Managing the School Holidays as a Working Parent
People

Managing the School Holidays as a Working Parent

When it comes to planning for school holidays, working parents and guardians face the huge task of making arrangements for their little people and deciding how they will go about managing the school holidays. This can be quite a stressful time, causing families to feel often guilty about not being around all of the time. […]

July 4th, 2024
*

Abby.

Founder

A search expert making key hires for over twenty years.

When it comes to planning for school holidays, working parents and guardians face the huge task of making arrangements for their little people and deciding how they will go about managing the school holidays. This can be quite a stressful time, causing families to feel often guilty about not being around all of the time.

 

While the summer break does feel like a great opportunity for families to have a rest and spend some quality time together, this doesn’t always work for those with financial and career responsibilities. Especially those where employers cannot accommodate such a long holiday.

 

With summer clubs and childminders charging £30-£60 a day, it can soon scale depending on how many children you have. For a family with two children, contemplating six weeks of childcare could be upwards of £2400 without any food costs.

 

So, how can employers support their employees, and what can working parents do to manage?

 

What can employers do?

 

Employers can offer support to their people by:

 

  • Talking to them to understand their situation
  • Remember that not everyone has a wide support network available
  • Offer full remote work to parents during the holidays
  • Allow employees to flex their hours to fit around family
  • Take any non-essential meetings out of the diary
  • Measure the success of work projects on the outcome rather than the time spent
  • Plan a bring your children to work day for a morale boost
  • Allow unpaid leave if an employee requests it

 

How can you manage as a parent?

 

Working parents can create a fun and plentiful summer whilst still doing their best work by:

 

  • Planning ahead – printing out a calendar of the whole six weeks and plotting out plans
  • Involving children in the planning so that they have lots to look forward to
  • Using childcare vouchers to pay for clubs and reduce costs
  • Scattering annual leave with half days and full days to feel more connected
  • Looking for approved local community holiday clubs
  • Considering if your family could help with a day or two?
  • Talking to local parent friends to share childcare responsibilities
  • Flexing your hours – could you try a 6-10 am and 6-9 pm schedule instead of 9-5?

 

The more we work together to support our employees, the more engaged they will become. With this comes better output, retention, and professional and personal futures for everyone.

 

 

Who We Are

Yellow Bricks hires exceptional temporary and permanent professionals for growth organisations

 

 

Connect with us

 

Want the latest people news? Join our newsletter.

 

Need to hire? Reach out for a free consultation with one of our hiring experts.

 

Looking to hire temporary staff? Click here to book a temp with us.

 

 

To find out more about how to focus on your brand, get in touch today.
Want to hear about our other articles?
Sign up to the
Yellow Bricks Newsletter.
Looking to hire your next superstar?
Let’s discuss your project.
Keen to explore our latest vacancies?
Click here.
Yellow Bricks is a female-owned and led executive search firm hiring predominately for software companies with diversity and inclusion at the heart of our offering. To learn more, click here.
LinkedInPrint
Related posts
8 Steps to Getting Your Career Back on Track

8 Steps to Getting Your Career Back on Track

We know that a lot of the jobs we like the look of online are over applied to, probably phoney, in reality unsuitable, or were filled months ago with no one bothering to take them down.     In some sectors, the hiring markets are weaker than they have been in decades. Trying to navigate […]
6 Gender Biases in the Workplace and How We Can Address Them

6 Gender Biases in the Workplace and How We Can Address Them

As humans, we have biases.   They can be deliberate or unconscious and can impact all areas of society 🌍   They stem from stereotypes and assumptions we have about different groups of people.     Why do we rely on stereotypes? We have a conscious and unconscious mind that works in two different ways. […]
6 Tips for Working In Hot Weather

6 Tips for Working In Hot Weather

As the UK declares a national heatwave emergency with temperatures set to exceed the record set in Cambridge in 2019 of 38.7 degrees, we provide some useful tips for getting through a day of work in the sweltering heat. With the huge rise in people working from home, access to industrial-sized, state-of-the-art air-con units for […]
8 Ways to Keep a Job Search Going Over the Summer

8 Ways to Keep a Job Search Going Over the Summer

Are you seeking a new opportunity this summer? During this time of year, you will want to spend quality time with friends and family. How can you balance work and play effectively when looking for a new role? We share our top 8 tips for keeping a job search going over the summer:   Review […]
Working Parents and Summer Holidays: How to Juggle Work and Family in 2025

Working Parents and Summer Holidays: How to Juggle Work and Family in 2025

School’s out, and for working parents, that often means a full schedule and even fuller hands. Balancing professional responsibilities with childcare can be tough especially during the long summer holidays. At Yellow Bricks, we understand the pressure on parents to be everywhere at once during this time of year. In this blog, we’re sharing strategies, […]
Recruitment Assessment Made Easy: How to interview for success

Recruitment Assessment Made Easy: How to interview for success

Hiring for your Team – Getting it right the first time is a critical part of your role Recruitment made easy Many people find the important task of hiring overwhelming. One poor decision could lead to costly errors and wasted time, which might risk your team’s achieving its goals, leaving you exposed. As a dedicated […]
6 Meaningful Career Goals for 2023

6 Meaningful Career Goals for 2023

It’s January 2023, a new month, and a fresh new year.   Are you a person who likes to set new year’s goals?   How often do you set career new year’s goals?   Work is such a big part of our lives. Have you taken time out to reflect on your professional life, and […]
How to Get Your CV Right

How to Get Your CV Right

Finding a new job requires a large amount of time and dedication, we spend a lot of our time at work so securing a job carrying out important tasks that you enjoy alongside people that you like collaborating with at a salary that fits with your lifestyle is important. Then we must consider the commute, the hours, the benefits, the industry and prospects, the list goes on.
Wages Rise, but Real Gains Slow: What Does This Mean for Your Workforce?

Wages Rise, but Real Gains Slow: What Does This Mean for Your Workforce?

Wages Rise, but Real Gains Slow: What Does This Mean for Your Workforce? The UK’s economic landscape in 2024 has been marked by significant inflationary pressures. While wages have increased by 4.8%, inflation-adjusted growth has slowed to just 1.9%. Despite nominal pay rises, the rising cost of living continues to erode purchasing power for many […]
Investments in UK Tech Companies Hit New Highs

Investments in UK Tech Companies Hit New Highs

The UK has seen investments in tech reach £13.5 billion across 1400 companies this year alone, with record levels of investment predicted by the end of Q4 – very exciting news. It’s incredible to think that according to our research, in the first half of 2021, UK Tech Start-Ups attracted more venture capital interest than […]

People. Culture. Growth.
Yellow Bricks
Yellow Bricks © 2025