There are laws that support working parents in combining work with looking after their children.
As well as your legal duty to uphold these rights, it's also good practice to support family-friendly working for a number of reasons. It can help you retain skilled and experienced staff, create a more diverse workforce and improve staff morale. It can also help you reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and provide a wider pool for recruitment.
Business case - The business benefits
Good work-life balance policies and practice are good for business, and some benefits can be directly measured financially. These include:
The business benefits
- Increased productivity - The DTI study 2003 revealed that 49% of companies saw a positive increase in productivity.
- Improved recruitment and retention - BT saved £3m in recruitment costs in the year to March 2003, since 98% of women returned after maternity leave.
- Lower rates of absenteeism - The London Borough of Camden experienced a 2.5% reduction in the cost of sickness absence in the first year it introduced a work-life balance strategy.
- Reduced overheads - BT saved £52m in overheads in the year to March 2003 by increasing its number of home workers; this also means an annual saving of £10m in fuel costs.
- An improved customer experience
- A more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce - The DTI found that over 94% of employers agreed that people work best when they can achieve a work-life balance.
