Patricia Hewitt hailed the success of the government's new flexible working rules.

Speaking at the launch of a campaign by pressure group Fathers Direct on Monday, the trade and industry secretary pointed to findings that suggested that of employees who have requested flexible working, eight in 10 of requests were fully accepted by bosses and nine per cent were partly accepted or a compromise was reached.

Evidence also indicates that since April 2003, the proportion of flexible working requests being declined has nearly halved - from 20 per cent before April 2003 to 11 per cent after, which suggests that the regulations have increased employers' willingness to consider requests seriously.

However, Liz Kendall, director of the Maternity Alliance, said that the figures disguised the difficulty many mothers and fathers face.

"Many parents feel forced to accept a cut in salary or job status in order to secure at least some flexibility in their work," she said.

Fathers

Fathers Direct hosted the conference on the anniversary of the government's introduction of the new rules.

It used the event to launch its "Charter for Father-Friendly Britain", which aims to transform Britain's public services and workplaces to encourage father involvement in children's lives.

It was developed in conjunction with a number of public and private sector bodies, including BT.

The Charter is based on evidence that fathers now do one third of parental childcare in dual earner families and research showing that children with involved fathers do better at examinations at 16, are less likely to have a criminal record at 21 and enjoy better mental health.

However, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that men, while preferring flexible working, are not asking for it, because corporate disapproval makes them fear that it will blight their job prospects.

Fathers Direct and the government are encouraging more companies to follow the example set by BT and allow more of their male staff to exploit the potential of more flexible hours.

"The Charter initiative promises to have a major impact on children's welfare. It will be good for families, for the economy, for business and will help create a fairer society for men and women, sharing work and childcare," director Duncan Fisher said.