Clinical Director Blog - September

There is a powerful political will to change the way we view employment and the employer / employee deal.  We are already reading that employers are confused about some developments – the Fit Note in particular seems to have experienced a mixed reception. However, employers can expect and should prepare for further change.

Single Parents are set to become one group of people who will be greatly affected by forthcoming changes.  It has been estimated that in October this year at least 120,000 single parents whose youngest is aged seven will be required to seek work; next year the goalposts move and the cut-off age will be when the youngest child is 5 years old.   These parents will be required to look for full-time work (at least 16 hours per week) or risk losing any residual benefits, but are allowed to limit their availability to fit in with school hours.  The problem is that employers do not appear to be geared up for this; organisations such as Gingerbread having already identified that the jobs simply are not there; that employers are slow to develop family-friendly practices, and that as many as 90% of single mothers say they cannot identify any advertised job that fits within their availability.

The talent pool that becomes available when single mothers seek employment is enormous, yet whilst over 90% of employers say they believe flexible working and good work/life integration are valuable tools,  few seem to be taking the steps needed to reconfigure their business in order to capitalise on the potential.   An employer who creates opportunities that allow a parent to work flexibly, perhaps partly at home, will be more likely to tap into the best of the talent. Apart from many other skills, if there is one thing mothers are good at,  it is multi-tasking, and capitalising on this can reap dividends.

Single parent employees are not higher users of Employee Assistance Programmes but their problems tend to cluster around issues created by juggling responsibilities. Like all employees, they sometimes need access to sound professional advice and support and their workplace performance can be enhanced by this. Employers who open their recruitment doors to this important workforce are addressing an organisational need, an individual need and a Corporate Social Responsibility need.