Tell CBI what you think employers could do for parents to make it easier to balance work and family life? £250 voucher to be won!NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

As part of The Great Business Debate campaign, The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters think employers could do better to make it easier for parents to balance work and family life.

Here’s what CBI say, “The Great Business Debate is a CBI led campaign to help build public confidence in business.

"Only around half of people believe business makes a positive contribution to society and we want to play a part in increasing that figure. We are doing this by:
• Setting out the facts and combatting myths about what business does and the contribution it makes
• Encouraging people to give us their views on business and where it needs to do more
• Providing an opportunity for business to take part in a constructive conversation about what it does and how it does it

"As employees, our experiences of working life have a big impact on our view of business. Companies of all sizes rely on their people for success, and want to make use of the best talents available. But there is an ongoing debate about whether employers are doing enough to ensure parents – and especially mums – are supported to balance their family and work life, without having to sacrifice one for the other. We're sponsoring this discussion with Mumsnetters to hear your views.”

So, what do you think employers could do to make it easier for parents returning to work to find a balance between family life and work? Maybe you’d like more employers to encourage flexible working hours? Or perhaps to prioritise parents when employees request to have annual leave during school holidays? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who comments on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £250 Love2Shop voucher.

CBI are also hosting a round table event on this topic on Wednesday 26th November in Central London, which will be attended by business leaders and not-for-profit organisations, as well as Justine, our CEO. There are two places reserved for Mumsnetters also. If you’d be interested in attending then please PM me, we will then select two Mumsnetters at random.

Please note: Please be aware your anonymised comments may be re-used by the CBI on their websites, over social media and for broader PR purposes.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

What would work for me would be term time only contracts, flexible working hours plus on site childcare so you could check on your child or continue to breastfeed. Also a big must discounted childcare and a chance to make your hours up if your child is ill a lot and you have to take extra time off.
I don't know if this would work but maybe there could be a fund that you could pay into when you start work that would enable you in the future when you do have kids to have your childcare for free like an insurance? because its the cost of childcare and the time off work you have to have when your child is ill that hinders you financially.

Better maternity pay over and above statutory. As the main bread winner, I am struggling to be able to justify having the second child I'm desperate for, as we just can't afford for our income to drop to SMP. (My previous employer had a good maternity package which meant we could have DS). Not every household can rely on their partner to cover the costs.

Working from home. As poster said above, I actually get far more done without interruptions, also do housework in my lunch hour and can pick DS up earlier. I'm more productive and less stressed. It's win win.

What would have made a big difference for me would be an understanding attitude to having to request time off if the children are sick and can't go to childcare. Especially on my return to work when children are suddenly exposed to all the germs. Rather than being told to ask a neighbour to look after them

Being genuinely understanding when I might have to stay at home to care for my sick child. To be extra understanding because DC also has some special needs. To trust me, that I would only do this when I had no other option; perhaps to give me the chance to make up missed working hours at another time when it would be possible to do so. - Increased flexibility, in other words!

To be as flexible as possible over homeworking/ time off during school holidays, TD days, etc. To appreciate that although a working parent may well have more in the way of demands from home on them, they may also, equally, perhaps have something extra to offer a workplace in terms of understanding, tolerance, compassion etc.... the wider education that parenthood can confer!

More expectation that fathers do their share of childcare would help, so it's not seen as a women's problem.
Not timetabling meetings or seminars outside regular working (ie. nursery/childminder/afterschool club) hours. My organisation is bad at this. And though they amend their ways when asked, it's one more thing for the working parent with childcare commitments to have to negotiate and feel awkward about.
Workplace nurseries can be great, we had one and it really helped a huge amount - it also ties employees in to the organisation, it's hard to leave a good nursery!
More thought about school terms/holidays and not putting lots of extra work in the school holidays. This happens in my organisation as the managers tend to have no children or adult children and think that August/Easter are just perfect for extra intense work.
Flexibility and working from home are great, my organisation does offer this and it makes a huge difference.

Flexible working. Just like all the other posters. Flexible working, outcomes not attendance are key. I work for the civil service and despite the pay, flexible working keeps me here.

For flexible working to be more than just an on-paper policy, which is all it is in many businesses. It's there because they legally have to have a policy, but in reality all requests are answered with a 'no'.

Also echoing what another poster said - a trusted (to work from home, for example), appreciated employee is more loyal, less likely to leave and will more likely go the extra mile.

For businesses to realise that offering parental (and other) benefits that are similar to those in Scandinavian countries makes them attractive to the best people and an aspiration. Makes employees feel appreciated too, which links to above.

Agree with the first poster on this thread. It's not just about making it easier for women, it's about making it easier for parents.

My husband is the one to do the nursery drop off and pick up - he works much closer to home than me. He is the one that occasionally needs to leave at short notice or rearrange his schedule. I work for a much smaller company, earn more and commute further so it just makes sense that he is the one that deals with childcare related issues.

I do think more understanding around maternity leave is important - I've only ever worked places where it is at best seen as inconvenient at worst a reason to try and get rid of the employee in question. Equally I think women can take too much liberty with pregnancy and childcare - at the end of the day people do have a business to run.

Flexible working. I put in far more hours than I take back cos I'm allowed to compress my working week and finish at 1pm on Friday which means I can pick my ds up from school.

Also options to buy extra annual leave is great and means that I can plan better

The biggest thing that employers could do is to support us as parents to achieve a healthy work life balance. I think that the following things could support this:

• Offering paid parental leave, so that when we have a sick child we don't have to take unpaid leave, annual leave or call in sick ourselves ( I haven't done this but I know colleagues who have)
• Allowing parents time off to attend assemblies, sports days and school plays.

I realise that this stuff is sometimes a bit of a challenge to manage, but my employers get so much more flexibility and commitment from me-because I know that they value my role as my child's parent.

Pay women the same money as men get paid for the same role. If you balance up the financial inequalities then work life balance for women is automatically easier.

As echoed flexible working is the key. I'm lucky where I work I have 3 children one with a blood disorder & a very understanding boss. Who where it has been possible worked my hours around so I can do pick up & drop offs.
On site nursery/after school clubs are brilliant.
I have to say I have been a stay at home mom, worked part time & full & the happiest I've been & my work got the best from me when I had part time flexi hours

Some sort of way that, when the employee goes the extra mile, you can offer it back. For example, I am entitled to a week off, paid, on death of a parent, child or sibling. My Dad died, but he died and was buried overseas, and during a holiday. I only needed one day off to attend a memorial service and so, although I could have taken a week and spent time with my family, I took the minimum essential time off. I now, a year later, need 2 days to travel and attend, my uncle's funeral. The answer is Yes, but no pay. Now I won't make a fuss but it seems a bit unfair.

Also, all those who can authorise time off to be given training in family life (dump them with a sick child and a busy job). The best boss is one who has been there themselves and knows no one but you can do the doctor or dentist and that, just occasionally, you have to collect a sick child.

Trust. Some way of paying back without losing holiday / money.

A true flexible working policy (reduced hours, compressed hours, work from home etc etc) for everyone (Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, grandparents - everyone).
Understanding that school hours mean I sometimes need to be at school at 3.15, and I will make the time up.
It doesn't affect me, but the whole restricted annual leave in school holidays seems to need a review.

I work from home two days a week after request to drop from 5 days to 4 days. That was turned down but when I explained it was to take the pressure off DH doing both nursery drop offs and pick ups they offered two days at home in lieu.
Some sort of crèche would be fantastic seeing as75% of us have children under 3.

My employer has been great at adopting flexible working across the entire department including equipping everyone for home working. This has made a massive difference to all parents, not just mothers. I did find it hard to adjust back to working life after a full year of mat leave so some kind of return-to-work buddy scheme would have been great as well as fully clueing managers up on how women returning to work after mat leave might need support and training

Flexi-time. Being able to make up or bank hours, whether for planned part-day absences or for emergencies.

One thing the CBI could do, at a time when the unemployed, those on low incomes and those with disabilities are facing savage cuts in benefits, and when the NHS is facing a funding crisis, is to junk their superficially nice-looking campaign for universal free child care (to be paid for out of taxes - a finite pot of money which already isn't going far enough), and replace it with a campaign for all their members to pay a decent living wage to their employees.

The CBI campaigning for free childcare is tantamount to a request for tax revenues to be paid direct to employers in lieu of them paying decent salaries in the first place - tax revenues which are desperately needed elsewhere.

One of the things that has enabled me to keep my career going (fairly long hours, pressurised) is that DH works 3 days a week. So it makes me cross that the OP said "especially mothers". Encouraging men to consider working flexibly or cutting down hours would be so helpful, but I think there is still a culture where men feel they can't ask.

I agree re trusting people to work from home. That has been a huge thing for me.

More flexible hours for both parents, especially around school holidays, would be great. Working from home if possible too.

I think more flexibility is needed to allow parents to share childcare or to allow one parent to be very part time or a SAHP while the other focusses on their career rather than trying to push families to have two WAHP

Definitely flexibility with hours and working from home.

Stop beingso riduculously paranoid about 9-5 being the only pattern of work that makes sense it adds stress to commuting clogs up the roads and makes public transport travel unproductive and unhealthy... which all costs businesses and the country time and money. I work on a project outside work and do all my high level creative and policy work in the last few hours of the day.. at weekends over a coffee or on public transport in low demand hours.

The second thing is to stop ignoring the mental development people do even ic they are parenting. Its astonishing to me that highly intelligent developed people are stagnated in 'flexible' but junior roles when senior management is doing so much time trying to understand organisations from a distance whilst ignoring the innate abilities in existing teams. I've worked with former policewomen, former HR managers, designers and marketers in junior roles whilst parenting where theor organisational and communication skills outweigh whole communication departments and where their initiatives are developed in their breaks but disappear because of a lack of structure or recognition to harness that contribution (and also a realisation that other s would get the financial and career reward if it were harnessed) if there were mechanisms and resource given to aware and positive staff who might not give 100% hours but give far higher intellectual and creative contribution and rewarded them for it you'd get win-wins everywhere.
Thirdly keep focussing on quality rather than grind. A brilliant staff member who has great ideas but lacks time to draw up presentations or reports needs.. a report writer/pa. so support people like this. I know computers mean you can self-organise but that takes time.. support staff properly rewarded are sensible. A pc and 'on you go do it yourself' means a good chunk of working life is fiddling.
Finally senior management should work to back up everyone’s rank and role. You have a part-time person working intellectually on the way into work who presents for an hour and goes home? You openly treat her as you would a senior consultant, or a regional director doing a flying visit make sure her time isn't wasted and the most is gained in that hour. that will get you more re than faffy presentee types who dither at the coffee machine and 'neaten their desks' for an hour a day