Technology organisation UKFast has given all employees who have children starting at primary school today (Monday 4 September 2017) the day off in order to help parents be a part of their child’s first day at school.
The organisation, which has more than 350 employees across sites in Manchester, London and Glasgow, has offered an additional day of annual leave to employees who are parents to four or five-year-old school starters. This is to enable these employees to drop off and collect their child on their first day of primary school and to better manage family commitments alongside work.
This initiative runs alongside UKFast’s existing family-friendly benefits offering, which includes an on-site crèche, gaming area, and code clubs during the school holidays.
Lawrence Jones, chief executive officer at UKFast, said: “It might not seem a big deal to a lot of people, but if you’re a mum or dad and you have your little one going to school for the first time, it’s an important day. I would say that every mum and dad that I know has taken it off as holiday, so we’ve decided to give it back to them as an extra holiday.
“If every [organisation] in Britain did this, and they easily could, it would be putting a smile on every single person’s face. Hopefully one day everyone will follow suit.
“Any business, whatever their size, has the opportunity to do something to help working parents. Obviously it’s not always practical to have children in the workplace, but there are solutions to be found to every problem. If businesses don’t do it, they are going to lose people, and in today’s climate where skilled people are such an important asset, it is crazy to not do something to help your people.”
