Legislation changes to be introduced on Monday will see many single parents forced to find work while also caring for children as young as 12.
The changes mean that from November 24, a lone parent's Income Support may be stopped when their youngest child is aged 12 or over, or will turn 12 in the next year. This will be changed to 10 in 2009 and seven in 2010.
Single parents who fall into this category will need to find work for at least 16 hours a week or face a potential 40% cut in their benefit payments.
Further discussion on the issue can be found on the Guardian's blog pages, but we're more concerned with the figure of 16 hours per week.
Many people already work part time, and do so very well. But we wanted to find out whether bdaily readers think someone looking for 16 hours work a week would be successful in your workplace?
This week's Friday Poll asks: Could someone working a 16-hour week function effectively in your office?
No, they wouldn't be there long enough
Yes, quality of work is more important than quantity
