Almost two-thirds of parents with very young children will return to work thanks to the government’s pledges on free childcare, according to a survey by Indeed.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his 2023 Budget that 30 hours of free childcare would be extended to children over the age of nine months, whereas currently only working parents with three or four-year-olds are eligible.
The benefit will be phased in up to September 2025, starting with 15 free hours for working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024, and then extending to 15 for parents of nine-month-olds to three-year-olds from September 2024.
All parents of children aged nine months to four years will be entitled to 30 hours of free childcare by September 2025.
Indeed found that 65% of parents who are either employed, unemployed or on parental leave would be encouraged to seek additional working hours thanks to the new benefit. This rose to 77% among parents who gave up work due to the high cost of childcare.
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Parents earning £15,000 or less said they would plan to double their working week from 12 hours to 24 hours when the scheme is implemented, while those earning £55,000 and above would increase their hours from 22 hours to 29 hours a week (a 33% increase).
Four-fifths of mothers and 62% of fathers who had given work up due to the cost of childcare said this had led them to sacrifice their careers. Forty-one per cent of mothers responding to the survey said the opportunity to progress their career would be one of the biggest motivators to increase their hours.
Extended free childcare won’t remove all barriers to returning to work, however. Indeed’s survey found that 28% of respondents would not be looking to increase their hours because of their mental health; 26% because of a lack of flexible hours; and 25% because childcare would still be too expensive.
Three-quarters said offering flexible working hours was far more important than the opportunity to work remotely, and 40% said an empathetic manager was important in easing parents back into work.
Bill Richards, Indeed’s UK director, said: “Starting or growing a family is a precious time for parents yet balancing childcare and a career is difficult and for many simply unviable. The promise of state support is clearly welcome news for many people keen to get back to work and our research suggests free childcare could make a real impact on bolstering Britain’s workforce.”
Richards pointed to figures revealing that interest in childcare roles compared to other jobs on Indeed has declined by 16% compared to pre-pandemic levels, and 27% of childcare roles on its sites are classified as hard to fill (as in, they remain vacant for 60 days or longer).
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“The challenge for policymakers is relieving pressures already facing the childcare industry, where gaps in the workforce and retention have long been an issue,” he added.
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