The Citizens Advice service says self-employed parents or those in jobs with “irregular hours” have a hard time finding high-quality childcare.
In its report, The Practicalities of Childcare: An Overlooked Part of the Puzzle, surveying 400 childcare providers across the country, it found that provisions rated as outstanding and good require more notice to change childcare arrangements than those of lower quality.
This is said to be the main issue for parents who work changeable shifts or irregular or unreliable hours, and need to be able to change their childcare hours regularly and at short notice.
Quality providers say that the amount of flexibility required to accommodate these childcare needs is not cost-effective, potentially causing their provision to run under full capacity, which is not conducive to keeping their business running.
Citizens Advice also reports on the costs of childcare being amongst the main cause of financial hardship, especially where providers’ costs are sometimes needed a month in advance, and a whole day is charged when only a few hours are needed.
Advice should, of course, be sought at each stage in dealing with these matters. Please call our Legal Advice Helpline from Stephensons to speak with an advisor who will be more than happy to discuss individual circumstances with you, contacts details for Stephensons are in your policy documentation or please call one of the dot2dot team for more information.
Regards
