Be part of a major new research study on workplace support for expecting and new parents in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Published: 22 May 2023

Working Families is excited to be part of a new large-scale research study on workplace support for new parents in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The research team, which involves researchers from the Universities of Middlesex, Manchester and Leeds, as well as Working Families and the Fatherhood Institute, is currently looking for both employer and employee participants. You can find out more on what is involved in participating in this research at the bottom of this page.

What is this study about?

Becoming a parent is a major transition in a person’s working life. For many expectant and new parents, this time of excitement is accompanied by worries about how best to combine their new parenting role with work. At the same time, smaller employers in particular sometimes feel overwhelmed by the need to support pregnant staff and new parents while continuing to run their business on a day-to-day basis.

In the UK, 99.9% of all businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 99.3% of these are small (employing less than 50 employees). Yet, most research focuses on large businesses and therefore excludes the experiences of the majority of employees and employers in the UK. The nature of support for new parents in smaller workplaces can be quite different from large firms, as they often do not have a Human Resources department, and sometimes no written maternity/paternity policies. Previous UK research on pregnancy and maternity related discrimination at work found small employers had the lowest awareness about the rights of pregnant employees and new parents. Small firms also often fear they cannot afford the time and costs involved in maternity support.

We want to find out more about how SMEs support staff who are becoming, or have recently become, parents. We are keen to explore the experiences of expectant and new mothers and fathers, as well as their co-workers, and to hear from SME owners and managers about the challenges they face in supporting parents.

Simon Kelleher, Head of Policy and Influencing at Working Families and research team member, said:

“A majority of the UK’s parents work for SMEs so understanding and supporting their approach to parental leave policies is vitally important. While SMEs can often be great places to work for parents due to the positive working relationships and flexibility they can offer, a lack of HR resource can mean that the experiences of expectant and new parents aren’t always as good as they should be.”

The study aims to:

• Explore experiences of staff pregnancy and new parenthood from the perspective of both employers and staff – including topics such as support during pregnancy, access to paid and unpaid maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave; flexible working; breastfeeding support; workplace attitudes, expectations and discrimination; returning to work after time off and managing childcare;
• Develop recommendations for the management of new parenthood in SMEs which work for both parents and employers.

How to participate

Are you an expecting or new parent employed in an SME? Or are you an SME employer or co-worker of someone who recently became a parent? We want to hear about your experience! Take part here.