The start of the new school year can be a busy time for working parents as they determine the best way to manage the demands of work and their children’s term time schedule. From an Organisation’s perspective, the return to school can also serve as a useful reminder that Employees’ responsibilities outside the workplace can change throughout the year. September is therefore a perfect time to consider how providing appropriate supports for Employees during these predictable pressure points can help to create a more flexible, inclusive and sustainable workplace.
What does ‘Back to School’ mean for Organisations?
For many parents, the school day does not neatly fit around the working day. Drop-off and collection times, after-school childcare, extracurricular activities and school events can all create challenges for Employees.
These pressures can be particularly significant for parents whose children are starting school for the first time, or where existing childcare arrangements no longer work with a new school timetable.
There can also be less predictable challenges. Children can fall ill, schools may close unexpectedly, and parents may need to attend appointments or provide care at short notice.
For Organisations, these pressure points often translate into requests for changes to working hours, annual leave, flexible working or even unpaid time away from work.
What statutory entitlements are available?
Irish employment law provides a number of family-friendly leave and working arrangements that may be relevant to Employees with children or caring responsibilities.
These entitlements have different eligibility requirements and rules, so it is important to ensure that managers are familiar with the relevant policies and legislation.
Statutory family-friendly entitlements for working parents include but are not limited to:
- Parental leave
- Force majeure
- Unpaid leave for medical care purposes
- Rights to request remote and flexible work
- Access to part-time work
Going beyond the statutory minimum
While these statutory entitlements are an important baseline, Organisations may also consider what additional support they can offer to make balancing work and family life easier.
Flexible working can be particularly valuable. Depending on the nature of the role, Organisations could consider options such as adjusted start and finish times, hybrid or remote working, compressed hours, part-time working or temporary changes to working arrangements.
Importantly, flexibility does not necessarily mean reducing productivity expectations. In many cases, it simply means allowing Employees greater choice about when or where work is completed.
Organisations could also consider discretionary benefits such as additional family-related leaves, paid time off for specific family circumstances, enhanced parental benefits or appropriate childcare supports.
Not every Organisation will be able to offer all of these benefits, but even relatively small changes can make a meaningful difference to Employees.
Creating a supportive culture
Policies work best when Employees feel comfortable using them.
An Organisation might have comprehensive family-friendly policies, but if Employees believe that requesting flexibility will damage their reputation, affect their career prospects or create resentment among colleagues, they may be reluctant to use them.
Managers therefore have an important role to play. Taking a reasonable and empathetic approach to requests for leave or flexibility can help Employees feel supported while still allowing managers to address legitimate operational requirements.
Planning for the school year
The return to school is a predictable event, so Organisations have an opportunity to be proactive rather than wait for problems to arise before thinking about how they can support Employees.
Managers can remind Employees of relevant leave and flexible-working policies before the school year begins, encourage early communication around known commitments and make sure Employees understand the options that are available.
It may also be useful to consider other predictable pressure points in the school calendar, such as mid-term breaks, Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays.
Supporting Employees beyond ‘Back to School’
For working parents and carers, balancing employment with family responsibilities is an ongoing challenge rather than something that begins and ends with the school year.
Organisations that combine a clear understanding of statutory entitlements with practical, discretionary support can make it easier for Employees to manage these competing demands.
Ultimately, supporting working parents is not simply about being accommodating. It can contribute to a workplace culture where Employees feel trusted, valued and able to remain productive while managing the responsibilities that exist outside work.
In a persistently competitive labour market, providing appropriate supports to working parents strengthens Employee engagement and helps Organisations attract and retain key talent.
How Adare Trusted People Partners Can Support Your Organisation
Our services include tailored HR and employment law advice delivered by experienced and expert HR practitioners. Support and guidance are provided to enable Organisations to manage individual and collective employment issues under all areas of HR and employment law, including:
- Employment law compliance throughout the Employee lifecycle
- Retirement compliance, including contractual retirement ages, longer working requests and objective justification
- Contracts of Employment, Policies and Procedures, Managing Compliance
- HR Best Practice
- Advice on day-to-day matters
- Dedicated Client Manager
- Mitigation of Risk and Financial Liability
- Help desk support
- Commercial HR advice tailored for your Organisation
Adare is a team of expert-led Employment Law, Industrial Relations and best practice Human Resource Management consultants. If your Organisation needs advice, support, or guidance about employment law compliance, recent changes to retirement legislation or any HR issues, please contact Adare by calling (01) 561 3594 or emailing info@adarehrm.ie to learn what services are available to support your business.