Under the new system new parents will be able to alternate or share time off for the first year, in a move which the government said would bring work-life balance into the 21st century.

Replacing existing "old-fashioned and rigid" workplace rules, the reforms will also see fathers gain a new right to take unpaid leave for two antenatal appointments and the introduction of a new statutory parental leave pay to replace the current maternity leave allowance.

The parent taking the first six weeks of leave will receive 90% of average earnings, with £135.45 per week for the next 33 weeks. The remaining 13 weeks of leave would be unpaid.

Other reforms include the right for adoptive parents to be entitled to the same pay and leave as birth parents and flexible working to be extended to all employees.

Announcing the bill business minister Jo Swinson said: "Employers will soon get used to more men taking time off after their child is born and more mothers returning to work earlier, shattering the perception that it is mainly a woman’s role to stay at home and look after the child.

"These measures will really help our aim of ensuring more businesses are making best use of women’s talents throughout the organisation, from the boardroom to the shop floor," she added.

Swinson said that the bill would allow fathers to have greater involvement in the early stages of pregnancy and the raising of their child.

She asserted that the new system was good for business, creating a more "motivated and flexible, talented" workforce.

"Employers will be able to attract and retain women and prevent them from dropping out of the world of work once they start a family. Flexible working will also help widen the pool of talent in the labour market, helping to drive growth.

But business organisations have raised concerns that the reforms will created tensions between employers and staff that want to change their work patterns.

Policy advisor at the Forum of Private Business, Robert Downes said: "While we just don’t know yet how many employees will take this offer up, the problem for employers is that they will have to plan for it regardless.

"This is time consuming and won’t go down well with most employers – nobody likes pointless form filling. They will also have to consider each application, under the new rules they can’t just dismiss out of hand. This is again more work for employers."

BAPC chairman Sidney Bobb said the reforms would undoubtedly have an impact within the print industry where companies tended to be of a modest size and where there was no slack.

"The economic climate has meant that companies have to operate with the least number of staff as is practicable, there are just no spare people about to provide coverage for absenteeism, whatever the reason," he added.

"Flexible working arrangements simply do not suit a deadline business where in order to produce work, a team has to perform. Customers cannot be advised that their work will be late as a result of flexible working – they want their job on time and are not concerned about the issues their supplier has to face," he said.

Bobb added that although employers had a responsibility of care it was inevitable that there would be some conflict and tension.

However BPIF chief executive Kathy Woodward said she doubted the new measures would be felt across the industry.

She said: "In reality I don’t think it will have a huge impact. We already have a generation of shared responsibility for child care, particularly where couples are working shifts."