Are you doing all you could to support working parents?
Parents have it tough these days, and not just when they’re trying to wrestle screens away from their children!
More families than ever have both parents working – the cost of living means being a stay-at-home parent is unrealistic for most. Dealing with work commitments and home life can become a delicate balancing act. Not to mention the spiralling cost of childcare that many families have to fork out for.
Although the government has plans in place to give more parents access to free childcare, these won’t come into force until September 2025. That doesn’t help anyone right now.
Traditionally, some employers have shied away from hiring parents under the impression they’re unreliable, unfocussed, or uncommitted. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Times are
changing, and businesses are seeing that the positives of hiring parents far outweigh the negatives. If you have the right company culture that is.
So, what can you do to create a family-friendly business culture and attract and retain new talent in the shape of working parents?
First, you need to be aware of the leave, benefits and entitlements that apply to parents. These can be relevant to anyone from the moment they’re expecting, to the time their youngest child turns 18. They also apply to cases of adoption, surrogacy, LGBTQIA+ families, and in cases of pregnancy or neonatal loss.
You should also look at other ways you can support parents, by considering flexible working arrangements (which can apply to everyone, not only parents), and other perks you may be able to
offer to help strike a good work/life balance.
The more you do to support working parents, the more you’ll see in return. It’s likely you’ll see more engaged, motivated, and productive employees who are happy in their roles and will stay with you for years to come.
Supporting parents can be simple if you understand the help that’s available to both your business and its employees. I’ve written a new guide that details everything you need to know about parents and the help available, as well as the laws you need to be aware of. We’d love to offer you a free copy. To download yours today or for more information or advice, give us a call on 01604 261380.
LATEST NEWS
SME Roundtable Event
Join us at Haus of HR and Incorporate Benefits for a valuable discussion on attracting and recruiting top talent for SMEs. Discover key HR strategies for recruiting and retaining top talent and gain insights about implementing employee benefits for small businesses.
We are pleased to have a guest speaker from Maji Financial Wellbeing who will explore the link between financial wellbeing and mental health. Learn how SMEs can support their employees on both fronts. This event, aimed at Business & People Leaders, will take place at Whittlebury Hall, Towcester. Join us from 08:30am to 10:30am for an open forum where you can actively participate in the conversation and walk away with valuable takeaways from our panel.
READ MORE ABOUT OUR EXCITING NEWS HERE
Working in a Healthy Space
Our latest blog post covers why physical wellbeing should be a focal point for any business. From increased productivity to lower healthcare expenses, discover the numerous benefits that come with promoting physical wellbeing in the workplace.
It’s Pride Month! Are you getting involved
If your business is doing things the right way, you’ll have a LOT of policies. Maternity policies, absence policies, we even have policies for internet use. Andw hile you’ve hopefully got an inclusion and diversity policy, does it have a specific LGBTQIA+ inclusion section?
If not, it’s time you made a change.
While we’re fortunately seeing more acceptance of LGBTQIA+ communities, there are still occasions where LGBTQIA+ employees feel discriminated against, judged, or bullied simply for being themselves.
As an inclusive employer, it’s your job to make clear the repercussions of bullying, harassment, or discrimination of any kind, but that’s not the only thing you can do to make sure this behaviour doesn’t happen in your business.
Educate your employees with diversity training and awareness. Bring in LGBTQIA+ speakers or hold workshops that help everyone in the business understand the language to avoid in order to improve cohesion, but also to help them realise the difficulties that some LGBTQIA+ members face on a daily basis.
If you have LGBTQIA+ employees, don’t forget to speak to them to see what changes they think are needed in your business, if any. Take their feedback ,their suggestions, and listen to their concerns. Likewise, let them know what to do if they feel they’re being harassed, bullied, or discriminated against at work, or by colleagues outside of work. Make sure they know who they should report any issues to, and the process for dealing with problems.
Inclusion and diversity is a big subject, but it’s important to ensure everyone is treated equally, fairly, and given the same opportunities. If you need any help or guidance on making the right changes in your business this Pride Month, give us a call.
HR Q&A’s
Can I decrease someone’s pay?
This would be a variation of the employee’s contract of employment. However, if you and your employee agree to a reduced wage, it’s okay. Providing it still meets National Minimum Wage requirements.
Can I legally hire someone on a zero-hour contract?
Zero-hour contracts are legal, providing you abide by employee’s statutory rights, including the right to National Minimum Wage, paid holiday, and rest breaks.
Can I make someone redundant while they’re on maternity leave?
Yes. However, you can’t make someone redundant because they’re on maternity leave, and there’s a strict process you must follow to avoid unfair dismissal or discrimination accusations.
Let’s chat
Here are two questions for you:
- Do you currently have a HR consultant?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with them?
If the answer isn’t “I’m so delighted I could print 1,000 flyers to spread the word about them”, let’s jump on a video call. You know just how important it is to get proactive, responsive HR support. That’s what we do. And we’re now taking on new clients again.
Set up a FREE 30 minute discovery call ….
CHO Corner
My Fur Mummy!
As they say ‘curisousity killed the cat’ – so if you want to know know about my Fur Mummy – now’s your chance!
Find out what she gets up to outside of work and what she still has to tick off on her bucket list in the latest Q&A feature in both The Business Times Northamptonshire and Business MK.
….I even get a mention too!!!!
Download below the latest copy of our HR News Room to read, so grab a coffee and sit back and relax – enjoy!