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The Prime Minister has signalled that he will extend the right to request flexible working to all parents with children aged up to 12.

Currently, the right to request flexible working is restricted to parents whose children are less than six-years old or are disabled. Some 6m parents fall into this category but the expanded plans would benefit a further 4.5m parents.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the employment trade body, believes Gordon Brown should be "bolder" and extend the right to request to all workers. Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser, said: "We wholly support moves to extend the 'right to request' to more parents. But the government should be bolder still and extend the right to all workers. The danger with ever larger groups of people entitled to request flexible working, and a smaller number not entitled to do so, is that divisions will grow up in the workplace.

"An extension of the right to request to all workers would level the playing field, without compelling employers to offer flexible working where this is incompatible with business needs. Our research shows that it would also deliver improved employee engagement, and therefore contribute to boosting productivity and performance in the workplace."

The CIPD praised the government's "light touch" approach to such legislation, yet claimed that the government was yielding to those "most vocal in the business lobby" who were against the legislation at its onset last year and who fear that a shift to increased flexible working will put a damaging strain on the business community.