Vol. 536 No. 6
182 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his Department's policy on family friendly work options; if he will report on which of the following are available to staff: flexitime, job sharing, job splitting, part-time work, term-time work, alternative work arrangements or career breaks; and the number of staff who are currently availing of each of these options. [15246/01]
My Department, which employs 4,500 staff, has been very supportive in implementing the various family friendly initiatives which have been introduced in recent years.
Work sharing options which provide greater flexibility have been under discussion centrally and are likely to be introduced in the medium term. Whenever these new arrangements are finalised, it is my Department's intention to continue with a supportive policy, subject to the needs of the work and the provision of a quality customer service.
The family friendly options referred to by the Deputy which are available in my Department and the numbers availing of these options are set out in the following tabular statement:
Availability of Family Friendly Work Options
|
Option |
Number |
|
Flexitime |
2,700 |
|
Job sharing |
630 |
|
Career breaks |
270 |
|
Term-time work |
210 |
