HR Industry News

New parenting rights could close nurseries

— 4 May 2007 —

New flexible parenting rights are having a knock-on effect on nurseries, with almost a quarter of places now being unfilled.

According to new research, rights that enable mothers to care for their young children have seen vacancy rates in nurseries double since 2002.

A report published by market analyst Laing and Buisson (L&G) found there were 160,000 nursery vacancies last year, or 22.5% of the total space available.

Moreover, it found that only seven per cent of children in day care are less than one year old.

Susan Anderson, director of human resources at the CBI says she believes the introduction of flexible working hours had contributed to the trend.

She is reported as saying that there are certainly far more choices for women now. Previously women were either at home full-time or at work but now they can have longer periods off when their child is born.

Paul Avis from Ceridian’s LifeWorks team comments that the changes are not restricted to the period after the birth of a child, “Initiatives such as Improving Working Lives in the NHS which has annualised hours, flexible working patterns and so forth have resulted in a much more beneficial approach to managing child and elder care demands and should be applauded for the improved work/life balance of the entire family.”

Philip Blackburn, author of the report, added that if the trend continues, many nurseries will be forced to close. Following particularly weak demand last year there is a clear danger that future market expansion will see more and more businesses becoming financially unviable.

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