Mothers hampered by lack of flexible working options

A new study has found that the majority of women identify the lack of flexible working practices as the main deterrent to returning to employment after maternity leave.

However, the WorkingMums.com survey also revealed that 47% of mothers had not asked their employers about the possibility of flexible working.

This is despite the fact that 83% admitted that they hoped to work in this way when they returned from maternity leave.

The website recommended that women talk to their bosses about this issue, noting that 57% of the mothers who did so either achieved their aims or were able to reach a compromise with their employer.

Gilliam Nissim, founder of the website, stated that 'there remains a large number of women who continue to be unaware of their rights to work flexibly or [are] unable to discuss this with their employers.'

Currently mothers are entitled to a statutory maternity leave of 52 weeks, but after this time working hours often have to be renegotiated to fit in with new commitments.