How could employers make parents' lives easier? Share your opinions with top businesses

[MumsnetJobsTeam]

Mumsnet Jobs is on a mission to make parents' lives easier. From our Publish Parental Leave Campaign to our flexible-roles-only jobs board, we want to improve the wider understanding of parents' needs in the workplace, and make flexible working the norm.

On the 20th of August, Mumsnet Jobs will be hosting a roundtable event where some of the largest and most flexible employers will gather to discuss how they can support parents in the workplace. We'd love to hear your views on the subject -- and take any questions that you'd like us ask them.

Post below with one change businesses could make to ensure their workplace is supportive to working parents -- or post a question you'd like to ask our guests.

The answers from this thread will be shown during the roundtable, and the questions put to employers in attendance.

I actually don’t think flexible working should just he offered to parents. It needs to be offered right from the start to the millennial employees that the company wants to hire. Work from home, compressed hours etc is a huge incentive that can encourage the target under 30 employee base to spend 5-10 years with the company before they move on. Encourage Work from home also means women can return from maternity leave sooner (and on full pay) as it becomes easier to sort out childcare etc.

Two annual leave days a year for parents to take for school plays, leave work early to collect sick child, with no repercussions

And what about people with no children? Should they get less leave?

Flexibility for everyone regardless of circumstances or gender. And not just tokenism - as PP have said the abolition of presenteeism and focus on results over time sat at desk.

Four day week - studies have proven this approach to increase productivity and morale.

More on site nurseries.

Financial incentives for mothers to go back to work as many of us want to.

The absence of the above are why I am now starting my own business. Who wants to pay for rap around care when children are at school and you need to work full time? Time goes fast enough as it is without missing most of your evening with your child too.

Ability to work from home without judgement not just lip service.

Openly having a job sharing policy of some sort.

Part time roles that work around school hours.

On site subsidised nursery

Flexi hours.

Acceptance of the 18 week unpaid parental leave policy. Many employers have no idea of this and make it difficult to take this.

Compressed hours.

Just being understanding and appreciating that as a working parent you are trying your best!

I agree with many of the suggestions above. However, you do need to bear in mind that employers need to ensure the work is done satisfactorily. I have come across several instances ( I'm an employment solicitor) of employees at quite a high level suggesting that they can do an effective job from home without childcare for babies and young children. If the role involves a degree of time sensitivity and/ or client contact, in my view it is not possible to do this without proper childcare until the children are old enough to be left in any event. Flexibility is a great tool for retaining staff, but employers should not be frowned upon for requiring that the employee is genuinely available to do the job.

Allowing early start and finish. The industry I worked in had 6pm finish and that was before doing extra hours which happened regularly

Women left in droves as they had children and the workforce is skewed towards young women and men who are higher up

Stop sacking pregnant women for dodgy 'reasons'.

What @CMOTDibbler said in the very first reply.

My dc are grown now - (youngest about to turn18) but I still appreciate how wonderful it is that I have a Manager who can be flexible and who understands that some parts of my job don't have to be completed within the hours of 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, and that we can be trusted to manage our own diaries within certain limits.

Of course, so much of this depends completely on your job. Many, many jobs do need you to be there, at the set times.

It also depends on people's attitudes to work, and how businesses can "record" what work is done - we are kidding ourselves is we think everyone will work diligently if they are wfh and not monitored.

I couldn't agree more with CMOTDibbler in the first post.
The principles of flexibility and reasonableness in the workplace should be applied equally. It shouldn't matter whether someone needs to work from home/do compressed hours because they have children, or because they have a caring role for someone not a child, or because they simply want/need more personal time.

Two annual leave days a year for parents to take for school plays, leave work early to collect sick child, with no repercussions

Sure. As long as childfree people get two annual leave days to collect or visit a sick parent/friend/relative/other dependant and/or go to appointments etc to support people, with no repercussions.

This applies to everyone.

I work in a sector with brilliant benefits where the compromise is lower pay than I’d command for a similar role in other sectors. There is an enormous but...

Stop this ridiculous expectation that people will do any amount of work you throw at them. I work four days a week but almost always work an unpaid day every week logged on after bed, at 6am and in the mornings. Why? Because my FT colleagues work the equivalent of 6 days so why should I be special? This is also a sector which has taken stringent cuts as a matter of pride and “do more with less” has become our catchphrase!

The ability to work from home sometimes, understanding that being inside the home at one end of the day would make an immense difference to the amount of work that I can produce and also understanding that although rheumatoid arthritis is killing my body, my brain is fully functioning and is desperate for some stimulating input. I may not be able to commute some days but my brain will be working just fine.

Completely agree flexibility for all in the workplace is the only way this will work instead of causing resentment to parents that get extra perks.

Flexibility is the main thing - one of my team works 5 days in 4, one works 3 across 4.

A two way street on extra hours - working late/early is expected, I work on commute, evenings, weekends. If I want to go for lunch on my wfh day that should be guilt free cos I've certainly worked the hours.

Medical insurance from work doesn't cover maternity care or childbirth. Why not? I'm sure it covers things that happens to men

Work by presenteeism is, I hope, no longer the default for switched ij employers. All the studies show that smarter working is the way forward. I know the civil service are investing in this.

Target middle-senior managers on the takeup of flexible working, retention after maternity, pay gap, etc in their divisions and fire those who clearly drive women with children out of the business

Most large companies vary according to the senior management teams within divisions/departments/areas and what behaviour they tolerate/encourage in management. If you have a prick as a line manager, that's the end of your career in that company. Even if you don't see it in HR complaints - you'll see it in the numbers! Watch for managers whose entry into a department heralds a sudden hemorrhage of parents/women/marginalised groups - and get rid of them.

You can have all the family friendly policies you want, but if you reward misogynist wankers, they won't matter.

Be aware that if you get the call from school that your child is unwell then there is nothing you can do other than go and pick them up. Employees feel terrible about this. It shouldn’t just be the women that have to go and get them in these cases.

When my DC started school I was prepared for the long holidays but less so for all the various assemblies and shows that start at 245 and only last 30 mins.

Often male senior managers have less sympathy as they either have a wife or nanny at home who deals with all the childcare issues so it’s just not on their radar.

It's difficult working long hours in The Emergency Services, 13 hour shifts then you never get off on time. Not enough staff to cover over 24 hour period resulting in the longer hours. Yes you may only work 3 or 4 shifts a week, but none the less I would like this to be addressed.

Less focus on women and more focus on providing flexible working opportunities for everyone.

Making it about "women in work" just reinforces stereotypes that caring is ultimately a woman's responsibility (not just childcare but also caring for elderly relatives etc) and not something men need to worry about.

I know that the OP hasn't done this and instead asks about "parents" which is refreshing but unusual! I'd like it to be even broader than that though, recognising that employees may need flexibility at many different life stages.

I would like to see more genuine part time working opportunities where the employer/manager has put some thought into what is required from the role and how it could be done in fewer hours. Not 80% pay for a full time job, which seems to happen so often in my industry.

I'd like to see more jobshares too, but marketed at everyone and not to linked to the "women's network" (as it is at my organisation, as they clearly believe only women could ever want/need to work part time )

More part-time roles, especially senior ones. Somebody once decided that 37-40 p.w with two days break was the 'best way'.

Why is that the best way and who made that the rule we all had to follow?

Every part time worker I have ever spoken to says they are more productive in a part time role.

If I could change one thing it would be the fear of and resentment towards pt workers that some employers and colleagues demonstrate.

Most jobs don't need to be done for the magic 37 hours a week. It's a myth created by senior managers to make themselves feel special and to control the little people.

Part time roles are the most obvious cost saving method there is and people are asking/begging for it, yet employers still drag their feet - why?

I feel really strongly about this issue. Because two of my 3 dc are disabled and I needed part time hours and a moderate degree of flexibility, I couldn't progress and got bullied out after 10 years by a new manager who used it to further her own career.

My dc are okay now I'm not working but their lives are very different because employers are basically really pathetic at offering flexible working and senior part time roles.

For me it's the flexibility to work from home. Just the ability to be able to walk my dc to school is worth it's weight in gold. I'm still back in my office by 8:45, I also stop work at 3.30, then make up the hours once my dh is home or the dc are in bed
Having an employer who trusts me to do this is fantastic and something I cherish. I've been with employers who aren't as flexible and it just makes for a negative environment. There's not much I wouldn't do for my employer - I have worked weekends if needed as I know there's give and take

Not employing people in high end roles as self employed contractors who then get out of their parental responsibility by paying themselves minimum wage and dividends for the rest. If you have a role and it's temporary, why not employ people for those roles in a temporary basis but have them as employees? I'm sure that would make many single parents lives better as they were able to get the maintenance they're entitled to because it would be calculated at source and not once it's been through someone's accounting machine. Just a thought. Beyond that more flexibility in working hours would always help. Eg condensing hours.

Term time contracts, more flexible working, ability to work from home if kids are sick (depending on job), free crèche on site!!

Just to add on the flexibility thing, I think it needs to apply to all employees and not just parents. One of the biggest issues I get with my flexible working agreement is not from management but from other employees, who are resentful that they can't also work hours that suit them better, or I get 'little digs' about things.

The atmosphere of resentment isn't a nice one to work in, and really if an employee would like to do compressed hours or a later start or whatever for reasons other than childcare, and the nature of their job means this is do-able, why should it apply just to parents? It would actually benefit parents too as they wouldn't be seen as just wanting 'special treatment' all the time, which can be a real barrier to promotions etc.

• being allowed to buy holiday
• taking parental leave without the sigma attached
• providing 10 days of free emergency/holiday childcare for free per child
• offering services for nanny shares
• discounts of cleaning services
• tips and hints of tried and tested working mum hacks
• talking about the penalties of motherhood and careers stalling
• sponsors for getting back to work to stop the stigma: blessed vs depressed
• mindset training and helping mums handle it all (just not at the same time!)

All benefits should be equal and encouraged

Including both men and women getting 6 months paid leave when baby is born.

It’s been said before, but a 4 day working week would be a godsend. And better for the environment and morale across the board.