Employment And The Lone Parent

Many parents who are employed when they become single parents are not able to balance work and home life in the way they would like, according to research by the MORI Social Research Institute.

The survey -- for the National Coalition for One Parent Families -- shows that although many are able to maintain their current employment (40%), many parents give up work unwillingly or work longer hours than they would like to -- 57% of those who stopped working would not have chosen to do so and only 15% decreased their hours whilst 25% would have done so through choice.

Younger parents and those already lacking income and support are more likely to leave the workforce on becoming single parents. Over two fifths (43%) of 25-34 year olds gave up their jobs compared to less than a quarter (23%) of over 35s, and 44% of parents in DE social classes gave up their jobs compared to 13% of those in ABC1C2 social classes.

Although wanting to spend more time with their children is the most common reason for giving up work (41%), nearly a third (31%) of single parents employed at the time they become single give up work due to lack of suitable or affordable childcare.

Technical details

Questions were placed on MORI's Omnibus, which interviews a nationally representative quota sample of 1,953 adults throughout Great Britain across c.190 constituency-based sampling points. Results are based on interviews with 208 single parents aged 15+ who were in employment at the time they became a single parent. Respondents were screened on marital status, parental status and work status to ensure a sample of single parents employed immediately before they became a single parent.

Interviews were carried out using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing), face-to-face in respondents' homes on three omnibus waves. Interviewing took place during the periods: 29 April - 4 May, 6-11 May and 20-25 May 2004.

Topline Results

• Results are based on interviews with 208 single parents aged 15+ who were in employment at the time they became a single parent. Interviews were carried out face-to-face, in homes across Great Britain.
• Fieldwork took place on MORI's Omnibus surveys between 29th April - 4th May and between 6th - 11th May and between 20th - 25th May 2004. Interviewers used CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing).
• Data are weighted, using target rim weights, to standard demographic characteristics (gender, age, work status, region and social class) to adjust for discrepancies in coverage of individual sampling points and to ensure representativeness.
• Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of don't knows/not stated.
• Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated.

Q1. Firstly, can I just check which of these statements on this card best describes how you came to be a single parent? Base: All single parents (408)

Q2. Can you tell me whether or not you were employed, either full or part-time, at the time immediately before you became a single parent? Base: All single parents (408)

Q3. What age was your youngest child when you became a single parent? Base: All who became a single parent through separation/divorce or bereavement whilst in employment (146)

Q4. Regarding your job and working hours, when you became a single parent, which of the following did you do? Base: All in employment at the time became a single parent (208)

Q5. And ideally, what would have been your preferred option at the time? Base: All in employment at the time became a single parent (208)

Q6. Which of the following, if any, were factors in why you stopped working/reduced your working hours when you became a single parent? Base: All who stopped working or reduced their hours when they became a single parent (103)

Q7. When you became a single parent, which, if any, of the following did you do? Base: All in employment at the time became a single parent (208)

Q8. You mentioned that you stopped working when you became a single parent. How long were you not working for? Base: All who stopped working when they became a single parent (75)

Q9. How does your current job compare to the one you had before you became a single parent in terms of level of responsibility, salary and working hours? Base: All single parents who were working when they became a single parent and who are currently in employment (122)