Appointed by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt MP, the Taskforce’s proposals became the basis of the Right to Request Flexible Working.
Flexible working had been the single biggest issue raised by consultees during the consultation for the ‘Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice’ Green Paper of December 2000. Responding to this, in June 2001, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry set up the independent Work and Parents Taskforce to examine how to meet parents’ desire for more flexible work patterns in a way that is compatible with business efficiency
The Chair was Professor Sir George Bain (who was also Chair of the Low Pay Commission). Its members were:
- Fiona Cannon, Equal Opportunities Commission
- Kay Carberry, TUC Head of Equal Rights
- John Cridland, Deputy Director General, Confederation of British Industry
- Michael Griffin, Director of Human Resources, King’s College Hospital Trust
- Anne Mintoe OBE, Director Human Resources, Smiths Group plc
- Sue Monk, joint CEO Parents At Work
- Simon Topman, Managing Director, J Hudson & Co (ACME Whistles) Ltd
- Martyn Gayle, Martyn Gale at Aveda