Great Britain: flexible work for all from the first day on the job?

Extended rights. Current flexible working rights (flexible hours, work from home) are only available to parents of children under 16 and people taking care of dependent relatives, after at least 26 weeks in the job. Yvette Cooper wants to extend them to all employees from the first day of employment, although she acknowledged that it would be hard for some companies to implement them. “There will be some areas where it’s not possible to fit round particular school hours or particular things where the nature of the business makes it hard – but what you need is the cultural change for everybody to think differently.”
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

tte Cooper wants to extend them to all employees from the first day of employment, although she acknowledged that it would be hard for some companies to implement them. “There will be some areas where it’s not possible to fit round particular school hours or particular things where the nature of the business makes it hard – but what you need is the cultural change for everybody to think differently.”

Convince employers it can be good for them too. This will to amend labor organization will proba

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
Netherlands: Uber fined over 800 million euros for automated algorithmic decisions
The news. In a decision dated 17 August, the Dutch Data Protection Authority fined ride-hailing company Uber €825 million for automating decisions regarding driver account deactivations. The...
Portugal: open consultation on the transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive
The news. On 5 August 2026, the Portuguese government published a document proposing a draft text to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive as the basis for a public consultation open until...
EU: the Commission will set up an Expert Group on the impact of AI in the world of work
The news. On 22 July 2026, the European Commission published a progress report on the EU-27’s achievements regarding the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, reinforced by the...
Belgium: toward an additional five days of leave following the birth of a child
The news. On 18 July, the Belgian federal government approved a draft bill introducing an additional five days of leave following the birth of a child. This entitlement would be added to existing...