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January 29, 2021

We’ve seen all the funny memes about home schooling, parents who have set their children art tasks of drawing them while they nap on the sofa, jokes about Ofsted home school grades, and videos of adults perplexed by their children’s maths tasks, but laughing aside, school closures are having a massive impact on working parents.  

For many parents and carers, the latest set of school closures have created an increased pressure to ensure their children receive an education, having missed a large chunk of classroom time in 2020. This combined with worries about work and the impact that a lack of childcare could be having on performance will undoubtedly lead to increased stress. Additionally, one in five working parents believe that they have faced unfair treatment at work since the onset of Covid-19 and a Pregnant Then Screwed survey in July 2020 reported that 46% of mothers made redundant during the pandemic blamed lack of childcare provision during Covid-19 for their job loss.  

While businesses obviously still need to operate, there should be room for flexibility for team members dealing with school closures. Creating room for manoeuvre and providing support now, can significantly reduce the long-term negative impact on employment and employee career prospects, and can help to retain valuable talent.  

Make sure that any decisions you make are fair 

If you find yourself having to make decisions about furlough, shorter working hours, or redundancy, it’s vital that you avoid being discriminatory in any of your decisions. The EHCR has produced a useful document to help employers ensure that they remain on the right side of equality legislation. Inclusivity should always exist in any HR decision but is particularly important at the moment. So, we recommend communicating with employees about any changes in the workspace or working practices to ensure that they are happy.   

Let your team know that they are supported 

Any working parents are probably feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment. There’s a big difference between keeping your children entertained when they are off school for the holidays and everything is open as normal and trying to keep them focussed on home learning whilst meeting work deadlines. Empathising with them and letting them know that you understand and that you value them can go a long way.   

Are there any other ways that you can support them? 

Think about whether there are any other ways that you can make their lives easier while they are grappling with schoolwork.  

  • Offer staggered start and finish times. If work doesn’t have to be completed during specific hours, allowing staff to start earlier or finish later can provide the breathing space they need. You could also consider allowing part-time staff to spread their hours across the week. 
  • Furlough. HMRC have announced that staff members can now be furloughed if they have a caring responsibility due to Covid-19. This includes school closures and lack of childcare and can be used for full furlough or flexible furlough.  
  • Offer Parental Leave. Parents are entitled to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave for each child up to their 18th birthday with a maximum of 4 weeks taken within one year. They are also entitled to 5 days paid dependent’s leave.  
  • Change priority on tasks. If furlough and leave aren’t options, consider prioritising business-critical tasks and moving non-critical tasks down the list. This can potentially reduce stress.  
  • Do not disturb. If you know that your team member is home schooling from 9.00 -12.00 try not to email or call them during that time. This reduces the worry that they are prioritising something else over their work and lets them know that you are supporting them. Be prepared for interruptions. If watching live news coverage has taught us anything, it’s that kids love to jump in on a Zoom call, as do many furry friends!  
  • Embrace these little interruptions as an opportunity to get to know your employees and their families on a more personal level. At Dakota Blue, we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet quite a few of the next workforce generation (and their pets!) in recent months entertaining us with stories of party aliens and princesses.  

Embrace these little interruptions as an opportunity to get to know your employees and their families on a more personal level. At Dakota Blue, we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet quite a few of the next workforce generation (and their pets!) in recent months entertaining us with stories of party aliens and princesses.  

Provide support for their health and wellbeing 

Reminding your team of the health and wellbeing support that you have available is always a good idea and it may be worth looking into an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). EAPs provide cost effective and confidential support to employees, ensuring that they have direct access to counselling, resources, and other forms of support.  

If you would like any advice on ways that you can support the working parents on your team, help in creating an inclusive decision making process, or want to make sure that your working practices are supportive, get in touch with the team at Dakota Blue.