I need to go part-time for at least six months to take on some caring responsibilities. However, my employer isn't the most approachable. How can I get them to respond to my flexible working request favourably? And how do I ensure my job is protected as a full-time position in the long term?

We will answer this question in the 3 April issue of Community Care. We want to publish readers' advice too - please send it to natalie.valios@rbi.co.uk by Monday 24 March, or hit reply

The way things stand at the moment is this......parents of a child under 6 (or 18 inthe case of a disabled child) have the right to  request flexible working. There is no automatic right to have your request granted but if you follow the correct policy the employer must have very good reasons for refusing and must be able to demonstrate this at an ET. Staff who care for a dependant adult ( mother,husband, sister etc) have recently been given the same statutory right to request flexible working also and it is proposed that this right will soon be extended to those with children over the age of 6 also. Good employers are one step ahead of the law and many organisations have thier own policies in place that may actually grant you more than the statutory rights. Check it out and you may be pleasantly surprised here. The EOC website has some advice regarding this.