A report by the Resolution Foundation argues that the typical nursery day of 8am-6pm is at odds with changes to working life and the growing number of parents working at weekends and evenings.
At least one parent in three-quarters of families on low-to middle-incomes works hours outside the typical working day, the study found. The figure rises to nine in ten for families on higher incomes.
The growth of service industries - shops, hotels, restaurants, as well as health and social care – means that more parents are working atypical hours, the report says.
Thirty-seven per cent of UK employees worked in these sectors in 2008 and the UK has the highest proportion of employees regularly working at night in the EU.
Other parents work shift patterns that change from week to week, which do not fit with the pre-booking and pre-payment requirements that many nurseries ask for.
Proportion of parents working atypical hours
Source: Resolution Foundation analysis of Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2009
‘Reconciling work and family commitments is critical for families on low-to-middle incomes. Dropping out of the labour market or being forced to reduce their hours would have a significant negative impact on those families’ living standards. At the same time they are not wealthy enough to buy the kinds of help available to more affluent families to help them balance competing pressures, ’ the researchers say.
Although some 24-hour nurseries were set up in the early 2000s, most have since closed because they were financially unsustainable. Nurseries that open at weekends are also rare, although a few settings are starting to offer a more flexible weekend offer, the report says.
It adds that it is hard for nurseries to gauge the demand for atypical hours because many parents in this situation turn to informal childcare and shift parenting to cope.
Nursery staff also have to be paid more for working outside the normal working day, which in turn pushes up the cost of childcare for parents. Another issue is that childcare is a female-dominated profession and that staff with children may not want to work atypical hours because of their own problems finding childcare.
The report suggests that, ‘Working through large employers or groups of employers in sectors where atypical work is common, such as retail, may be one possible route to addressing the sustainability issues for providers.’
Vidhya Alakeson, director of Research at the Resolution Foundation, (pictured), said, ‘Growth in the numbers of women working has been an important contributor to rising living standards for families. But childcare provision simply hasn’t caught up with how families are living and working today. Many British mothers simply can’t afford to work more hours, whether they want to or not. More flexible and affordable childcare is critical to supporting choice.’
The research marks the start of a six-month investigation by the Resolution Foundation into the problems parents face in finding available childcare to fit their working patterns and analysing the reasons for the high cost of childcare in the UK.
Working with childcare providers in the maintained, private and voluntary sectors, and with employers, the research will focus on developing models of childcare that can provide more flexibility for parents who work outside the typical working day at a cost that is affordable and sustainable for providers.
A report on the findings will be published in the autumn.
CASE STUDY - GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE
In 2003, Greater Manchester Police employed a childcare co-ordinator to manage a network of childminders to provide childcare for employees from 6am until the following day, including overnight care. A network of over 20 school holiday clubs was established.
This was in response to a staff survey, which found that 20 per cent of employees were unable to find childcare to fit around their shifts.
Meanwhile, West Yorkshire police, which 13 years ago hired a childcare co-ordinator to find care to suit employees' hours, is now cutting the position.