The parent trap: Dealing with childcare. By Louise Druce

Childcare

It can be hard trying to juggle work and kids, with some parents having to settle for second-rate jobs in order to look after their family but keep the pennies rolling in. Louise Druce asks if firms are doing enough to be more childcare friendly.


The kids may be back at school but balancing childcare responsibilities with work can still be a headache. Some bosses aren't helping tip the scales in favour of parents either by failing to lend enough support.

It all boils down to the company. While many large firms have got a good handle on offering family-friendly policies, others are less willing to invest time and money in schemes they feel may not offer them a decent return on investment.

Often it comes down to misunderstandings about the benefits supported childcare schemes can offer and what exactly is out there.

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Editor's Welcome

 

Hello! And welcome back as we enter 2012, with a busy year ahead of us all. With talk of double-dip recessions, a possible partial or even full break-up of the Eurozone and unemployment rates set to hit nearly 9%, topics such as organisational streamlining, staff resilience and talent management are likely to be on many an HR professional's lips over the next 12 months.
 
But to lighten the gloom here in the UK, we also have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and its attendant public holidays to look forward to at the start of June. Followed by two weeks of Olympic Games from 27 July to 12 August and the Paralympics from 29 August to 9 September, each generating their own excitement, but also issues to work through for hard-pressed HR departments trying to sort out the multifarious staffing issues in advance.
 
So with an interesting but challenging year to come, HRZone promises to be with you, supporting you all the way and providing our usual insightful blend of news, analysis, community blogs and expert comment to help you sort the wheat from the chaff. As ever, we love to hear from you too so feel free to either post your words of wisdom to our blog section yourself or, in the case of longer, more in-depth ‘expert voice’ articles, drop me a line with any ideas to cath.everett@siftmedia.co.uk.....
 
Cath Everett
HRZone Editor 
 
 
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