 Working
parents - can things only get better?
The general election is rapidly approaching and featuring heavily
in Labour's manifesto are plentiful attempts at winning the support of Britain's
working parents. Whilst the government seems devoted to the well-being of
professional parents, we wanted to look at the current reality in the workplace.
Are things fine as they are or, as Labour's 1997 election song declared,
can things only get better?
A brief summary
The general impression we got from your answers is that life at work
isn't all that bad. However, there were a few clear areas where improvements
were necessary. It would make sense for the spin doctors and policy makers
to heed your voices, since 67% of you make up a young workforce, aged
25-34 years old, with 22% aged 35-44 and 11% aged 18-24.
Most of you (57%) who responded to our survey based your answers on one
(or your first) pregnancy. A third of you have been through two pregnancies,
while only a small percentage related your experience to three or more.
And you all certainly do an amazing variety of jobs, including solicitor,
merchant banker, designer, full-time mum, nursery nurse, teacher, holistic
therapist, barrister, secretary and yacht broker, to name but a small
few!
Breaking the news
The medical profession generally advise that women keep 'schtum' about
their pregnancy until the 'risky' first trimester is over, which perhaps
explains why 51% of you broke the news to your employer after this time,
although an equally respectable number (47%) divulged the information
as soon as they found out! Only a small minority left it until the legal
requirement.
Treatment at work
Employers came out reasonably well in your estimation. Being pregnant
of course entails regular antenatal visits and this only caused a problem
for 10% of respondents, which is good news, although it would have been
much better if no one had any difficulty over something so important!
Partners also had little trouble taking time off to join you - 42% were
able to accompany you to the important visits, while an impressive 26%
attended every session. This was higher than we anticipated. Disappointingly,
however, was the fact that 19% of partners had to take these visits as
holidays, while 13% couldn't take any time off at all. This needs rectifying.
One surprising discovery was the lack of sick room facilities in the
majority of workplaces. Fifty-five per cent said one didn't exist, leaving
us wondering where on earth you could go if you felt unwell or tired during
the day, as can so often happen during pregnancy. Of the remaining 45%
who had access to a sick room, only 12% actually used it, but more of
you (33%) didn't feel the need to.
Women often worry that they will be treated differently or badly at
work once they are pregnant, with workmates or bosses being impatient
or unsympathetic towards them if they have to leave early because they
feel unwell or for taking mornings or afternoons off for antenatal visits.
This didn't seem to be a problem with many of our respondents. Around
56% said most people had actually been kind and supportive towards them,
while 20% said their pregnancy had made no difference to their working
relationships whatsoever. However, nearly a quarter felt that their colleagues
could have been more understanding.
Rights and benefits
This is a major area that stood out in the survey as one that needs improving.
It seems that either employers don't know much about explaining your rights
after you announced your pregnancy or they simply don't bother - we're
not sure. Only 45% of employers had explained your entitlement to rights
and benefits, while a disappointing 55% had not. Subsequently, 63% of
you had to research what you were owed on the internet or at your local
benefits office. Only a small (37%) number of employers took this issue
seriously and informed you of your rights. We feel that it is important
for employers to read up on this and offer clear and constructive guidance
on this area to avoid confusion and bad feelings on both sides.
Maternity leave looked a little more promising, as 41% of mothers took
6-12 months off work on maternity leave, while 40% took 3-6 months off.
A very small number (7%) had to go back to work soon after the birth (0-3
months), while a lucky 12% took a year or more off!
Despite the recent improvements in legislation for working mums, 58%
of you still wanted more time off to be with your child. Pressure from
employers doesn't seem to be a major reason for this though, as 57% of
companies were happy to offer their female staff more that the statutory
maternity leave. Returning to work part time after the birth of your child(ren)
was definite preference amongst you, with 60% choosing this over full
time.
All about childcare
Childcare is one of the most tricky and worrying aspects of combining
family life with a career, especially since 90% of employers do not offer
crèche facilities. The most popular form of childcare amongst members
are nurseries, winning hands-down with 45%. Interestingly, 26% of parents
had willing relatives to look after their children (well done to grandparents!),
while childminders came third place with 15%. Eleven per cent of parents
arranged their work so that one or the other could be at home with the
children, thus removing the need and expense for outside help. Only a
tiny minority employed a nanny, perhaps because of cost implications,
and au pairs did not get a look-in … but since they are mainly employed
to look after older children this wasn't a surprise.
The cost of childcare was quite high, considering most of you work part
time. Over half of you pay between £100-£300 per month, while 43% pay
£500-£1,000. It certainly does beg the question of whether it is worthwhile,
financially, for both partners to return to work after children have come
into the picture. When your child is ill, half of you can take time off
for personal reasons, which we think is quite fair, although 40% of you
said it comes straight off your holiday entitlement. Ten per cent ask
relatives to step in and lend a hand.
We wanted to know if your choice of childcare would be different if
money were no problem. It certainly did change the picture! A whopping
59% of you said if you had enough cash you wouldn't return to work! Nurseries
scored second place at 15%, while sharing childcare duties between you
and your partner came third with 11%.
The career ladder
Whether having a family affects career progression was not easy to analyse.
In fact, it appeared to be something of a contradiction. A reasonable
percentage (49%) said that other women with families had managed to progress
within their career in your organisation, although 26% said this wasn't
the case and 25% weren't sure. Confusingly, though, 43% of you feel that
your opportunities for promotion had been hampered by familial commitments,
while 30% felt this wasn't true and 27% didn't know. The discrepancies
in this show it is an area that needs further investigating!
On a positive note, at least 54% felt they didn't have to work harder
to prove themselves now they were juggling motherhood with a career.
The situation for dads
Fathers do seem to be taking advantage of their improved paternity leave.
Fifty per cent took the standard two weeks off, while 10% took more! Eighteen
per cent had a week off, 10% only had a few days, while 12% had no time
off whatsoever, which is pretty shocking! The other good news is that
most dads (78%) were not put under any pressure to return to work early
and could enjoy the precious few days/weeks with their new family.
You all feel very strongly, however, that lots could be done to improve
the situation for working fathers. Most of this focused around more paternity
leave but distributing parental leave between both partners also ranked
high. The following are a selection of comments made:
- "Employers are required to give paternity leave - they need to be
sympathetic to dads and make it easy for them to take. But dads also
need to realise that financial support is not the only thing their families
require - their presence is necessary at times..."
- "Better paternity leave and more understanding into looking after
the children. Not all men are the bread winners..."
- "If a child is ill, most companies automatically expect the mother
to take time off work. This, in my experience, leaves the father feeling
awkward about asking to take time off."
- "More flexible approach to fathers so the family unit as a whole can
take responsibility for the child(ren). It's always in my experience
the mother's responsibility to take time off when childcare is unavailable,
as my husband's company isn't as supportive as mine is."
- "Standard wages for two weeks' paternity leave, not just £100."
"Paid paternity leave is all fine, but I think there is a lot of pressure
on my partner not to take any parental leave or other time off. I think
that paternity leave should be extended and fathers not made to feel
taking time of to spend with new baby will ruin their chances of promotion/career
progression."
- "Some men in the UK are single parents, or are separated from their
partners, and, therefore, have a shared responsibility. Men should be
treated the same as women been allowed to take the odd hour off work
to take children to appointments, and to care for their everyday needs."
- "My partner hadn't been with the company for over 12 months when
we had our little boy, and therefore was "not entitled" to his parental
leave. I found this very unfair and really could have done with him
at home! I think the 2 weeks leave is a good idea, and perhaps could
be made a little longer, with 2 weeks paid, and anything after that
unpaid. Although, if the father wants to be the main carer, then they
should be allowed the maternity benefits of the mothers, should the
mother choose to work."
- "Additional time off for antenatal appointments (even if for a set
number rather than every one) might help, as well as guaranteed pay
for the day of delivery (our first child arrived two weeks early and
was out of the time my husband had negotiated off with his employer)."
- "Being able to take time off for paternity leave without pressure.
Flexible working time in the first years (ie working 4 days per week
instead of 5, to be at home to support the new mum). Flexibility generally
- my husband had to turn down a job as the employer wouldn't allow him
to start and leave 15 minutes later so he could take my daughter to
school!"
Where to next?
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