Choice and flexibility

This paper provides a critical assessment of the family-friendly reform of employment law in the UK. It begins with the analysis of the EU policies on work-life balance as the important context of the reform in the UK. The second part of the paper provides and outline of the family-friendly provisions introduced by the Labour and Coalition Governments between 1997 and 2015 and investigates the rationale behind the reform. The paper questions the consistency of the approach to the family-friendly reform of employment law adopted by the Labour and Coalition governments.