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.
Pro Bono Week 2021 – Volunteering during the pandemic
For Pro Bono Week 2021, Esther Quarcoo, a volunteer at Working Families who joined in the summer of 2020, tells us why she chose to volunteer with the charity.
The pandemic smashed all of our worlds apart
I’d like to say I saw the flexible working revolution coming, because way back in 2014 I was already bringing it to employees at Dixons / Carphone as their Group HR director, but I don’t think anyone can really claim to have understood how much of an impact the pandemic would make on the world we work in now. I think it’s brought the process forward by at least ten years.
The big question that businesses aren’t answering
As we mark National Work Life Week this year, we’re witnessing a massive revolution in our world of work, accelerated by in part by new technology, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, legislative and regulatory changes, climate concerns and the pressing need to resolve social inequalities.
New proposals on flexible working are a big step forward for parents and carers
The proposals on flexible working that the government has outlined today, particularly the plan to give people the right to request flexible working from day one in a job, are a big step forward.
Q&A with Helen Humphreys – new Chair of the Board of Trustees
A Q&A with Helen Humphreys who took over as Chair on 1 September, 2021 after her appointment was confirmed at a meeting of the Board on 29 July, 2021.
Building back better for working parents: what our new #FlexTheUK survey tells us
Last summer, when we launched #FlexTheUK to campaign for a permanent, people-centred change towards flexible working post-pandemic, I don’t think any of us could have predicted quite what a long, tumultuous year of lockdowns and restrictions we still had ahead of us.
Building back better over the next three years
At the core of our work is a determination to empower parents and carers to understand and use their workplace rights. There are three clear strands to how we view our work: empowering working parents and carers, supporting employers, and driving policy change.
‘Seize the opportunity of making flexible working the norm’ says Minister
We welcome calls for flexible working to be ‘normalised’ by employers: now we need a new Employment Bill to make it law
How can the government best support parents when they need it most?
We must remember that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (under which workers can be ‘furloughed’) won’t last forever. The wider issue is that there is currently no statutory paid leave entitlement parents can fall back on when, for example, their childcare arrangements unravel unexpectedly.
The case for protecting caring responsibilities under the Equality Act
More than six months on and the COVID pandemic is with us as much as ever. Our recent polling found that one in five working parents (20%) felt they had been treated less fairly at work due to their childcare responsibilities since the pandemic began. This equates to 2.6 million people across the UK.
The changing face of work & family life: An interview with the CEOs of Talking Talent and Working Families
To mark National Work Life Week, Talking Talent CEO Chris Parke and Working Families CEO Jane van Zyl share their thoughts on the changing shape of work and family, and why it’s in everyone’s interest to offer more supportive workplace cultures for working families.
National Work Life Week: balancing the parental equation at work
Han-Son Lee from Daddilife explores how National Work Life Week is a chance for us to reflect on the type of work/life integration that best fits our lives and goals.