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

Flexible working times & more childcare places

Make getting a worthwhile job easier for a start

It would make it easier if employers expected Dads to do the same share of childcare when children are ill as Mums. In the vast majority of cases, the assumption is that Mum will take time off when the kids can't go to school/childcare.

I think they should pay more than the minimum statutory paternity pay. Those first 2 weeks are so important, but I couldn't afford to take the drop in salary, so feel like I really missed out.

By being more aware of school holidays and how much it affects your daily routines and how you have to plan ahead for childcare. Even snow days are treated by many employers like you should have planned ahead for such emergencies and expect you to get to work all the same.

I wish they would pay mothers to stay home until the child starts infant school, This would create more jobs for everyone else & I think the extra stability for the children would benefit them, not having a mum juggling family & her job.
It wouldn't be compulsory of course just an option for those who need the income but want to stay home with their little ones.
I believe some of the Nordic countries do this already.

Flexibility in the length of the working day would be of the greatest benefit to me. Later starts allowing dropping off time and earlier finishes to pick up. However, understanding the difficulties and being able to give and take would not go amiss!

Alot of jobs could be done from home, especially administration. flexible working hours would be good, and i cant really think of much else but being a working parent is certainly a juggling act and i always find it hard in half term and summer holidays

Offering a compressed hours working week or flexible hours would help enormously - eg taking lunch breaks at 15:00 or 15:30 so as to be able to do the school run, working from home during inset days / half term breaks

To be able to work from home, and enable fathers to take more time off. For both parents to be able to be flexible.

They could be more open minded in discussing individual requirements with their employees. Flexibility with working hours (such as when I was a manager) I allowed students to work less hours at exam time when they needed to revise a lot, & work extra hours in holiday times when staff with children wanted to have time off. This meant none of the staff lost money, & I retained good staff for years - win, win situation.

Have a flexi time policy to allow parents to fit childcare around work more easily.

Flexible working hours and flexible holidays would be a big help, I struggle at half term to get someone to look after my kids. If my husband and I could stagger our holidays we could cover most bank holidays. This would save us a lot of money in child minding fees. However there are not a lot of companies that are flexible in this way.

Offering flexible hours is key. Term time only contracts where possible, would be valued by many mums of school aged children.

Also, having a policy to offer up to say, 5 days a year for when parents have to take time off if the children are ill. Nurseries are unable to take them when ill and parents can feel guilty when telling work that they can't come in due to lack of childcare.

Flexible hours for both parents, subsidised childcare, perhaps on-site childcare for larger companies. The option to work from home. More understanding for the need to take leave for children's illnesses/assemblies/nativities etc. To recognise Fathers more in their employment need to work around their families rather than just Mothers.

My experience is that some employers don't offer the same rights for both mothers and fathers.

I work for a large employer and they are pretty good for both parents - flexible hours, home working, subsidised childcare, nursery on site and carers leave.

My husband isn't so lucky. His employer won't offer him flexible hours (no business reason is given) and he gets a really hard time if he needs to take time off to look after the kids. He strongly feels it's because he's male as it's definitely more acceptable when his female colleagues ask for time off or flexible hours. He's just had to drop his hours because they have made it so hard to work flexibly so that we can both share the childcare.

Flexible working times . Let dads have more time with their kids

The fear of losing your job now means longer unpaid hours and weekend work in my case, this limits whatever little time I get to spend with the family, especially my little one who is growing so quickly, I am missing out!.

Just understand that the pull of the family sometimes leaves parents torn in two from wanting to do a good job and be loyal to their employer, not let their workmates down. But their family's need for that person to be there for them for a whole range of things from a school play to a hospital appointment for your child.

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I always found taking time off when my kids were sick the worst. I felt incredibly guilty about being away from my job but my kid have to come first. Maybe there could be some kind of policies about sick days taken for children.

My job only works because both DH and I can flex our hours - I start early, finish early (and do school pick-up), he starts late, finishes late (and does school drop-off). I appreciate both employers being flexible on this.

I think flexibility is key, more opportunities to do flexitime, or work from home. Its also vital that emergency days are available to working mums for cases of sickness or accidents, I remember taking my 18 month old to hospital where he was kept in overnight with suspected meningitis (luckily it wasn't) and I had missed two mornings work, when I was back in the office my boss's first words were 'You know you won't be paid for that', not really the understanding I would have liked at such a traumatic time.

Another useful option would be to have on on-site creche or nursery so that childcare options are more easily available and parents don't have to contend with getting to a childcarer and then on to work, it would save time, and worry as parents could see their children during breaks and would be on hand should something go wrong.

Like im sure many others have said, it would be flexibility in the working hours. Not just for an every day situation , but i have found, being a single parent when going for interviews i have been asked " who would look after your child if she was ill"..
Well at this point the answer i have wanted to give is " well i would" but of course majority of employers dont want to think you wont be there if your child has a sniffle and that they will always come second to your children. But in actual fact every parent should have the right to be there if their child is ill. So to have the option of making the time up rather than losing money, to be able to not feel bad for saying you are unable to make it that day due to illness and not feeling as if you are going to be financially in trouble because you have had to make the choice to be a mother instead of at work.