Businesses and working families have been invited to submit their views on how the system for shared parental leave and pay will work.

Independent research has found that Acas intervention in industrial disputes helps reach a settlement in over eight out of ten cases.

Gerwyn Davies, Labour Market Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), has said the latest ONS statistics highlight the gradual re-engineering of the UK labour market during the past two years. He said:

The European Commission has agreed to a joint proposal from the European social partners to extend the negotiating period on reviewing the Working Time Directive to 31st December 2012, given that their negotiations are making progress.