National Childcare Week 2012, from 2-9 July, gives employers an opportunity to highlight their childcare benefits and other work-life balance opportunities.
Many childcare providers and industry bodies will host information events for employers. Edenred, for example, is focusing its roadshows and webinars on summer holiday survival, with tips for the summer holidays and the main uses of childcare vouchers, which can include payment for summer holiday clubs.
Laura Czapiewski, product manager, childcare vouchers at Edenred, said: “There is still a lack of awareness among parents of older children. We are using National Childcare Week to promote that.”
Meanwhile, My Family Care is offering 60-minute seminars in roadshows at 43 organisations. The topics it will cover include parenting, caring and leadership; the balancing act; stress versus pressure; and childcare choices.
Ben Black, managing director at My Family Care, said: “Many employers have fantastic benefits in place and it is really just about communicating them. It is about promoting existing benefits and getting parents together for talks.”
Liz Morris, director of consulting and training at industry body Working Families, suggested employers use the week to highlight their internal policies for childcare, dependant care and flexible-working arrangements.
“A number of our members are starting to request sessions, such as balancing work and being a dad or mum,” she said. “The most successful tend to be lunch-and-learn sessions.”
Read more about childcare benefits