Blog
Welcome to our blog where we explore news, policy developments and best practice ideas relating to how parents and carers can fully meet their work and caring responsibilities, and how their employers can best support them.
In the interests of open debate and the exploration of new ideas, any views expressed here may not necessarily represent the formal view of Working Families.
The Government has missed the opportunity to give a rocket boost to fathers taking a greater role in their children’s lives
After the government's recent formal response to the Fathers in the Workplace Inquiry, father of two Adam Gretton talks about the huge missed opportunity for Shared Parental Leave.
Why SPL matters for the self-employed
I’m a recording engineer & music producer by trade. I started the Parental Pay Equality campaign to change the law to give self-employed people access to Shared Parental Leave (SPL).
Making a successful flexible working request
If you’re an employee who has worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks, then your employer has a legal duty to reasonably consider your flexible working request.
The GEO’s recruitment process focussed on my skills, so I did not have to explain or justify the ‘gap’ in my CV
Vivien Kelly, Communications Lead at the Government Equalities Office, writes about being a returner and about the GEO sponsored Best Returner Programme Award.
Where next for Shared Parental Leave: reflections on ‘Fathers and the Workplace’ recommendations
Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee today released its report from the Fathers and the Workplace inquiry which highlights the difficulties fathers have in balancing their careers and childcare responsibilities. Dr Emma Banister from Alliance Manchester Business School and Dr Ben Kerrane from Lancaster University Management School give us their thoughts on the report’s recommendations.
Time to start being a bit more useful
The first month of my sabbatical was from the middle of June to the start of the school holidays. I thought that Nicola (my wife) probably wouldn't be keen on having me hanging around the house, so I asked Sarah Jackson if I could come and help for a month at the Working Families offices in Camberwell. She very kindly said yes. It was a chance for me to see how Working Families operates, how the whole team works together and what an amazing service it provides with relatively meagre resources. It was the highlight of the year.
Time to fix the fathers?
Welcome to the Mummy Track, guys. Our Modern Families Index 2018 shows very little difference between men and women - fathers are making the same career compromises as mothers do, which we have been agonising over for decades. Men and women turn down promotions, say no to a new job - steer their career into the sidings and idle the engine for a few years.
Harassment at work – where do you claim?
Sexual harassment – which usually consists of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature – has been much in the news recently. However, harassment can be much wider – it is any unwanted conduct that creates a humiliating, intimidating, degrading, offensive or hostile environment for the person concerned, whether the perpetrator intends to create that impact or not.
Three ideas to make this country a better place, for women, for men, and even for business
Sybille Raphael, Head of Legal Advice at Working Families, spoke to employment lawyers about Working Families, the gender pay gap, and pressing for progress on International Women’s Day.
Shared Parental Leave: opportunities, barriers & #sharethejoy campaign
As the Government launches a new drive to raise awareness about Shared Parental Leave, Dr Emma Banister of University of Manchester looks at the issues dogging the flagship gender equality initiative
Grievances do more harm than good
Let’s start with the assumption that early resolution of workplace issues is the best outcome for you and your employer, and legal action is the worst. The purpose of a grievance process is meant to be to resolve concerns, problems or complaints raised by employees. In practice, we find this is often not the case. Unfortunately, a grievance by its nature is usually a criticism of your employer. It is therefore often seen by the employer, rightly or wrongly, as ‘disloyal’ or an ‘attack’ on individuals or the business.
Tackling the problem of childcare
By Helen Norman and Colette Fagan, University of Manchester The UK has one of the highest costs for childcare in the developed world. The average household now spends £11,562 a year on their two year old’s full-time nursery fees or £15,118 a year if they live in London[1] (Harding et al. 2017). Latest figures from…