"Whilst we can’t take that guilt away, we can help to remove some of the financial burden that comes with taking unpaid or reduced pay leave to care for their child when they’re poorly or have had an accident."
- Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK
Of those surveyed (3,003), 17% felt afraid it would reflect badly on them professionally, whilst 13% were anxious that unplanned time off work to care for their unwell child(ren) would impact future promotions & pay rises. 10% thought their colleagues would resent them and just under one in ten feared prolonged absence would result in them getting a written warning or contract termination.
Likewise, 25% were concerned about the financial impact that unplanned leave to care for their child(ren) would cause. Previous research commissioned by the provider found 79% of working parents have or would be impacted financially if they were forced to take time off for childcare. Notably, 11% had/would borrow money to make ends meet or cut back on household subscriptions, followed by cancelling children’s extracurricular activities & clubs (8%), cancelling other support such as childcare, cleaning or gardening (8%), taking out a loan (6%), cancelling financial products (6%), and missing a mortgage/rent payment (5%).
READ MORE: MetLife UK finds 25% of parents would be forced to use savings if their child fell ill
Worryingly, 48% admitted they don’t have a savings pot set aside in case they need to take unpaid time off work or away from their business.
Discussing workplace priorities, MetLife found 27% of working parents believe their employer is family-oriented and would likely be understanding of their situation. Over a third (37%) said their employer would allow them to leave work immediately, whilst 28% said their employer would allow them to work flexible hours – 23% could work remotely.
“Slips, trips, tumbles, and falls are inevitable when raising children – no matter what age. Plus, there’s the additional worry of serious childhood illnesses that also require hospital treatment. We have all heard of parent guilt, the guilt we feel having to work when we could be with our children, but it seems that for parents - especially if self-employed or those with less flexibility at work – needing sudden or prolonged periods off for childcare can quickly create bigger problems if there aren’t sufficient safety nets in place,” explained Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK.
