Labour is putting itself on a collision course with business today by proposing that all employees should have the right to request part-time work.

All 29 million workers should have a right that is at present granted only to parents with young families, according to the minister in charge of family policy.

Beverley Hughes, the Minister for Children, calls for changes to reflect the growing demand of people to be able to work flexibly. She proposes that all jobs be advertised as possible part-time or flexitime positions, unless there is a sound business case not to.

Her proposals are contained in Politics for a New Generation, a book on Labour’s future agenda with contributions from a host of the Government’s rising stars.

Although Ms Hughes is the first minister to call publicly for a radical extension of part-time work, her views are widely supported across the Government. But business chiefs have said that thousands of companies would simply not be able to cope with a universal right to ask for part-time work.

The Government introduced the “right to request” flexible work in 2003 for parents with children under six. Since then, 22 per cent of eligible employees have requested it and 80 per cent of bosses have agreed.

Although the employer can refuse, he must show the request has been considered seriously and, if it goes to tribunal, prove that he had a good reason. This April the right will be extended to the 2.8 million people who care for elderly or sick relatives.

Susan Andersen, director of human resources policy at the CBI said that extending the rights to all employees so soon after the extension to carers would risk jeopardising the policy’s success. She said: “Only by having a gradual and phased extension can we avoid firms being deluged under a sudden increase in requests.

“Firms must have the time they require to accommodate the varying needs of their staff and it would be foolish to put the continued success of the policy at risk. We must also bear in mind the fact that companies still need to get the job done.”

Small businesses are the companies that struggle most to implement new work rights.

The Federation of Small Businesses believes that the needs of small companies are being ignored. Stephen Alambritis, its head of parliamentary affairs, said: “Staff are about to see their paid holiday increased from 20 days to 24, they get time off for maternity, paternity and parental leave, trade union duties and jury service, and there are a host of new rights under the working time directive.

“I think there is a danger of going over the top where the realities of business are ignored. The temperature of this whole debate needs to go down and the current regime tested against a more difficult economic backdrop before we take a step further. The needs of business have got to be respected.”

But Ms Hughes writes in the book: “With more women at work, an ageing population and many people aspiring to volunteer or to further develop their skills, government and employers need to recognise that balancing work and life is an issue that’s not going away. We need a step change.”

The book will be published in the summer by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

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