Working parents have been granted the right to request time off work to care for their children, under new guidelines announced by the government.

Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt has set out the "family friendly" policy alongside a report from the government's work and parents taskforce.

"Families have changed enormously over the last 20 to 30 years and workplaces have still got to catch up. Good employers are already doing it because they realise that flexibility actually gives them a better motivated workforce as well as being better for families," she said.

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

Ruth Lea, head of the policy unit at the Institute of Directors, told ePolitix.com: "Some will see this case as a triumph for working women but it is counter productive. There are plenty of employers who will be more reluctant to take on young women. The idea that women are not going to do shift work is taking the Michael out of sex equality.

"It gets to the point where you think, 'Why should I do all the unsociable hours just because I don't have kids?' The working parents were taken on on the same terms and conditions and, presumably, the same pay. There is already a movement growing in America in support of childless workers who feel they are subsidising working parent colleagues."

Forum Response: Unison

A spokeswoman for Unison told ePolitix.com: "We welcome the move and believe it to be a step forward. However, we would have liked to have seen a legal requirement to assist parents when they want to return to work on a part time basis as at the moment they have to endure a very difficult process."