Should MP’s be able to job share?
Should MP’s be able to job share?
Readers may already be aware of this case.
It relates to two women, Clare Phipps and Sarah Cope who sought to stand for election in May 2015. The unusual aspect here was that they made a joint nomination in that they would effectively job share the role of MP in the event that they were elected. The Returning Officer for Basingstoke refused this and treated their nomination application as invalid. The pair decided to take the matter to the High Court to seek authority to have the decision judicially reviewed. However, sadly for Phipps and Cope, the High Court have denied their application and found that the initial decision was ‘unarguably correct’ on the present law.
Turning to the more day-to-day aspects of employment law, we are all fairly used to the expectation on employers that flexible working can be achieved? However, it appears that this is not reflected in the case of members of parliament. Do you think this is right?