After childcare funding reforms were finally discussed in parliament last month, the broken bridge between having children and having a career is in a valuable spotlight. What comes next remains to be seen, but for mothers especially, proposed changes to nursery funding means returning to work may soon be more viable than it has been in years.

The workplace – and flexible working more specifically – has metamorphosed since the Covid pandemic began in 2020, when a large proportion of the country had no choice but to work from home. But it’s worth remembering that workers in the UK do not currently have a right to work flexibly, they merely have a right to request it. Pre-Covid, requesting to work flexibly was all too often done under a cloud of fear. Anecdotes from workers who went through the process paint a picture of a painfully formal request process, and with applications denied for myriad ‘valid business reasons’ (often centred around the fear that staff ‘wouldn’t be productive’ outside traditional office settings or extolling the virtues of in-person collaboration and camaraderie). In fact, one in three flexible working requests were rejected before Covid.

A TUC survey from October 2021 found that 92% of mothers who worked flexibly would find it difficult or impossible to do their job without it, yet 42% of mothers said they wouldn’t ask about flexibility in a job interview for fear of rejection and even discrimination. And further to that, research shows that only two in 10 jobs are currently advertised as flexible, leaving women in an impossible situation where they don’t know what flexible work is available and, understandably, feel reluctant to ask before they have been appointed. 

The pandemic, for all of its horrors, was strangely beneficial for opening up lines of communication around flexible working within the workforce. Managers were forced to let their staff work from home, and in doing so had to admit that their staff were, indeed, still working. 

A report published earlier this year found managers now believe working flexibly can boost productivity. Flexible working is also linked to more engaged staff, who have better overall wellbeing and are more inclined to stay in a role, thus improving staff retention. A less rigid workplace structure would take some of the pressure off the already struggling childcare sector, and it would allow more women to raise children and prosper in their careers. And the benefit for employers? They would gain access to a far wider pool of talent and stop wasting money on fruitless recruitment and days lost to staff absence (it’s estimated employers were costing themselves around £2 billion in staff absence and turnover by rejecting requests). Even the wider economy would benefit: research by McKinsey shows that enabling women to achieve their full potential at work, including through widening flexible working, could add £148 billion to the UK economy by 2030. Let’s be frank – it’s a no-brainer.

Tobi Asare is the founder of My Bump Pay, an organisation supporting working women who have children. Tobi is a law graduate and mother who set up My Bump Pay back in 2018. She has seen the flexible working landscape shift considerably since then.

“Before the pandemic, women working flexibly were often seen as the exception; the one person in the office who worked from home on a Friday or started and left earlier to collect their kids from school,” Tobi says. 

“The system to apply for flexible working was rigid and unforgiving, with the onus on the employee to put together a case of points addressing how you’d pick up any slack and proving that it wouldn’t impact your work output. You also had to have been employed in the same role continuously for 26 weeks before you could apply and, if rejected, you had to wait another year before you could apply again.”

Hollie White, 27, is a personal assistant in an estate agency in Essex, and runs the Instagram page Starting Solids With Sunnie. Sunnie, her daughter, was born in 2021; before that Hollie worked 9-5, Monday to Friday in the office. After 10 months of maternity leave, she formally requested to return part-time.

“I also asked if my new hours could be flexible so I could work and look after Sunnie. Thankfully my company was really supportive about me starting a family, so they were happy for me to do this,” Hollie says.

“I now work 15 hours a week over three days, which I mainly do from home. Without flexible working, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to return to my career due to childcare costs. This gave me the opportunity to have both, which is wonderful,” she adds.

“I definitely think it’s something more companies should offer.”

Hollie and Sunnie are proof of how beneficial setups like these can be, and thankfully, later this year, we’re hoping to see the introduction of the Flexible Working Bill. If it passes, it would require employers to consider two requests per year, to consult with an employee before rejecting any request they might make, and scrap the 26-week wait period to allow applications from day one on the job.

In the meantime, Tobi says that it’s good that improvements to the current system are finally being explored.

“What is it going to take to have the right blend of elements to enable people, including mothers and fathers, to work at their very best? This conversation is finally happening, and in various different spaces; government, organisations and in homes.”

Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, is somewhat less optimistic.

“We believe that at the very least the right to request flexible working should begin from the point of the job offer, not after you’ve handed in your notice at your existing job and started the new one. That asks people to take a huge risk and a leap into the unknown; how is that role going to work for them and their caring responsibilities if their request is or isn’t accepted?” Joeli asks.

And, as Tobi adds, inclusivity remains a problem too.

“When we look at intersectionality, and how a diverse range of people can progress and thrive in their career, there is a long way to go,” she says. “It’s really about equity. We all need to wear shoes, but what if I wear a size 4 and you wear a size 7? How are we going to make the workplace flexible for everyone, no matter their individual needs and circumstances?”

So, with the prospect of being able to return to work now on the horizon for many mothers, what exactly are their rights? Maternity Action, a charity fighting for better maternity rights, have laid out all you need to know here. If you want to equip yourself with more knowledge and confidence, Tobi’s book, The Blend: How To Successfully Manage A Career And A Family, is out now. Pregnant Then Screwed also has an incredible library of resources and research. They are also encouraging signatures on a petition to make all jobs flexible by default, which you can find here.

“I think we need to encourage people as they go off on their parenting journey that there is a way, and that having children doesn’t have to mean a death sentence for their career,” Tobi says. “It’s not easy, but if you want to create that blend, there are tools and guidance out there. Motherhood doesn’t dim our ambition, and we have so much to give. Let’s walk away from the assumption that if you want to have children you have to sacrifice your career.” 

Baby On The Brain: The Returners is a podcast brought to you by Stylist that’s dedicated to the big life questions you face when you’re a new parent navigating a return to work. Click here to listen to the latest episodes.

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