I Wonder How Employers Can Support Working Parents

Becoming a parent is a life-changing experience and unique to every family. While it is a joyful and exciting chapter, the reality of juggling family responsibilities with professional commitments soon becomes the reality. Parents are often managing competing priorities each day, and this pressure can be amplified upon returning to work or whilst at work. Employers therefore have a critical role to play in easing this transition by developing flexible, compassionate and inclusive working environments and practices that support the evolving needs of working parents.

The Cost of Childcare and Retaining Talent

Remote’s 2023 Working Parents Survey, which included over 1,500 working parents of children under five, found that:

• 73% had taken a pay cut or reduced their hours due to lack of affordable childcare.
• 73% were concerned about return-to-office mandates increasing childcare costs.
• 63% had received negative feedback for taking unplanned time off for a sick child.
• 75% of parents felt guilty or anxious about taking childcare-related time off, with working mothers more likely to feel this way than fathers.

Flexible working hours were the top priority for those surveyed, even ahead of pay and job security.

These figures highlight the urgency for employers to re-evaluate how they support working parents, not just to improve wellbeing but to retain talent and remain competitive.

What Can Employers Do to Support Working Parents?

Creating a truly supportive environment for working parents involves more than surface-level policies. It requires a culture that understands and respects family responsibilities as well as promotes flexibility as a standard practice. Below are some key actions and considerations employers can take in response to the support working parents need and require.

1. Ask and listen to what parents need

Start by consulting your people. Speak to a diverse range of employees from parents and non-parents with the aim to understand what their concerns are, where the shortfalls are internally and explore possible solutions where appropriate.

By auditing the organisation’s culture and practices, employers encourage open conversations about the challenges working parents and staff are facing. When working parents see that their needs are respected and normalised, they are more likely to feel included and not afraid to seek support where needed.

2. Offer flexible working hours

Allow parents to split or adapt their working hours to suit their needs. Flexibility can take many forms such as staggered start times, compressed hours, part-time roles or hybrid work models. By exploring avenues for parents to work more flexibly, it fosters trust and productivity, helping employees manage childcare without sacrificing their job, career progress or income.

3. Create family-friendly policies

Revisit your family policies and consider whether the family policies such as maternity, paternity, parental leave, neonatal care and carer’s leave policies, amongst others, are equitable and inclusive?

For example, many working mothers on lower incomes take only 23 weeks of maternity leave which equates to four months less than the UK average. This is often because they cannot afford any more time off and are forced back into the workplace before they are truly ready. Employers can help ease this pressure by offering enhanced maternity and/or paternity pay, or by topping up statutory maternity pay, especially during the crucial early months of leave. Even small contributions beyond the legal minimum can make a meaningful difference for low-income families. Employers could also consider flexible return-to-work options such as phased returns or part-time hours, which allow new parents to ease back into work without sacrificing income or job security.

4. Support working parents through every stage of parenthood

Many workplace conversations focus on early-stage parenting, but the reality is that parenting challenges evolve over time, from nursery drop-offs and sick days in the toddler years to navigating school holidays, teenage mental health and even older care responsibilities.

Employers should consider the full parenting journey and build policies that offer ongoing support. Employers can consider:

• family leave for school transitions or exam periods;
• allowing flexible working during school holidays; and
• providing access to mental health or counselling services for parents and their children.

By recognising the growing challenges parents face throughout their journey, employers demonstrate long-term commitment to employee wellbeing.

5. Train and empower line managers

Supportive line managers can make or break the working parent experience and this can only be achieved if managers are well equipped to deal with these workplace matters. Training managers is therefore essential to ensure they understand the importance of flexibility, empathy and consistency.

Supporting working parents is not just the right thing to do, it is a business imperative. With growing awareness of the pressures facing modern families, employers must proactively adapt. From introducing flexible schedules and fair parental leave to creating a culture of trust and empathy, there are many ways organisations can make a meaningful difference. When working parents feel heard, understood and supported, they bring their best to work and that is something every organisation can benefit from.

Need Expert Advice?

Whether you're reviewing flexible working practices, updating family-friendly policies or looking to train your managers on how to support working parents in the workplace, we can help you implement solutions that work for your people and your business, our Employment Law Team is here to help. Contact us on 02380717717 or email employment@warnergoodman.co.uk for tailored advice.

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