22/11/2017
Many woman decide to go back to work after having children but with the costs of childcare rising up to seven times faster than wages, parents are increasingly relying on their parents to look after their children when they return to work.
However, with the rising age of pensions this is causing a confliction with grandparents providing childcare for children. With people statistically living longer and with the pension age slowly increasing, grandparents are choosing to stay at work longer than ever before. So what could this mean for our working mums?
In a report from the University of Birmingham, it shows that woman’s participation in the workplace rose by 26% when parents or in-laws participated in the childcare.
What are you and the grandparents entitled to?
There are a lot of grandparents out there that are still working full time and helping out with childcare for their children. An option that a lot of grandparents take is working on flexible hours or changing their hours to part time. All employees that have been with the same employer for 26 weeks are entitled to flexible hours.
On top of this, grandparents are also entitled to national insurance (NI) credits to compensate for their time looking after the grandchildren. This is an extra £231 a year.
What are the alternatives?
If your parents are unable to look after your child whilst you go back to work, there are plenty of different alternatives that are available for working mothers. These include:
- Nursery – but these can be expensive.
- Consider getting a child minder for your child. These are often a lot more cheaper and they are more flexible when it comes to times.
- Nanny Share is a good option for those who have friends in the similar situation. Find out more information here.
- Consider a childcare swap with a friend that is in the similar situation as you are.
- Ask your employer about flexible hours.
If your children are in school and you struggle for childcare during the school holidays or if you need a holiday away from the children yourself, consider using holiday childcare options such as our activity day camps.