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.
Flexible Working for Dads – Why it Matters, and Ways to Make it Happen
In these unprecedented times, one of the most significant challenges that I hear about everyday from the DaddiLife community is being able to balance work and family time. Han-Son Lee, the founder of DaddiLife – a parenting website for dads and a community of over 100,000 Millennial Dads - highlights that flexible working is possible, and it's beneficial to both the family and the dad.
In the eye of the storm
How do you manage a team when its workload explodes? I manage Working Families' free legal advice helpline and the number of people contacting us for help has increased six fold in the last month.
The COVID-19 Balancing Act
Like countless working parents across the UK, many of our team members are juggling working from home and caring for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s one thing we know for sure: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for making this “new normal” work. But here are a few tips from the team that we hope might help.
Q&A with Superdrug: How can employers support parents and carers during COVID-19?
We sat down virtually with Jo Mackie, Customer and People Director at Superdrug—a Working Families employer member—to learn how they are supporting parents and carers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The financial shock ‘double whammy’
The Universal Credit system is leaving many parents who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 worse off. This needs to change. The Universal Credit system is leaving many parents who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 worse off. This needs to change.
COVID-19 Benefits Round-up
Amidst an unprecedented number of people claiming benefits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our legal adviser Will Hadwen shares how the benefits landscape has changed
From the legal frontline of coronavirus: the diary of a Working Families adviser
Since the COVID-19 outbreak started, Working Families has received an unprecedented number of queries from parents and carers who are in dire straits due to the virus.
School’s out – and the problems of inflexible and insecure work are laid bare
Schools have closed because of the coronavirus, and for many, work-life boundaries will be going out the window. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Employers: When you say a job is flexible, make sure you really mean it—or face the consequences.
It’s clear that advertising more jobs on a part-time and flexible basis would support parents to find work, stay in work, and—crucially—support their career progression.
How Flexible Recruitment Could Transform the World of Work for Parents and Carers
Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive of Working Families, outlines how flexible recruitment is key to transforming the world of work. National Work Life Week is a chance for employees and employers to have conversations about work-life balance. At Working Families, it’s a time for us to reflect on how we can make the workplace a better place for millions…
Knowing your rights for work-life balance
National Work Life Week provides a chance to reflect on your work-life balance. For many working parents and carers, getting this balance right can be elusive. Luckily, there are some legal rights designed to make it a little easier. But many working parents don’t know what their rights are.
Every Week is National Work Life Week at Zurich UK
By Steve Collinson, Head of HR at Zurich, a Working Families employer member. Empowering our people to work in a way that fits around their own personal needs is at the core of our business DNA. This is not simply a ‘bandwagon’ we’ve jumped on to gain media traction or fall in line with the…