{"id":1840,"date":"2022-10-18T15:04:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T14:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eppione.com\/uk\/?p=1840"},"modified":"2025-03-20T12:41:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:41:37","slug":"working-parents-supporting-the-balancing-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/resources\/working-parents-supporting-the-balancing-act\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Support Working Parents with Employee Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As companies look to bolster their ability to attract and retain top employees, many employers are starting to recognise the&nbsp;<strong>value of supporting working parents<\/strong>&nbsp;to balance their work responsibilities with family life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year, we\u2019ve seen companies introduce&nbsp;<strong>new and innovative employee benefits<\/strong>&nbsp;to help care for their parent employees. From&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/employeebenefits.co.uk\/natwest-replaces-paternity-leave-inclusive-partner-policy\/\">Natwest\u2019s enhanced parental leave policy<\/a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-england-45432225\">Timpson giving parents an extra day off<\/a>&nbsp;when their child starts school for the first time, the pressure is growing for HR and business leaders to keep up with a&nbsp;<strong>changing benefits landscape in a highly competitive hiring market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Accommodating the needs of parents can be advantageous to your business. As well as helping to&nbsp;<strong>attract and retain employees<\/strong>, offering the right supports to working parents can&nbsp;<strong>reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, boost performance<\/strong>&nbsp;and encourage new parents to return to work after maternity and paternity leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are just a few ways you can support parents\u2019 work-life balance through your&nbsp;<strong>company culture, HR policies and employee benefits offering<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enhanced Parental Leave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you\u2019re probably aware, when an employee has a child, you must offer the&nbsp;<strong>statutory level of parental leave<\/strong>. In the UK, this accounts for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Maternity:<\/strong>&nbsp;52 weeks of leave, with 6 weeks at 90% pay and a further 33 weeks at either 90% pay or \u00a3156.66 a week, whichever is lower.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Paternity:<\/strong>&nbsp;2 weeks of leave paid at 90% of earnings or \u00a3156.66, whichever is lower.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Adoption:<\/strong>&nbsp;52 weeks leave, with some pay for 39 of those weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, couples can choose to&nbsp;<strong>share up to 50 weeks of parental leave and 37 weeks of pay<\/strong>. As an employer, it\u2019s important you\u2019re aware of this option and have open conversations with expectant parents to understand how they plan to share their parental leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently, more companies have started offering&nbsp;<strong>enhanced parental leave<\/strong>. In fact, from 2018 to 2021, the number of UK companies offering enhanced parental leave&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/employeebenefits.co.uk\/201-rise-jobs-extended-parental-leave\/\">more than tripled<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/employeebenefits.co.uk\/natwest-replaces-paternity-leave-inclusive-partner-policy\/\">Natwest\u2019s new policy<\/a>&nbsp;entitles all parents to the&nbsp;<strong>same pay and leave entitlement<\/strong>&nbsp;regardless of gender, whether they\u2019re in a heterosexual or same-sex relationship, and whether the child arrives through birth, surrogacy or adoption. Meanwhile&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/employeebenefits.co.uk\/skanska-uk-updates-family-friendly-benefits-and-leave\/\">Skanska UK<\/a>, a construction firm, has increased fully paid maternity and adoption leave to&nbsp;<strong>26 weeks<\/strong>, and paternity leave to&nbsp;<strong>8 weeks<\/strong>&nbsp;on full pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Offering enhanced parental leave can&nbsp;<strong>benefit parents and employers alike<\/strong>. While financially supporting parents to spend more time with their new-born means they\u2019re away from the business for longer, the extra time off could mean they return to work&nbsp;<strong>more refreshed, focused and productive<\/strong>&nbsp;when the time comes. You may also find employees\u2019 appreciation for enhanced parental leave helps to&nbsp;<strong>boost their engagement and loyalty<\/strong>&nbsp;to the company \u2013 potentially making it more likely that they do return to work when their leave is over, and stay with your company longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, of course, offering equal leave for mums and dads can help to address the&nbsp;<strong>gender imbalance and boost diversity<\/strong>&nbsp;in your workforce.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplemanagement.co.uk\/article\/1793979\/employment-rate-mums-children-hits-20-year-high-figures-show\">75.6% of mothers with dependent children are currently in work<\/a>&nbsp;according to the Office for National Statistics \u2013 a 20-year high. By allowing parents to decide how to split childcare in the early months of a child\u2019s life, employers can&nbsp;<strong>help more women return to the workforce<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Working Hours and Location<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The demand for&nbsp;<strong>flexible, hybrid and remote working&nbsp;<\/strong>has undeniably soared since 2020. Many employees now expect to be able to work from home for at least some of the week \u2013 and are willing to&nbsp;<strong>move to a new employer if flexibility isn\u2019t offered<\/strong>&nbsp;by their current one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For parents, flexible working is especially important. Allowing parents to choose what hours they work, and where, helps&nbsp;<strong>balance work with school runs, attending appointments, and caring for children when they get sick<\/strong>. Not only can this help reduce absenteeism by allowing parents to fit work around their family life where they may otherwise need to take time off, enabling flexible working can&nbsp;<strong>help more parents stay in the workforce<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As with shared, enhanced parental leave, offering flexibility can&nbsp;<strong>support more women to return to work<\/strong>&nbsp;after maternity leave. Where they and their partner can each work from home or adjust their hours as needed, they\u2019re empowered to share parenting responsibilities more evenly; and in the case of single parents, they can keep earning an income while meeting their child\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, not all jobs can be done from home or with flexible hours. If this is the case, have an&nbsp;<strong>open discussion<\/strong>&nbsp;with your employee to understand how you can&nbsp;<strong>help them balance work and family life<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 such as through reducing hours or particular shift patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Childcare Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Childcare in the UK is very expensive<\/strong>. In fact,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newstatesman.com\/society\/2022\/06\/poll-childcare-crisis-costs-mothers-at-home\">a recent poll<\/a>&nbsp;found that 60% of people in the UK believe childcare is unaffordable, with 70% of respondents saying this is a key reason why mothers choose to stay at home. In many cases, the&nbsp;<strong>cost of childcare can outweigh the financial benefits of working<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Again, offering support in this area can help more women to stay in work after they become mothers \u2013 helping you&nbsp;<strong>retain the talent<\/strong>&nbsp;already in your business, while widening the&nbsp;<strong>talent pool for recruiting<\/strong>&nbsp;new employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneysavingexpert.com\/family\/childcare-vouchers\/\">Childcare Vouchers scheme<\/a>, which allowed parents to make payments towards childcare out of their pre-tax salary,&nbsp;<strong>closed to new applicants in October 2018<\/strong>. However, if any of your employees signed up to the scheme before this date, they should be able to continue, provided they are still with the same employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a replacement, the government introduced a Tax-Free Childcare scheme, offering up to&nbsp;<strong>\u00a32,000 a year towards childcare costs<\/strong>. According to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneysavingexpert.com\/family\/tax-free-childcare\/\">MoneySavingExpert<\/a>, 800,000 of the 1.3 million eligible families aren\u2019t currently making use of this benefit \u2013 so it may be worth&nbsp;<strong>letting your employees know what\u2019s available to them<\/strong>&nbsp;and how they can access the support. The MoneySavingExpert link above provides some useful information to help you and your employees learn more about the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, employers can offer more comprehensive support as an&nbsp;<strong>employee benefit<\/strong>. While some larger corporations have the resources to offer&nbsp;<strong>free or subsidised on-site childcare<\/strong>&nbsp;facilities, other businesses are opting to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/living360.uk\/corporate-childcare-employee-benefit\/\">reimburse working parents<\/a>&nbsp;for a portion of their childcare costs. If these options aren\u2019t feasible for your business at the moment, there\u2019s also the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.enjoybenefits.co.uk\/employers-childcare\/\">workplace nursery benefit<\/a>, which allows parents to save on nursery fees at&nbsp;<strong>no cost to the business<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are a&nbsp;<strong>range of options available<\/strong>, with something to meet every budget \u2013 so it might be worth speaking with an advisor for&nbsp;<strong>help finding the best solution<\/strong>&nbsp;for your employees and business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Child Sickness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Should an employee\u2019s child become unwell, this could have a huge impact on their&nbsp;<strong>performance, productivity and wellbeing<\/strong>, as well as resulting in absenteeism. As an employer, you should be prepared to&nbsp;<strong>support parents if their children become unwell<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 whether it\u2019s just a stomach bug, or something more serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, in the case of stomach bugs and colds, allowing your employees to&nbsp;<strong>work from home<\/strong>&nbsp;as needed may be enough to help them care for their child. Just be mindful that they may be subject to additional distractions as they tend to the child\u2019s needs, and&nbsp;<strong>trust them to manage their work and parenting<\/strong>&nbsp;responsibilities in a way that suits them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, where working from home is not possible, or if the illness is more serious, your employee may require some<strong>&nbsp;time off from work<\/strong>. You can\u2019t expect that every parent will have alternative childcare, such as another parent or grandparents, readily available to step in, so it\u2019s important to have a&nbsp;<strong>clear policy in place<\/strong>&nbsp;for these instances. Can the employee use their own&nbsp;<strong>sick leave<\/strong>&nbsp;entitlement to care for their child? If not, will they be able to&nbsp;<strong>book annual leave<\/strong>&nbsp;at the last minute, or&nbsp;<strong>make the hours up<\/strong>&nbsp;at a later date? Or will they have to take&nbsp;<strong>unpaid parental leave<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents are legally entitled to take&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/time-off-for-dependants\">\u201ca reasonable amount of time off\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;when their child is sick, but there is&nbsp;<strong>no obligation for employers to pay<\/strong>&nbsp;them for these days. Offering to pay employees during this time, such as through&nbsp;<strong>paid compassionate or carer\u2019s leave<\/strong>, will no doubt be greatly appreciated by your workforce should they need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can also provide further support for your employees\u2019 family health by&nbsp;<strong>offering health insurance as an employee benefit<\/strong>, with the option to add family members to the policy. Even if you only fund the employee\u2019s own cover, requiring them to pay for additional members, this benefit could&nbsp;<strong>help your employees to access treatment more quickly<\/strong>&nbsp;than through the NHS, potentially reducing absenteeism by getting their children on the road to recovery sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Above are just a few ways you can support the parents in your workforce. But&nbsp;<strong>every family is different<\/strong>, and any individual parents\u2019 needs will vary depending on their family dynamics, children\u2019s ages, childcare arrangements and more. As a result,&nbsp;<strong>the key to supporting parents is flexibility and choice<\/strong>, rather than assuming a single set of accommodations will suit all parents equally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s important HR departments and team leaders have&nbsp;<strong>open discussions with their employees<\/strong>&nbsp;to figure out a plan that works for the individual.&nbsp;<strong>Offering flexible benefits<\/strong>, with a fixed allowance for employees to \u2018spend\u2019 on available benefits as they see fit, can help ensure supports are<strong>&nbsp;tailored to the individual<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 rather than trying to meet everyone\u2019s needs with a single benefits package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Neil Fallon Dip PFS, Co-founder of Eppione, says<\/strong>: \u201cSupporting working parents has never been more important. Offering great value employee benefits is one thing, but making sure you communicate them is essential \u2013 most employees get a one-time communication when they join and, as their life changes, they might not be aware of what great supports you have to offer them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cImagine you could give employees access to the right information at the right time directing them to contact points at the touch of a button when these important life events happen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Eppione\u2019s Employee Benefits platform<\/strong>&nbsp;makes enabling and managing these benefits and allowances simple. There\u2019s a&nbsp;<strong>flexible benefits simulator<\/strong>, so employees can experiment with different benefit mixes before committing to changes, and a&nbsp;<strong>total reward statement<\/strong>&nbsp;so employees can see the value you place on them. Employees can&nbsp;<strong>add and remove their benefits easily<\/strong>&nbsp;through the platform and mobile app subject to your permission. And don\u2019t forget, we\u2019re global too, so we can add your benefits for multiple countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If you\u2019d like to find out more about Eppione, get in touch and we\u2019ll be in touch to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eppione.com\/book-a-demo\/?utm_source=eppione&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=working_parents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"arrange a demo\">arrange a demo<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As companies look to bolster their ability to attract and retain top employees, many employers are starting to recognise the&nbsp;value of supporting working parents&nbsp;to balance their work responsibilities with family life. This year, we\u2019ve seen companies introduce&nbsp;new and innovative employee benefits&nbsp;to help care for their parent employees. From&nbsp;Natwest\u2019s enhanced parental leave policy&nbsp;to&nbsp;Timpson giving parents an&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/resources\/working-parents-supporting-the-balancing-act\/\" title=\"ReadHow to Support Working Parents with Employee Benefits\">Read more&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"blog-post","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"resources":[10],"class_list":["post-1840","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flexible-benefits","resources-blog"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1840"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6919,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions\/6919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1840"},{"taxonomy":"resources","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.eppione.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources?post=1840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}