Vol. 530 No. 6
129 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which his Department intends to mark the family friendly workplace day on 1 March 2001; the initiatives he has in this area; and the way in which family friendly initiatives are being implemented for the staff in his Department. [4712/01]
The Department of Foreign Affairs recognises and fully appreciates the need for family oriented human resources policies which assist staff in successfully meeting work, family, study and personal commitments.
In addition to meeting our statutory obligations with regard to annual, maternity, adoptive, parental, compassionate and force majeure leave, for example, we also have in place and facilitate schemes providing for flexible working hours, jobsharing, study and exam leave, career breaks, special leave and termtime leave. More flexible work-sharing arrangements will be introduced later this year.
In addition to notifying all staff at home and abroad about family friendly workplace day, we have invited suggestions as to how best to mark it. Our initiatives will include a "go-home-on-time-day" on 1 March.
