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The UK's national charity for working parents and carers

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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.

  • Sponsorship case study: Bright Horizons

    Bright Horizons is our sponsor for this year’s National Work Life Week. Working Families and Bright Horizon share a long history of partnership working. We asked them about their experience being a valued Working Families sponsor.

  • Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne - job share civil servants

    When two heads are better than one – top tips for job sharing

    Job sharing is a fantastic way to unlock flexibility, especially in senior roles. We were lucky enough to spend some time talking to senior civil servants Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne about  how they've made their job share a success for over 13 years.

  • A graphic quote that says "Off then part-timer? Thanks for coming in", The quote is for International womens day and is encouraging an end to the part time penalty

    “She only works part-time” – Let’s call time on the part-time penalty

    Part-time work is predominantly women’s work. It is undertaken by 38% of women, compared to 11% of men, very often so they can manage looking after their family. Working around caring commitments makes it the least flexible ‘flex’, and until the burden of care is shared more equally, women’s careers will continue to pay the price.

  • Elliott Rae

    Q&A with Working Families Ambassador Elliott Rae

    We recently sat down with our new ambassador Elliott Rae—founder of parenting platform MusicFootballFatherhood and one of the UK’s most prominent speakers on fatherhood—to  talk about flexible working, mental health, and gender equality.

  • A Victorian postcard photo showing two women throwing snowballs at a man in a top hat who is holding up his arm to protect himself.

    Flex Scrooges: It’s time to step out of the past and embrace the future of work

    The dust hasn’t even settled from the Government’s announcement that employees will have the right to request flexible working from day one on the job. But naysayers like Sir James Dyson are already out in full force. It’s baffling that the clear benefits of flexible working to both business and the economy aren’t apparent to such a brilliant mind as his. So let me sweep away the myths about flexible working and share the good news about pioneering practices of our flexible future. 

  • Supporting families in site-based sectors

    For many people, flexible working has become the new normal. But not everyone has been able to enjoy the same access to flex. Almost half of working parents (46%) in the UK work in roles which require them to be at a specific location* which makes working remotely out of the question. If we’re to make flex fair for all, any conversation around flexible working must address the specific challenges of those parents and carers who work on-site, and start to find flexibility in every role.

  • Webinar insights: Flex for Fathers

    Our National Work Life Week webinar on supporting fathers in the workplace was a fascinating watch. We heard Dr Jasmine Kelland, Lecturer in Human Resource Management at the University of Plymouth, share her insights from research on the experiences of fathers who want to take an active role in parenting.