According to a survey of 2,564 parents by flexible childcare provider Pebbble, more than half expect to quit their current job to find more home-based roles now that employers are ‘backtracking’ on working from home policies meaning they need to pay for more childcare.
Separately, new research from Pregnant Then Screwed reveals that one in five parents in households earning less than £50,000 a year are leaving the workforce due to childcare costs.
Pebble’s research
Findings from Pebble’s survey suggests that parents of nursery and primary school-age children are facing ‘soaring’ additional childcare costs of almost £200 per week as employers ‘demand’ extra days in the office post-pandemic.
More than half said they have felt extra pressure to be in the office more than was originally expected of them, resulting in higher childcare costs equating to an average of £166 per week.
The research also reveals:
- The extra time parents spend in the office mean they have to spend almost £100 more each week on travel costs. For Londoners, this rises to £132.92 extra a week, equating to more than £500 a month.
- The cost of covering additional childcare in London is higher too, at £205 a week.
- Four in 10 families (37 per cent) say the extra costs are putting a strain on their finances.
- To reduce the high costs associated with childcare, 50 per cent are planning to quit their current job and are looking for roles that allow them to work from home more.
- Over a third of parents have already changed jobs to one that doesn’t require them to go into the office as much.
- More than 60 per cent of respondents say they would like their bosses to be more understanding about the challenges surrounding childcare and increased office hours.
- A total of 45 per cent think parents should be given the right to choose whether they come into the office for any additional time.
'Families need more flexible childcare options and employers that recognise the challenges of juggling work and home life.'
Lance Beare, chief executive of Pebble, said, ‘The fact that working parents are actively changing jobs in order to manage childcare costs is simply unacceptable, and it’s costly for businesses too.
‘Families need more flexible childcare options and employers that recognise the challenges of juggling work and home life. When you ask employees to be in a certain place at a certain time, they need to line up childcare; and this comes at a cost; without childcare in place, parents can’t work.
‘Employers need to look at their company benefits and reassess what people need support with today; on-site yoga and pizza lunches are nice, but what about supporting the childcare needs of parents so that they can afford to keep working instead?’
Pregnant Then Screwed
Pregnant Then Screwed surveyed 11,811 parents with children under five years’ old about the state of childcare in the UK and the impact this is having on their careers.
The majority, 61 per cent, said they or their partner have reduced the number of hours they work due to childcare costs or availability. This increases to 67 per cent for Asian parents and 75 per cent for parents of disabled children.
The survey finds that families with a household income of under £50k are being hit the hardest, with over three-quarters reducing their hours to make childcare work.
Pregnant Then Screwed asked parents who have experienced a rise in their childcare costs about the impact this has had; over half of these parents responded that childcare costs and issues with availability were now ‘more of a concern than the cost of living’.
'Our crumbling childcare sector continues to push new families into debt and onto benefits'.
Joeli Brearley founder and chief executive of Pregnant Then Screwed, said, ‘When household income drops below £50k our data shows that you are statistically more likely to leave the workforce or reduce your hours. This further entrenches poverty and inequality.
‘Our crumbling childcare sector continues to push new families into debt and onto benefits - work does not pay when you have a young child. We currently have the lowest birth rate in the last 20 years in Britain, and yet we are making it harder and harder for families to afford to have children. The cost of having a child today is one that many families cannot bear.’