24/05/2021

Managing work and school holidays

How can we expect our employees to perform at their very best when their minds are not on the job? It’s simple, we can’t! What’s more, most of us inherently want to do a good job at work and when we feel we’re not doing that, we become frustrated, overwhelmed and unhappy. And it will be no surprise to learn that when we start to feel like that, not only is our work affected but also our wellbeing.

All employers have a moral and legal responsibility to look after their employees and the very best employers are very good at this. They understand that it’s important to look after the staff and to support them in any way they can.

Awareness of working parents

When you employ working parents’ it pays to not only know but to understand what arrangements parents have in place for childcare both before and after school if needed and during the school holidays which can be a real headache for so many parents. For most parents it’s a case of sitting down at the beginning of the school year and meticulously planning where annual leave can be taken and then dealing with the big question of what happens to the children on all the other days?!

Working parents wellbeing

If you want to make life easier for your working parents and protect their wellbeing then there are a number of things you can do to show you care. Firstly, offering flexible working arrangements can make a real difference. This could be an option to change the days or hours worked or maybe an option for employees to start work later or to finish earlier. Such changes to working patterns can go a long way in helping parents to achieve the necessary balance between work, caring responsibilities and looking after their own wellbeing.

Secondly, being able to offer working parents a good solution for what they can do with the children during the school holidays to keep them entertained, not just occupied, is always welcomed. Many working parents will grapple with the issues of whether they should be working to pay the bills and in doing so be able to treat the kids to nice things or whether they should be with the children making their school holidays as fun as they can be.

Activity camp partnerships

Partnering with an activity day camp provider is the perfect way to help your employees access highly reputable holiday childcare at a discounted rate. The best of these companies are Ofsted registered with glowing reports and provide working parents with venues that are conveniently located, take boys and girls aged from 4½ to 14 years and offer a range of 80+ activities.

When you present an option like this to your employees you save them time researching alternatives and money because there are great discounts to be had with their employer schemes. Most importantly, you give them peace of mind. So, whilst their children are at camp, your team can focus fully on the tasks at hand knowing their children are having an amazing time, trying new activities, developing skills and meeting new friends.
Many employers are already offering such solutions to their working parents and by helping remove this big headache from parents they are seeing the benefits of a happier, more productive workforce.

Why not sign up to a corporate partnership with Barracudas Activity Day Camps and join over 40 companies that are committed to making life easier for working parents. Graded as 'Outstanding' by Ofsted more times than any other childcare provider, Barracudas provide professional childcare from 8.30am to 5.30pm in the school holidays with extended hours available from 8am up to 6pm.

Find out more about Barracudas Corporate Scheme.