MNHQ here: are you returning to work, or have you recently returned after parental leave? Tell the Petitions Committee about your experiences

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We've had a request from our friends in Parliament's engagement team: here's what they have to say.

"On Monday 9 March, Catherine McKinnell MP will be chairing the Petitions Committee debate on providing 15 hours free childcare to working parents for children over 9 months. As well as the financial impact of childcare, she’d like to know how the cost of childcare affected your decision to return to work. How has the cost of childcare affected your family as a whole and what else do you think the Government could do to support parents returning to work after parental leave?"

"The petition, which received 146,397 signatures, stated “After 9 months of maternity leave, most working mums do not receive any maternity pay and need to go back to work. I think all working parents should be entitled to 15 hours free childcare from the time a child is 9 months. It makes more sense to provide this funding from 9 months instead of 2 years.”"

"We will pass on your comments and experiences to Catherine McKinnell MP who will use them to inform the debate. Links to watch the debate and read the transcript will be posted when they become available."

"Tell us about your experience by midday Sunday 8 March. She may quote and refer to your contributions during the debate."

I've been back to work 8 months now after DS2 and it's hard going. DH works shifts which our childminder works around and that's great, however he has just had to withdraw a job application as it would mean Mon-Fri day shifts and a resultant 70% increase in our childcare costs, which is simply not doable.

15 hours from 9 months makes so much more sense!

One things that really rubs me up the wrong way is that if you don't work your child gets the free hours from age 2. How can this possibly be fair? Yes some people will use the time to look for a job - but I guarantee this is the minority!

One things that really rubs me up the wrong way is that if you don't work your child gets the free hours from age 2. How can this possibly be fair? Yes some people will use the time to look for a job - but I guarantee this is the minority!

@GiveMummyTheWhizzer, I totally agree. It seems counterintuitive that someone at home with their child/ren all day should be able to send them out to be looked after for free while those struggling to even afford the petrol/train to get to work have to find the extra money to pay for childcare on top!

I do agree that the 15 hours should be paid highly enough that they are genuinely free, and such that it is economical for providers to operate. It is bananas to offer it in such a way that it puts providers out of business, but obviously this hasn't stopped it already happening. It is also odd that it will cost me more in childcare once my child starts school (because I can organise the time to suit my work rather than to suit school opening hours). But this is a small difference, much less than the gain 15 free hours would make.

I'm one of the few women whose partner took shared parental leave but at 9 months our daughter went to a child minder 3 days a week. My partner works compressed hours so he can look after her 2 days a week. A childminder was chosen over a nursery due to more flexible hours and a smaller group setting. My partner wants to change jobs but he won't consider it until the 30 hours free kick in which is when she is nearly 3 and a half years old as she would spend more days in childcare. He works this way as it is the only way we can keep childcare costs down. The cost of childcare for 3 days a week is currently the cost of the mortgage.

Childcare costs are a joint expense in our household even though I have to do most of drop-offs and pick ups due to the hours my partner works. In our social circle we were not rare in sharing parental leave as parents are older and/or not straight, and so childcare is seen as a joint issue not just solely left to one parent.

With no free childcare during my DDs first 3 years, we are struggling along as a family. Using extended family as childcare I managed to return to work for 2 long days a week. I’m not earning enough to pay income tax. I worry my DD will struggle to settle into nursery when finally qualify for a free place - she will be almost 3.5 years old by then. Working such few hours has knocked my confidence in my ability to do my job. It’s very hard to keep up with all the changes when I am there less than half the days my colleagues are. It’s had an impact on my mental health. I’ve been prescribed anxiety medication for the first time in my life. 15 free hours childcare straight after Mat leave would’ve been a godsend for us!

I went back to work whe my kids were 8 and 9 months old no way I could have bee off with no pay. There was careful saving beforehand to ensure there was enough money. We are very lucky to have a significant amount of family help, really don't see how we would manage without it. Even the funded hours aren't really what they say as only cover school term time and only apply the term after the child is born. An April baby wouldn't be funded until September. Earlier funding would make a big difference, we possibly could have had a smaller age gap. Not planning a 3rd for many reasons, but childcare costs are high on the list of reasons not to.

We are both going part time to save childcare costs. The problem we are having is lack of providers. All childcare providers near us for 0-2 do full days or half days. Whereas there are plenty of early years providers that do 3 hourly sessions in order to provide the 15 hours, which would be perfect if only they could take our by then 9 month old! We are looking at childminders but they aren't the easiest to find in our area.

I can't return to work without childcare. Which costs more than I earn and the childcare voucher scheme was scrapped so no help there.

We survive on my husbands income but only just, which impacts us all in many ways with little or no disposable income each month.

It seems likely even without calculating it that if working, my net contribution of tax and NI would be more than the cost of the free 15 hours childcare?

I was forced to give up my job after 23 years of nhs loyalty, working to the very top of my game for 7 years of that.
We just could not afford the childcare costs which was equivalent to double our monthly mortgage payments.
I agonised, had additional sleepless nights to the usual baby years lack of sleep and was devastated to come to the conclusion that I couldn’t afford to work within my beloved nhs, at a job that I absolutely loved and had spent many years perfecting.
I left to work for a private company with family friendly and flexible working patterns which meant I could be home for the majority of the time, working evenings and weekends so that dh & myself were a tag team of a family but our bills were covered and family life was less disruptive. It was also more pay, considerably more pay.

Certainly 15 hours child care contributions would have helped me to remain in my nhs job somewhat.

With a huge deficit in nursing numbers country wide, nursing pay being as poor as it is considering role & responsibility, very long working hours, resistance by management to providing set shift patterns and flexible working, dire working conditions and unrealistic expectations of the public, management and government, we as nurses are further punished when it comes to having a family and being able to parent adequately.
No wonder we leave and look elsewhere.
No wonder it is impossible to recruit student nurses with families, it’s impossible, completely impossible to train as a nurse now thanks to government.

On discussing this issue with colleagues it is shrugged as if it is accepted as if people are resigned to the situation.

My story is not by any measure an isolated one, I have many many colleagues who have been forced to question their future in the nhs due to these issues.
I work almost daily with struggling student nurses with children having to study, juggle being a parent with a second job to pay bills, childcare costs and headaches, feed everyone , transport costs to placements, then pay back student loans as well as pay childcare when qualified.

If this information helps drive change then please use it. But I doubt it will do anything.

One things that really rubs me up the wrong way is that if you don't work your child gets the free hours from age 2. How can this possibly be fair? Yes some people will use the time to look for a job - but I guarantee this is the minority!

That will be because it is considered to be good for the child to be in some form of childcare setting from the age of 2 so that they can develop good social skills. Nothing to do with getting parents back to work. SAHPs are already taking a financial hit with the loss of an income.

That will be because it is considered to be good for the child to be in some form of childcare setting from the age of 2 so that they can develop good social skills. Nothing to do with getting parents back to work. SAHPs are already taking a financial hit with the loss of an income.

@ferrier If it is for the good of the child, shouldn't the provision be for all children? There will be many children of working parents who are with grandparents or other family members rather than in structured childcare settings.

Mumsnent Admin/Catherine McKinnell & team - in addition to the above comments, please also refer to this thread which also discusses the costs of childcare and the impact on women and their careers, pension, mental health etc:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3842143-To-think-that-s-it-I-may-kiss-goodbye-to-any-professional-development?

Good luck tomorrow 💐🍀

One of the things that really annoys me is when people smugly say that childcare should be a shared cost. Almost no-one in real life thinks that it is the cost that should just be faced by the women. When people say that they cannot afford to work what they mean is that:

Partners wage - taxes & living expenses = some free money at the end of the month

Whereas

(Partners wage + My wage) - (taxes & living expenses + childcare costs) = lots of debt + paying for the privilege to work

Hi,

Thank you all for your comments. I've added a video from Catherine McKinnell MP to this thread and here's a message from the Parliament engagement team:

“Thank you for all your contributions to this post. These were passed on to Catherine McKinnell MP ahead of the debate on Monday.

She spoke of your contributions during her speech:

“Ahead of the debate, our Committee reached out to the public online, through Facebook and Mumsnet, to continue the conversation about how childcare issues are impacting on families. The issue affects people in every part of our country and across the income scale, from two-parent families with two good, full-time salaries, to part-time, single-parent families on minimum wage. All said that they struggle to pay for childcare so that they could return to work.”

Several other MPs spoke during the debate, and Education Minister Vicky Ford responded, setting out the Government’s position.

You can read the transcript of the debate on Hansard or watch it on parliamentlive.tv”

Thanks
MNHQ