Member Article

Calls for Companies to Better Support Working Mums

More mothers would give up their job compared to fathers if their child suffered a serious illness or accident a survey has revealed, sparking calls for HR teams to review how they could better support female workers during times of crisis.

The ChildMax survey commissioned by insurewithmax.com* reached out to 500 parents who were asked a series of questions relating to their families and working life. An additional 16 in-depth interviews were conducted with families, all having at least one child under 10 years of age.

The findings revealed that 58% placed a serious illness and an accident resulting in a head injury as their top two child-related worries. There was also a significant difference between different groups’ belief in whether they would give up work, with males being far less likely to give up work than females. Only 36% of males would give up their job if their child became seriously unwell or suffered an accident, compared to 51% of females.

Under the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999 employers must allow 4 weeks unpaid parental leave in a year (18 weeks overall for children under 18). ** When a child suffers a serious illness or accident, parents often have no choice but to take unpaid leave as they become part of the care team. However, this does not solve the financial shortfall associated with unpaid leave, nor does it offer a longer term solution for parents who face an uncertain time ahead.

Further research indicates that employers are falling short of meeting employees’ expectations when faced with a personal crisis. Research by CLIC Sargent, a cancer charity for children and young people found over three quarters of parents said that their employer was helpful when their child was first diagnosed. However, during treatment this fell to just over two thirds. *** In another survey of 2,000 women by law firm Slater and Gorden, 54% felt that their employer could do more to actively support working mums.****

In direct response to these findings, Max Robinson, the creator of ChildMax is urging HR teams to review the increasing options available for supporting working parents with seriously sick children.

Max commented: “Working mums are a valued segment of any workforce and organisations want to hold onto them, but it can often be difficult to find solutions that alleviate child illness financial worries whilst giving them the security to build a prosperous career. Clearly, if an employee feels that their organisation cares about their financial wellness, then their loyalty, engagement and commitment is likely to be far higher.“

ChildMax is an innovative voluntary employee benefit in the form of an annual insurance policy designed exclusively for working parents. Starting from £49.50 for a 12-month policy, it covers 12 major illnesses and 7 medical conditions from accidents. ChildMax pays the parents’ take home salary each month for a year while they are on unpaid leave. Once the claim is agreed, ChildMax pays within 30 days, allowing the parent to choose the best date to leave work. This can be during the policy or any time within 10 months of the policy expiry; ensuring that parents focus their time on their child’s medical crisis and recovery. During the year-off, parents can return to work on a part-time basis or for as many days as they want, since ChilldMax pays the difference between their monthly take home salary and any lower earnings.

Employers interested in adding ChildMax to their existing Employee Benefits can find out more at www.insurewithmax.com/Employer.aspx

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