A total of 60% of the 2,000 respondents surveyed by Pebble said they were struggling to juggle work and childcare and two in five are barely able to afford extra childcare costs.

Over half of parents are also feeling added pressure from employers to be in the office, meaning many parents face a stressful time and are looking for alternative jobs. This is due to childcare costing families an extra average of £166 each week.

That adds up to an extra £664 a month, with parents claiming bosses have gone back on their word to allow more flexibility when it comes to going into the office. This feeling from employees has resulted in parents requesting an average of two extra days to work from home. 

Spending more on commuting

Even families and guardians with children old enough to go to secondary school are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. One in seven households missed an essential bill at the beginning of September, as more outgoings arose for their children’s school return, including uniform, equipment, and travel costs.

Employees who need to travel into an office also spend an average of nearly £98.70 more each week on travel costs, compared to staying at home. Londoners will spend £531.68 a month on the journey to and from the office.

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This means entrenched employers have been urged to reconsider their stance and allow more days working from home for staff who request it.

Lance Beare, CEO of Pebble, said: “The fact that working parents are actively changing jobs in order to manage childcare costs is simply unacceptable, and it’s costly for businesses too. Families need both more flexible childcare options and employers that recognise the challenges of juggling work and home life.

“When you ask employees to be in a certain place at a certain time, they need to line up childcare; and this comes at a cost; without childcare in place, parents can’t work. Employers need to look at their company benefits and reassess what people need support with today; on-site yoga and pizza lunches are nice, but what about supporting the childcare needs of parents so that they can afford to keep working instead?”