The school summer holidays are literally just around the corner (some have already started!), and many working parents will be planning the 6-8 weeks with meticulous precision, who is going to which holiday club, grandparents or friends houses on which days- who is taking time off for which weeks. But have parents started to take a different approach to childcare and working from home?
We have had increasing numbers of queries from clients asking about whether staff can care for their children whilst working. It seems during COVID many people learned to multitask- we had no choice but to parent and work. Employers and customers were super flexible, often because they had no alternative. Has this set a precedent that actually working parents no longer need to arrange childcare during school holidays? Are offices suddenly quieter over school holidays because people are choosing to work remotely for the purposes of childcare? And if so does it matter?
As with many HR issues that come across our desk, the issue is about expectations and clarity in communications. Managers and business leaders need to clear what the rules and expectations are and be open enough to talk to their teams about how they are managing.
Here are some tips to navigate what could be an awkward conversation:
- Be clear about the expectations, if you have hybrid or remote working be clear that the policy applies regardless of the time of year, and any changes need to be agreed in advance.
- Different age children will have different needs, typically children aged under 8 will need much closer supervision than older children and teens.
- Understand the barriers to putting childcare in place, it could be about access to holiday clubs or costs, £200+ per week may not be affordable.
- Consider temporary flexible working arrangements– could you reduce hours temporarily to be worked back during busy periods, or allow more unpaid leave.
- Don’t forget people can take Parental Leave, which is a statutory right to unpaid time off and they can take up to 18 weeks before their child’s 18th birthday.
Not all jobs have the same level of flexibility, but where employers can offer flexibility during school holidays this is likely to win huge amounts of gratitude and motivation from your team. If you are clear about the outcomes and deliverables it often won’t matter when they do the work. However, don’t forget those who don’t have parental responsibilities though, often resentment can grow if they feel burdened with extra work so ensure they get the same flexibility at other times of the year.
Employers and employees who can get the balance and flexibility right will likely reap rewards, but it can be a tricky line to tread so clarity on expectations is key!
If you’d like support navigating this or other tricky areas of HR get in touch on hello@risehr.co.uk.