Skip to content
Accessibility Sitemap Search

The UK's national charity for working parents and carers

Donate
Members log in

Working Families Parents and Carers Advisory Panel Role Profile

What is the Parents and Carers Advisory Panel? 

The panel is a group of parents and carers from across the UK who are working, or looking for work, alongside their caring responsibilities. Our panel members are crucially important to the work we do, contributing their life experience to help shape our policy work, collaborating on research that drives forward change, and being a voice to speak out for parents and carers. They do this through discussing issues, sharing experiences, telling their story and speaking to the media. 

Who is on the panel? 

We are keen to have parents and carers who have recent lived experience of struggling to balance work and caring responsibilities. This might be due to employers’ inflexible work policies, being made redundant because of your responsibilities at home, having to manage insecure work and childcare, or discrimination because you were having a baby. 

We’d especially love to hear from dads or people from minoritised communities including people who have a disability or care for someone with a disability. Your voice will help us reach and represent parents and carers from all walks of life. 
 
We don’t expect you to have any formal qualifications, just a willingness to talk about your own experience. 

What will I do as a panel member? 

As part of the panel, there will be an opportunity to:  

  • Share your perspective as a working parent or carer at virtual meetings which will take place at least four times a year.  
  • Share your experience in a blog or a case study. 
  • Speak to the media about your own experience, if you feel comfortable to do so.  
  • Take part in academic research. 
  • Test our services and give feedback on how they work for you. 
  • Review our guidance and resources to make sure we get the tone right. 

What are the benefits of taking part?  

We want being part of the panel to be a rewarding experience and for members to see the impact of their contributions. As a panel member you can: 

  • Use your voice and experience to advance positive change for working parents and carers.  
  • Develop skills in influencing and designing services. 
  • Be in the know about opportunities that arise. 

How much time do you need? 

You will likely need to allow 2-4 hours every three months, including meetings and feedback requests. These meetings take place during working hours, at the time most convenient for most people, determined by a survey. If you can’t attend a meeting, you can feedback via email.  
 
Panel membership is for a maximum of two years, giving an opportunity in that time to effect change and see an impact. You can leave the panel at any time. 

How to get involved

Please complete the form to register your interest. 

Sign up form

If you have any questions or would like to talk to someone about getting involved please email Anna Letouze.