PARENTS of young children will have the right to take their employer to a tribunal to demand shorter working hours.

The planned new laws fall short of forcing companies to automatically grant flexible hours to their staff.

But employers will be forced to seriously consider requests by parents for changed hours to help them combine work and family life.

If that request is refused, an employee can go to appeal within the company, leading to arbitration or, potentially, a tribunal.

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the proposals would "revolutionise the culture of the workplace".

But the Chamber of Commerce, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, has warned the proposed legislation may backfire on the very people it is meant to help.

"A lot of companies do this already - allowing time off, allowing flexible working hours and so on," said the chamber's communications manager, Peter Morgan.

"The problem is that as soon as it's made law, it becomes surrounded by red tape. This may mean an employer could be put off from employing a working mother, because of the red tape involved."

Under the proposed legislation, employers would be able to refuse a parent's request if they can show it would be commercially damaging to the business.

The legislation - due to come into force in April 2003 - will apply to parents of children aged under six, or a disabled child up to 18.

Ms Hewitt said the new laws would bring forward change that would have taken 20 years without government intervention.

"There are still too many old fashioned businesses that operate as if men were the breadwinners and women the housewives," she said.

"Parents want more choice about how they balance work and family and the best businesses have already discovered that flexibility works for them as well as individuals."

The government is banking on only one per cent of requests - around 5,000 - ending up at a tribunal, based on current practice.

The plans have been welcomed by the National Family and Parenting Institute.

Mary MacLeod, chief executive of the NFPI, said giving parents the right to ask for flexible working hours was "a big step in the right direction".

"It's an indication that the culture is changing to a new acceptance of how important it is for parents to balance work and family responsibilities," she said.

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