Parents employed outside of normal working hours struggle to find childcare
Janaki Mahadevan
Friday, March 18, 2011
More than two-thirds of parents who do not have normal working hours struggle to find childcare that meets their needs, a Daycare Trust survey has found.
Open All Hours? Flexible Childcare in the 24/7 Era assessed the demand for childcare outside the standard 8am to 6pm opening times and found most parents had difficulty getting childcare overnight, at weekends and in the evening.
The survey of 400 parents, including NHS employees, airport workers and care home workers found 16 per cent of parents work shifts while one in 10 works more than 40 hours per week and four in 10 parents work hours that vary from week to week.
As well as the survey and interviews with parents and providers, the charity analysed Childcare Sufficiency Assessments and the Labour Force Survey.
Anand Shukla, acting chief executive of the Daycare Trust, said: "Our report demonstrates the enormous barriers that parents who work outside typical hours face in accessing childcare.
"Daycare Trust is highlighting this hidden problem faced by so many shift workers ahead of this week’s Budget. Many of these parents are in a weak labour market position, and it is crucial for our economic recovery that parents are practically supported to stay in work."
The study found that lone parents and low-income families are most likely to be found in jobs that demand atypical hours. More than half of parents said that childcare needed to be more affordable and four in 10 said that an inability to access childcare at short notice was a barrier.
The Daycare Trust’s report comes just days after the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced it is repealing regulations due to be enforced in April that would have given parents of 17-year-olds the right to request flexible working arrangements.
The charity has recommended that the government allows parents to request flexible working hours including the power to reject out-of-hours work and request more regular hours.
It also wants government to provide more support and guidance to childcare providers and larger employers; increase promotion of the financial support for childcare; and to make the free early education entitlement available from 7am to 7pm.
According to the charity, councils must also assess demand for childcare more closely, promote and support childminder networks, and offer grants to support local providers in establishing atypical childcare schemes.
