'Travel can't afford to lose any more working parents'
James ChappleVicky Billing, Riviera Travel’s head of partnerships at Riviera Travel, and Anna Perrott, Panache Cruises’ head of supplier relations, are co-founders of Back In Time For Bed, a new network support group for working parents in travel. Here, they give their take on Jeremy Hunt’s spring Budget.
The government’s pledge in Wednesday’s Budget to provide 30 hours free childcare for one- and two-year-olds in England is a significant moment for the travel industry workforce, writes Riviera Travel head of partnerships Vicky Billing.
Ever since we set up our working parents’ hub, Back In Time For Bed, we’ve heard from countless parents or parents-to-be about how the crippling cost of childcare in the UK – and particularly the very poor financial support available to working parents before their children turn three – forces many in travel to think carefully about the financial viability of going back to work during those early years.
Losing new parents from the industry with all their experience and expertise because they "cannot afford to work" is one more staffing problem our sector could do without. So thank goodness the government has finally seen sense and recognised how much better for the country’s economy it is to make it possible for more people to continue doing the jobs they love after having children.
Today’s news is certainly a huge weight off my own mind – and for my daughter Ellie’s grandparents (just kidding!). And I am excited to see the impact the funding will have for parents working in travel and their employers over the coming years.
However, as we’ve learned from the parents in our newly-formed Back In Time For Bed community, the cost of childcare is just one part of the jigsaw. My little one Ellie hasn’t even started school yet and I’m already stressing about how on Earth I will be able to manage the school holidays.
Handling the pressure of a busy, sociable industry while parenting can feel like one continuous battle – but we hope our new support network will open discussions and offer advice and shared experiences for any parents and parents-to-be who are trying to cope with the juggle.
So if that sounds like you, then we would love to welcome you to our Facebook community.
We really welcome the chancellor’s announcement today, which boosts the support available to working parents, adds Panache Cruises head of supplier relations Anna Perrott.
According to C&M Travel Recruitment, the average wage in our industry (in January 2023) was £28,486 a year, so we believe these measures are going be a major help to a large number of people, and will hopefully also encourage people to return to work after maternity leave.
At Back In Time For Bed, there have already been many discussions about the challenges of coping with childcare costs. For those struggling now, September 2024 feels a long way away, but there is definite hope for the future in helping working parents. We will continue to support those for the here and now through our group.
In his Budget address, Hunt said: "We need to go further for parents who have a child under three. For them, childcare remains just too expensive. I don’t want any parent with a child under five to be prevented from working if they want to, because it’s damaging to our economy and unfair mainly to women.
"So today I announce that in eligible households where all adults are working at least 16 hours, we will introduce 30 hours of free childcare – not just for three and four-year-olds, but for every single child over the age of nine months. The 30-hour offer will now start from the moment maternity or paternity leave ends. It’s a package worth, on average, £6,500 every year for a family with a two-year-old child using 35 hours of childcare every week, reducing their childcare costs by nearly 60%.
"Because it is such a large reform, we will introduce it in stages to ensure there is enough supply in the market. Working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare from April 2024, helping around half a million parents. From September 2024, that 15 hours will be extended to all children from nine months up, meaning a total of nearly one million parents will be eligible. And from September 2025, every single working parent of under-5s will have access to 30 hours free childcare per week."
Hunt added the reform would "transform the lives of thousands of women and build a childcare system comparable to the best".
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