Parents

Employee Benefits Poll: An overwhelming majority of organisations say they are providing staff with greater flexibility to help working parents cope during the current lockdown.

This week’s straw poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers has found more than four-fifths (82%) cite offering flexibility as the main way in which they are supporting employees with childcare responsibilites.

With no update on when the third national lockdown will end, an additional 2% of employers said they are offering paid time off, unpaid leave, or granting staff access to various support forums or networks respectively.

But worrying is the fact that a significant minority (12%) still said they are not offering any support at all.

As rumours grow that schools could stay closed until after Easter, it is highly likely employers will have to be accommodating for many more months to come. If this proves to be the case, pressure will no-doubt mount from staff who feel their employers are still doing nothing to help them.