Northumberland Labour is calling for flexible working to continue and increase.

The call comes because the pandemic has shown that employers can be flexible in allowing their employees to work at home at hours which can meet both business and family needs.

Northumberland Labour deputy leader Liz Simpson said: “Labour was laughed at when they said broadband was a human right in the modern world, but this has been shown to be true in the pandemic. Children, especially those in rural areas, without access to broadband have suffered as schools worked hard to keep their education and learning going.

“And many families had one or more people working at home, trying to balance work with home schooling and caring for children and dependents.

“If anything good comes from this pandemic it should be that we need to take a fresh look at working practices. Employers also need to be flexible around people’s family responsibilities.

“We believe employees will be more committed to an employer who treats them as an individual and recognises that people want to work, but also have other responsibilities such as dropping children off at school and caring for relatives.