Onsite childcare in the workplace - Will it bring the mothers back to work?

The inclusion of onsite childcare in the workplace means that parents no longer have to work from home, juggling the baby in one arm and paperwork in the other. In October of last year, it was reported that 74% of mothers in England were in employment, and this figure is up from 69% the year before. But can that figure increase further?

Parents will agree that arranging childcare can be very stressful, especially during the school holidays. Onsite childcare helps to take that stress away. Now parents will be able to have their child right there with them, and they can go check on them anytime! In some European countries, the majority of mothers work full-time, but in the UK the majority of mothers work part-time hours. This discrepancy is largely due to the differences in the cost of motherhood. Whilst there is a high cost of motherhood in the UK, which is worsened by the gender pay gap, in countries like Spain or Belgium the pay difference is less than 3%.

So, what can corporations in the UK do to change this? The obvious answer would be for more offices and companies to hire onsite childcare. However, this is easier said than done as it comes at a cost. However, for those companies who can’t afford onsite childcare, perhaps the solution is to allow parents to occasionally bring their children to work? Of course, this depends on the type of business environment and the demands of the job.

On the whole, the availability of onsite childcare in some establishments has made it a lot easier for more parents to return to work after having children.