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Carers for people with disabilities now have the right to request flexible working, it has been revealed.
The news follows a landmark judgment by the European Court of Justice that the EU directive which states discrimination in the workplace is illegal should not be limited to just those with disabilities but also ought to include people who provide care.
Its decision came as it upheld the case of Sharon Coleman, who was denied time off work - and so forced to quit her job - to look after her disabled son.
Ms Coleman claimed that she had been the target of "discrimination by association".
With the court's decision supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, it has been suggested that the case means employers offering flexible working schemes will have to make sure all their staff have the right to make a request to work on such a basis.
It is thought that some six million carers across Britain could now have the legal ability to ask for flexible working.
Earlier this month, a tribunal in Lincoln ruled that a business was wrong in attempting to rely on exemption rules after it chose to retire a worker the day before he reached his 65th birthday.
