Forward planning can help small business face the challenge of coping with the government’s increasing family-friendly legislation, it has been claimed.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) said ‘the government’s commitment to work-life balance highlights family-friendly policies as an enduring area of development’, but the right action by firms could make it a ‘win-win situation for both employers and employees’.
Professor Robin Jarvis, head of ACCA’s small business unit, said:
“[Small firms] are likely to wear the heaviest burden as they struggle with increased administration loads and the reality that having a staff member on leave can typically mean doing without a quarter or even a third of a small business’ workforce.”
Jarvis said that while the changes were positive for encouraging employee welfare and retention, the government needs to recognise the extra administration that is likely to fall on managers of small firms which often do not have human resource departments.
However, ACCA argued that small businesses often have existing unofficial family-friendly policies but should get something down on paper.
“Many [small firms] could find that to comply with flexible working requirements they will just need to formalise agreements already in practice,” added Jarvis.
“It makes sense to include a work life-balance plan as part of the overall business plan, as it will help the implementation of measures to encourage parents to return to work.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
