Are individuals able to control their working lives and find greater flexibility in their working hours? Can they find a pattern to fit with their other responsibilities and ambitions? Or are workers having to fit their lives around the demands of the market and patterns which reduce business costs? Jean Lambert has been the Green Party Member for London since 1996. She won the 2005 MEP award for Justice and Human Rights and sits on the Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. For this committee, Jean Lambert works on issues such as sustainability, social inclusion, workers’ rights, corporate social responsibility and social security. The author of a consultative document on “Flexible Working” in 2004 she is about to publish an updated report this month. She will discuss UK progress in this important aspect of social policy making.