Fathers have been urged to make use of new rights to part-time work when the government extends the law on flexible employment next April.

Imelda Walsh, Human Resources Director of Sainsbury’s, who advises the government on the future of flexible work, has warned that mothers are making far more use of the existing right to request flexible work than fathers.

The entire flexible work agenda was in danger of being seen as another problem with employing women unless more fathers made use of it, she said.

Her warning, in an interview with The Times, comes as ministers said today that all parents with children 16 years old or under would get the right to request flexible work, in line with Ms Walsh's recommendations. The right is currently restricted to parents with children under six years old.

The right to request was introduced in 2003 and about one million more parents with young children are now working flexibly as a result. Under the change, 4.5 million more parents will become eligible.

Ms Walsh’s review found more than three times as many mothers as fathers have made use of the right. Of the fathers who have asked to work part time or from home, 23 per cent have been turned down by their employer, compared with only 13 per cent of mothers.

Speaking to The Times, she urged the government to do what it can to encourage fathers to make more use of their rights and welcomed reports of a major campaign on the issue next year when the new rights come into effect.

“This is an issue of importance to both men and women so it is a concern that men are less likely to ask to work flexibly, then twice as likely to be turned down. We need to tackle that and make sure they do not feel nervous about making the request,” she said.

“It is also important that men should know flexible work is not always about reducing your hours. It’s also about where you work, when you start and finish, and with school sometimes that can make all the difference.”

Business leaders have criticised her recommendations to extend the option of flexible work to so many more employees with such short notice.

Ms Walsh replied that she thought that sometimes employers were forgetting it was only a right to request, not a guarantee of part-time work.

“(Employers) can always say no," she pointed out.

"There are eight different grounds on which that can turn down a request. I have turned down requests when I think we cannot make it work. Most commonly it has been individuals seeking to reduce their hours on Mondays or Fridays when too many people are off on those days already.”

Alan Tyrrell, employment chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said that the dramatic extension would be very difficult for small businesses to cope with, especially since new rights for agency and temporary staff are coming into force.

“The current flexible working regime seems to be working, but the government should be cautious about extending it too far, which could be damaging to small businesses and, as a result, the millions of people they employ,” he said.

“Bringing in a whole new set of complicated employment regulations for temporary workers on top of that could make the situation untenable for many small businesses.”

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