Childcare
·
Welfare

Childcare: failing to meet the needs of working parents

Vidhya Alakeson
Vidhya Alakeson

Childcare provision has failed to keep up with changing working patterns, with nearly 70% of all working parents now working ‘atypical’ hours. Many are struggling to find suitable childcare provision as a result. The report shows that at least one partner in 75% of families on low-to-middle incomes and in over 90% of families on higher incomes works outside the hours of 8am-6pm, once thought of as the normal working day. The growth in service sectors has meant that UK workers are more likely to work on weekends or at night including in shops, hotels, restaurants and in health and social work.

Key findings

  • The availability of flexible, affordable, high quality childcare is a pressing concern for families and critical to the wider economy. The growth of employment in the service sector has created new low-to-middle earning jobs and presented parents with new challenges in meeting work and family commitments as atypical hours work has become the norm.
  • The childcare market has failed to keep pace with changes in the nature of employment and the growth of dual earning and lone parent households and is currently inadequate to meet the needs of families on low-to-middle incomes. Addressing these market failures to support female employment and allow progression in work will be integral to maintaining the living standards of ordinary working families.

Further reading

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Vidhya Alakeson
Vidhya Alakeson