Essex bosses are warning moves to increase employment rights are already making life tougher for women by causing employers to think twice before taking them on.
The Essex branch of the Institute of Directors has come out against proposed changes to employment legislation - which, among other things, would force employers to offer female staff more generous maternity packages - claiming that they could seriously damage the employability of women.
Proposed changes due in 2003 will cut the period that a woman has to have worked for a company before being entitled to extended maternity leave of up to a year from a year to six months.
IoD Essex executive board member Tracey Callaghan said: "Research shows that British employers are no laggards in the provision of flexible arrangementsbut there are limitations as to what they can provide, especially those running small businesses and dealing with key employees."
Published Friday, March 15, 2002
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