flexible working rules. 229 of those claims were successfully conciliated by ACAS or settled out of court, and of the 48 that reached tribunal, just 10 rulings were made in favour of the employee. The CIPD argue that the figures show that apprehensions about the right to request flexible working – which is due to be extended to all employees by 2015 – had been “grossly exaggerated”, that most employers already recognise that flexible working is an integral part of the modern workplace and that extending the right to request flexible working would not be a red tape burden for businesses.
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