The Coalition Government has re-confirmed its commitment to extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, with consultation starting shortly, just as a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that flexible working is the most valued benefit for staff.

In the document ‘The Coalition: Our programme for Government' the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition set out proposals to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees. In the Commons this month, BIS Minister Edward Davey was asked by Harriett Baldwin MP what plans he has to fulfil this commitment. Mr Davey confirmed that the Government will be extending the right and that the BIS will be consulting businesses and listening to their views, with the hope of bringing in proposals to the House later in the year.

This announcement follows the publication of a survey by the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, ‘Employees rate work-life balance over bonus', which has found that flexible working is the most valued benefit for employees. Of the 1,167 respondents who took part in the survey, 47% named it as their most important benefit, with bonuses in second place, preferred by 19% of respondents. A higher number of employees see an improved work-life balance as more attainable in the long term than increased responsibility and salary.