AQW 15120/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 22/02/2021
Answered On Date: 03/03/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy what engagement her Department has had with employers to encourage supportive and flexible working arrangements for parents managing home schooling and working from home.

Answer:

Throughout this pandemic, my Department, in line with the wider Executive, has emphasised the importance of employees working from home, where possible, and has encouraged employers to support their employees in doing so.

I know that many workers and their families appreciate and value the benefits that a good employer and favourable flexible working arrangements bring, not only in terms of managing home schooling but for achieving a wider work-life balance.

I would continue to encourage employers and employees to work together in finding flexible solutions to the difficulties that home schooling can present. I would also hope that the burden of home schooling can soon be lifted from hard pressed working parents as we see the benefits of the wider roll out of the vaccination programme and, in turn, our children returning to normal schooling.

Over the last year, in order to reach and engage with as many employers as possible, my Department, through the auspices of InvestNI, has published a number of coronavirus related business guides. These are available on the NIBusinessInfo website and include advice and guidance for employers on how to facilitate homeworking. The Labour Relations Agency has also published a number of coronavirus related guides, including a practical guide to working from home.

My focus and that of my Department, throughout this difficult period, has been to ensure that employees and employers alike are supported. Measures which have helped to mitigate against the worst effects of coronavirus on the Northern Ireland economy, its employers and their employees, include the Job Retention Scheme, the Apprenticeship Return, Retain and Result Scheme and various other Business Support Schemes.

Faced with the continuing need to respond effectively to the Covid-19 crisis, my immediate focus is on economic recovery.