‘In terms of government regulation on family and parental rights, all the benefits go to women and men who receive little help in becoming family friendly.’

Discuss.

• It will be very tempting to answer this question in a way that does not include any law! You could quote figures about the role of women in caring for children and the many examples of sex discrimination that occur. If you do this, you will probably fail. You need to remember that this is an employment law question, so it is inviting you to display a reflective analysis of the legal aspects of family-friendly policies.
• You will therefore need to provide some analysis of the rules on pregnancy and maternity leave, shared parental leave, parental leave, paternity leave, and flexible working, citing some of the most relevant cases.
• You will also need to be reflective. Many of the rules are intended to assist women in the labour market, but this reflects the realities of discrimination against women and the predominant role of women as carers. You will be able to use some of the cases in relation to these matters to show that this discrimination takes place. Some of the measures are really gender neutral, such as the regulations on parental leave and time off for dependants. It is likely, however, that most people taking advantage of them will be women. Think about whether more could and should be done for men. This is where reading articles will come in useful, because they will give you a wider perspective, e.g. whether shared parental  leave should be paid as highly as is maternity leave .
• For more examination material you should read Questions and Answers Employment Law 2018 and 2015 by Roseanne Russell, published by Oxford University Press.