Partner Article

Flexible working 'denied' to mothers

About nine out of 10 mothers find it difficult to get a job with sufficient flexibility when they want to return to work, according to research released this week. The survey by workingmums.co.uk also found that many mothers felt employers were unsympathetic towards them.

Of the 600 people surveyed, 90% said they found it hard to find flexible work. More than half (55%) said that they would prefer to work from home with only 6% saying that this did not appeal to them. However 39% said that they would like to work from home some of the time.

Gillian Nissim, founder of the website, said: “There’s a huge pool of talent and years of experience that could be tapped should the right jobs be made available. “The survey showed that mothers are hungry for work and often have an impressive range of skills and experience to offer employees but feel that there is a distinct lack of opportunities to utilise them. “Things are improving but there’s still a perception that there’s a reluctance to offer flexibility. We need employers to think more creatively and to get beyond the mindset that a job requires someone to be in the office five days a week.”

The issue of childcare featured heavily in workingmums.co.uk report, with 95% saying it was “very expensive” with 43% paying more than £250 a month in childcare fees. Other findings included 74% of respondents saying they felt guilty about leaving children in childcare while they work and 61% concerned that their children would suffer as a result.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .