Govt committed to family friendly work - Killeen

Minister of State for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen has said the Government is committed to making the workplace more family friendly.

Marking the fifth annual Work Life Balance Day in Dublin, Mr Killeen said the ability to balance work and life outside of work has become increasingly important for many people in Ireland.

He said the Government was pursuing a better work/life balance for employees by the provision of statutory entitlements through legal measures such as maternity leave, adoptive leave, carer's leave and parental leave.

But also it was encouraging a voluntary approach at the level of the enterprise, he said. The agenda cannot be progressed without the inclusion of the social partners, he added.

Mr Killeen said that under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, a National Framework Committee for Family Friendly Policies has been established.

A survey, published yesterday to coincide with Work Life Balance Day, revealed that growing numbers of workers are now demanding more flexible working hours with one-third willing to take an income drop to reduce hours.

The irishjobs.ie survey found 52 per cent of respondents said they were looking for a job with more flexible working conditions while only 30 per cent felt their employers offered flexible conditions.

Opinion was divided on whether respondents felt they had achieved a good balance between work and personal life, with 44 per cent believing they had and 42 per cent believing they had not.

The Department of Health & Children today published guidelines for employers and employees on how to facilitate combining breastfeeding and work.

The Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provides that breastfeeding mothers will be entitled to paid time off for the purposes of breastfeeding or expressing breast milk in the workplace where facilities are provided by the employer.

It also states that where facilities are not provided it is incumbent on the employer to reduce working hours (on full pay) to facilitate breastfeeding.