Written by Heidi Wadsworth | 13th December 2022
According to the Office for National Statistics, 75% of mothers and 92% of fathers in the UK are employed. This means a large amount of the UK workforce is made up of working parents.
There’s no denying that being a working parent is a challenge. On top of childcare, managing a household, finances and helping with schoolwork there’s little time to focus on their own health and wellbeing.
Many businesses are already starting to think about how they can ease the stress and financial constraints on working parents, but there is always more you could be doing as an employer.
Learn how you can reduce the burden on working parents at your company and help them feel supported and valued.
Here are 7 ways you can better support working parents:
- Increase paid leave
New mothers are entitled to maternity leave of 52 weeks, no matter how long they have been working for you. Those with the correct length of service are also entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for up to 39 weeks. Mothers receive 90% of their average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks of maternity leave, then £156.66 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the following 33 weeks. The remaining 13 weeks are unpaid.
Although there is a huge variation between employers, approximately two in three businesses now offer enhanced pay and leave above the SMP. If it is financially viable for your business, we recommend you offer your employees an enhanced rate for a longer period (for example, 90% of pay for up to six months, or full pay for the first 6 weeks).
Fathers, or partners of new mothers, are entitled to up to 2 weeks Statutory Paternity Leave and Statutory Paternity Pay of £156.66 per week, if they meet the length of service criteria.
CIPD are calling on the Government to increase Statutory Paternity Leave to six weeks with near full pay, rather than the current two weeks.
- Review your benefits package
You may not be able to provide a new parent with increased wage, so there are alternatives you could consider.
Options like private medical insurance, childcare vouchers and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) could be offered. You might consider extending some of these offerings – like private medical insurance – to employee family members too.
Even smaller perks can be helpful, like making parents aware of employee discount programmes to save money on things like the weekly shop, reducing financial anxiety.
- Be more flexible
Offering different kinds of flexible working is an excellent way to support parents, at a time when they are trying to juggle childcare and working.
This could be in the form of reducing hours, compressing hours to fewer days, working from home, or sharing the job with another colleague.
Compromises that work for both you and your employee can be discussed, for example, starting an hour earlier and finishing an hour earlier to align with nursery collection times.
If children have a school play, a parents evening or afterschool activity, we encourage you allow the parent to go and be with their kids. It’s usually a one-off and shouldn’t affect their ability to get their work done. Allowing a parent to take time out will only make them value you more as an employer and want to perform better at work.
- Be sensitive to the challenges
There may be challenges that are faced along the way, especially with new parents who are adjusting to working alongside looking after a young child.
It can be a very sensitive issue to many, and you should support them if they have any queries, worries, or are finding their new work-life balance overwhelming. For example, if they are cramming five days into four days, they may find the workload too much, or may need additional support.
Keep talking to your employees to understand what worries or needs they might have. What happens at home affects work, and vice versa, so setting some boundaries both at home and at work and communicating this can make a huge difference. After all, we aren’t superheroes – we can’t do it all and they may be feeling overwhelmed and need emotional support.
- Encourage or welcome applications for Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Shared Parental Leave is a relatively unknown scheme introduced by the Government in 2015, which allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them.
If your company doesn’t already actively offer this, it may be something you can look to implement in the future. Encouraging parents to use their leave and pay flexibly (within a year of the baby’s birth) can be beneficial for new parents, but also for employers – for example, you could agree with your employee that they return to work for a specific project or deadline, while the other parent takes some leave for example, and then resume their leave in over quieter periods.
- Consider single parents
Parenting alone is really hard work, particularly when you’re juggling work, too. It’s not uncommon for people to want to demonstrate they can do it all – perhaps your colleague is putting on a brave face at work but is struggling at home. As an employer, be compassionate and make sure their manager does the same.
- Supporting mental health issues
Some new parents, including fathers and other caregivers, experience perinatal mental health issues like postpartum depression or anxiety and may need professional support to overcome them.
If you suspect your employee is suffering with their mental wellbeing, remind them of any specialist support services that may be available, like an Employee Assistance Programme or team training.
Alternatively, have contact information for any specialist charities they can speak to for support instead. Educating your employees can increase awareness and encourage earlier signposting to support.
Employers who provide support to parents and caregivers through family-friendly policies such as increased paid leave and flexible working are more likely to see benefits such as reduced absenteeism and turnover and increased retention, especially following parental leave.
For advice on building a comprehensive benefits package, implementing a flexible working policy or a mental health and wellbeing strategy, please get in touch with our team at info@realityhr.co.uk.