I’M sorry Minette Marrin’s doctors and drinks party acquaintances have left her feeling so negative about flexible working (Flexi-workers are a twist we can ill afford, Comment, last week). But it is unreasonable to represent her experience of flexible working as indisputable truth.

The reality I experience is that flexible working is good for business, good for employees and good for the family. What does get in the way is inflexible workers and – worse still – inflexible managers.

Paul Winter UK CEO, Corpra

WORKING IT OUT: Legislated flexi-working allows policy-makers to transfer their responsibilities to employers.

The remit of family policy used to be, and ought to be, to ensure parents with dependent children (who in many cases forgo a second income for years), keep a larger amount of their income than those without such responsibilities. Leave employers to run enterprises and parents to run families. In many cases they come to an arrangement and the attentions of government are uncalled for.

Anna Lines Chairwoman, Full-Time Mothers

GOOD FOR SOCIETY: Would Marrin prefer an alternative society whereby either women are forced to give up work on becoming pregnant (thereby wasting the skills, education and experience of half the workforce) or a society where children are brought up by people other than their parents? Employers may be slightly inconvenienced but we need to look at what is good for society as a whole.

The right is only to request to work flexibly, it is not a right to have that request granted.

Belinda Goldman London N10

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