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Working Families and Lloyds TSB launch manual for dads

Working Families, a campaigning charity which supports and gives a voice to working parents and carers have joined with Lloyds TSB to launch the ultimate manual for modern dads who want it all. Daddy's Home - How fathers can work flexibly, is a new guide about flexible working for modern fathers.

The charity, which also helps employers create workplaces which encourage work-life balance for everyone wants to change the working world for the benefit of families, communities and businesses and hope that the booklet will educate men about how flexible working can work for them.

The manual is the result of new research amongst fathers who pride themselves in being active in all areas of their children's lives. It contains advice from Diddy's (Doing it Daddy's) who give honest accounts of how they balance family life with their careers by working flexible hours.

The booklet also provides information on everything, from paternity leave through to part time working for grandfathers.

Fathers from all walks of life were interviewed, at the school gates and through focus groups, about how they balance being a 'hands on' dad whilst juggling a demanding career. Their attitudes and advice are documented in the guide to provide readers with real life examples of how fathers can strike the right balance between work and fatherhood responsibilities.

The research showed that only 10 per cent of fathers work part time compared to 44 per cent of mothers and there is a certain amount of negative bias towards fathers who ask for part time hours.

The author of 'Daddy's Home', Jonathan Swan from Working Families, said, "This booklet aims to educate men about how flexible working can work for them. I hope it will give encouragement to other men who might be thinking about their own work-life balance.

"While there is a need for cultural change, a lot of the dads we interviewed pointed out that when they lead the way and changed their working patterns there was an increase in other fathers taking advantage of different ways of working as a result on seeing them do it.

"This booklet shows that the idea of fathers having a good balance between work and home isn't just 'pie in the sky'. These are real fathers, in a wide range of jobs, who show that it can really work.

"We know that dads want to spend more time with their children, and we know that mothers and children want this too. Now we have real stories from fathers, showing us how, and why, they took the decision to make their involvement a reality."

Fiona Canon, head of equality and diversity at Lloyds TSB, said: "At Lloyds TSB we recognise that men need to balance their life outside work just as much as women.

"People with a healthy work-life balance undoubtedly contribute to a more motivated and fulfilled workforce and so flexible working can be a 'win-win' situation for many employers as well."

• Did your partner reduce his hours when your baby was born? Share your experiences in Discuss, Debate and Deliberate
• Daddy's Home - How fathers can work flexibly, costs £6 (£4.50 for members) from Working Families. To order a copy, call 020 7253 7243 or Order on the Working Families website