Equality Authority Support Statement

The aim of family friendly / work life balance arrangements should be to provide mutual benefit for the organisation and its employees.  The benefits include specific equality gains which provide compelling reasons for introducing work life balance arrangements. 

The Equality Authority identifies the following benefits:

• The positive impact on women who can remain attached to the labour market when family responsibilities are heaviest, and not suffer the disadvantages of seeking employment after an absence from the labour market,
  
• The potential to allow men to take up more caring roles in the family - research[1] amongst fathers indicates that the vast majority (82%) interviewed would like to spend more time with their families and  a significant majority (72%) of Irish mothers would like their partners to spend more time with their families.
  
• The potential to make reasonable accommodation for employees and potential employees across the nine grounds of the equality legislation including:
  
  
  • providing phased retirement arrangements for older people,
    
  • allowing people to combine annual leave for more than one year, subject to the requirements of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997,  to make extended visits to distant countries. This could be important for some minority ethnic  employees who might wish to visit family at home,
    
  • meeting the obligations under equality legislation to make reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities.
    

These arrangements have a role to play in improving the situation of women in the labour market, if they acknowledge and take remedial steps in relation to the dangers for women of slower career progression and increased concentrations in female dominated sectors arising from family friendly / work life balance arrangements.

Work life balance arrangements make the workplace more accessible to older people, minority ethnic people and people with disabilities in particular. These are all groups that experience significant levels of unemployment. Work life balance arrangements assist in removing some of the barriers to access to, and progression in employment for these groups.

It is for these reasons that the Equality Authority endorses the adoption of appropriate work life balance measures in workplaces of all sizes and in all sectors.

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Niall Crowley

Chief Executive

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[1] Fine-Davis, M. and Clarke, H., ?Ireland and Cross-National Comparisons? in ?Fathers and Mothers - Dilemmas of the Work-Life Balance ? Conference Proceedings? (Dublin: University of Dublin, Trinity College, 2002)