In a bid to make British business more family-friendly the trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers, will today announce an extension of the time in which parents can take up to 13 weeks unpaid leave.

Under the current system, parents can take this time only up until the child is 18 months old. However, the new guidelines will extend this to the child's fifth birthday, a move that will benefit 2.8 million families. It will also become illegal for employers to refuse such leave.

The Confederation of British Industry has urged the government to consider allowing a voluntary approach to the leave, claiming that finding staff to cover absent employees costs businesses thousands of pounds each year.

This is not the only change expected before the general election; special arrangements are to be made for parents of disabled children, and the prime minister is tomorrow expected to announce a child trust fund of £500 for newborn babies, to be invested in a savings account for when the child wants to go to university, set up a business or put a deposit on a house. The move would cost around £350 million, the same as giving pensioners free TV licences.