JUGGLING THE DEMANDS of parenthood with the expectations of a career means that working parents often face an uphill struggle.
They are often the most skilled people in the UK workforce and the government is working to tempt more of them – particularly new mothers back from maternity leave – into employment to boost the UK economy.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has pledged to deliver more free childcare and ministerial colleagues are calling on employers to review maternity packages and embrace flexible working to relieve some of the pressure on working families.
Finding ways to help businesses to retain talent and encourage parents back to work after having a baby is a common discussion for HR specialist Kate Coulson pictured left. The founder and director of Ena HR & Training, based near Northampton, has been working with The Mum Club, a community created for women with young children across the UK, on their ambition to give their people the very best maternity benefits possible.
The result: changes to the club’s standard policy which created extra benefits including reasonable time off for IVF and fertility treatment, active encouragement of Keeping In Touch days, phased returns to work and a proper reinduction of new mothers on their return to employment.
Flexible working is guaranteed, as is a safe environment in which to express and store milk and reasonable breaks to support breastfeeding.
“Working with The Mum Club to essentially rewrite their maternity policy has been a privilege,” says Kate. “Working parents are among the most highly-skilled employees in our work force and, sadly, some are deterred from coming back to work because of high costs of childcare and a lack of flexible working.
“I would always encourage businesses to listen carefully to their staff and ,wherever possible, to support working families and retain that rich pool of talent.”
The Mum Club was founded in 2016 by Jessica Lawes and Lauren Webber, born from their frustration that while mother and baby groups are vital for parents, they can be baby-centric. The Mum Club is a ‘woman first’ support community built around local events.
“As a start-up it is hard to provide an all-singing, all dancing maternity package but we knew what we could offer was flexibility and support,” says Jessica. “We want our employees to enjoy the early stages of motherhood and when they feel ready to return to work, they can do so around the ever-changing family dynamics.”
