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
Unlocking Opportunities: Labour’s New Deal for Working People

Unlocking Opportunities: Labour’s New Deal for Working People

As the political landscape undergoes significant changes, employers and human resource professionals are closely monitoring the Labour Party’s firm commitment to overhaul employment rights early in their tenure. Within the first 100 days of taking office, the party has pledged to enact comprehensive reforms.   This initiative stems from the party’s critical assessment of current […]
Helina’s Takeaways from MADFest, London

Helina’s Takeaways from MADFest, London

Last week, I attended MADFest in Shoreditch, London! 🤩 It was a jam-packed day with many amazing brands and speakers joining together to celebrate the world of advertising and marketing! Being new to marketing, it was invaluable for me to be amongst and hear from many senior and experienced marketers.   Here are some of […]
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. […]
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 […]
How to Run a Successful Recruitment Campaign

How to Run a Successful Recruitment Campaign

Do you struggle to get the people you need to accept your job offers? It’s a common problem and stems from a simple lack of understanding of managing a complex recruitment strategy that, instead of saving you time and money, does the opposite, leaving you with more work than you started with and still no […]
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 […]
The Benefits to Hiring a Temp or Contractor

The Benefits to Hiring a Temp or Contractor

You have big ideas.   However, these ideas come with the need for an increased level of niche skill or time that your employees may not have.   What can you do?   Hire a temporary worker or an interim contractor:   What is a temporary worker / interim contractor?   An interim contractor is […]
London receives record investments into Impact Tech

London receives record investments into Impact Tech

London has become one of the fastest-growing hubs for impact tech with start-ups. Up to the end of 2020, the UK had secured more investment in the past 5 years than any other country in the world, in 2020 an astonishing £950m was raised.
Why leadership coaching is proving to be a game-changer in 2024

Why leadership coaching is proving to be a game-changer in 2024

The business landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, placing unprecedented demands on leaders. Today’s successful executives must be agile, empathetic, and digitally savvy. This perfect storm of requirements has created a leadership gap that many organisations struggle to fill.   At Yellow Bricks, we understand the challenges of finding, nurturing, and retaining top-tier leadership talent. […]
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, […]

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