"Over the last decade there has been a revolution in the workplace. Now that women make up almost half the workforce, the relationship between work and family life has altered dramatically and the world of work must catch up. 

Allowing people to work in a sensible way that allows them to balance earning a living with looking after their children is not only good for families and children, it is good for business too. 

Although there are many excellent examples of businesses operating modern flexible workplaces, there are still too many organisations where an old-fashioned long hours culture still prevails. This is costly -  although British companies work the longest hours in Europe, our productivity levels are one of the lowest and stress-related sickness costs British business around £12 billion every year.

Patricia Hewitt