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The Big Give Christmas Challenge


Until Tuesday 10th December, any donation you make through the Big Give Christmas Challenge will be matched – doubling the impact of your support. Whether big or small, every donation helps us create a fairer working world for parents and carers.

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Benchmark Report 2024

This report highlights key trends and insights on flexible working, family-friendly culture, gender equality, and wellbeing practices among leading employers.

Flexible Working Benefits

  • Flexible Work Uptake: 62% of leading employers report that over three-quarters of their staff now work flexibly. Smaller organisations are setting the pace, with 100% of staff working flexibly, compared to 59% at larger organisations.
  • Cost and Productivity Gains: Flexible working is beneficial for organisations as well, with 54% of employers seeing reduced business travel costs, 51% saving on building expenses, and 42% reporting increased productivity. Additionally, 36% of employers recorded lower staff turnover.

Creating a Family-Friendly Culture

  • Manager Training: 90% of employers provide training for managers to effectively lead flexible teams, creating a family-supportive workplace culture.
  • Leadership in Action: Nearly all employers (96%) encourage senior leaders to model flexible working, promoting commitment from the top.
Download the report

Support for Parents and Carers

  • Carer’s Leave: With the Carer’s Leave Act in place, 55% of employers now offer paid carer’s leave, averaging 3.5 days with some providing up to 20 days.
  • Life Event Support: Recognising critical life moments, 90% of employers offer support for fertility treatments, and 97% provide support for employees experiencing the loss of a baby.

Gender Equality in Senior Roles

  • Flexible Job Analysis: 85% of employers analyse roles for flexible working options, with over half doing so for all positions.
  • Senior Role Disparities: While women represent 37% of part-time employees, only 7% of senior roles are part-time, typically occupied by women. Expanding part-time senior roles could bridge this gap.
  • Leadership Modeling: Although 74% of employers encourage leaders to model flexible work, only 49% actively encourage men to work flexibly, suggesting room for broader acceptance.

Parental Leave Support

  • Equal Parenting Leave: Benchmark employers offer, on average, 18 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave, 5 weeks of paternity leave, and 14 weeks of shared parental leave. Organisations offering equal leave provide an average of 21 weeks of fully-paid leave as a day-one right.
  • Special Support for Parents: The majority of employers also offer support for employees having a child via surrogacy (86%), undergoing fertility treatments (90%), and those experiencing miscarriage or baby loss (97%).

Wellbeing Initiatives

  • Mental Health Focus: All benchmarked employers have measures to support mental health and prevent burnout, including mental health first aid, burnout management training, and job design focused on output-driven objectives.
  • Transparency in Policies: While 83% of employers outline flexible work options online, only 58% publicise parental leave policies, signalling a potential area for increased transparency to attract family-focused candidates.

This report showcases how progressive workplace policies benefit employees and organisations alike, supporting productivity, family wellbeing, and inclusive career growth.

Download the publication PDF