Parents Challenge Employers On Gap Between 'Rhetoric And Reality' On Help With Childcare
MORI survey for National Childcare Week reveals parents' experiences in the workplace and views on the National childcare Strategy
Employers and the Government should both do more to help staff with children, according to parents with children aged 0-14.
A MORI survey of parents published today (1 June 1999) for National Childcare Week was commissioned by Daycare Trust and Childcare Vouchers. Parents were asked what help with childcare they currently get from employers and what extra help they would like.
Key findings include:
- only 8% of parents have employers who provide help with childcare
- only 4% of parents receive any financial help in paying for childcare
- only 17% of parents have employers who offer incentives to encourage mothers back to work after having a baby
- 80% of parents think employers should provide more help with childcare
- 73% of parents think family friendly employment policies will become more important to employers in the next five years
- 92% say Government should encourage employers to do more to help employers with children
The main aspects of work that create problems for those parents who are working include: unsociable hours (17%), inconvenient hours (15%), and long hours (15%)
Working parents said that to achieve a balance between work and the family life they would particularly like their employer to provide:
- part-time/flexi hours (22%)
- a contribution towards nursery costs for employees (21%)
- holiday playschemes (17%)
- a workplace nursery (14%)
The main problems parents faced in obtaining childcare include: too expensive/can't afford it (16%) and not available when I need it (9%).
Almost half of parents (45%) said they think childcare provision in the UK has improved over the last two years. But:- 83% of parents have not heard about the National Childcare Strategy launched by the Government in May 1998
- 88% have not heard about the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships, which are responsible for delivering the National Childcare Strategy locally and for consulting parents about their needs
- 75% have not heard about the Childcare Tax Credit due to be introduced in October 1999 to help more parents pay childcare
'Childcare Changes Lives' is the theme of National Childcare Week (30 May-6 June 1999), organised by Daycare Trust in partnership with Childcare Vouchers. The Week also includes:
- new research on 'childcare changes lives' and ' the childcare gaps'
- a business breakfast for companies and HR professionals
- the launch of a childcare website and helpline for student parents
- promotion of childcare services for working parents and employers
- local events involving childcare providers, MPs and celebrities
Daycare Trust is the national childcare charity. It promotes quality affordable childcare for all and advises parents, providers, employers, trade unions and policy makers on childcare issues.
Technical details
Using its Omnibus, MORI conducted 664 interviews with parents/guardians of children aged 0-14 years, across 162 constituency-based sampling points in Great Britain. Interviews were carried out using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing), face-to-face in respondents' homes between 23-26 April 1999. Data has been weighted to reflect the national population profile.
