Becoming a parent is one of the most impactful processes in a person’s working life course. Expectant and new parents are entitled to a range of workplace support measures to help them during this time of transition. Yet, most research on the experiences of pregnancy or parenthood and employment focuses on large firms, and thereby excludes the experiences of the majority of employers and employees who become parents in the UK and globally.

Our study has addressed this knowledge gap by examining how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, 1-249 staff) manage their businesses and staffing when their employees (both mothers and fathers) become parents. The project team included researchers from the Universities of Middlesex, Manchester and Leeds, as well as the charities Working Families and the Fatherhood Institute.

Our project Advisory Board included the International Labour Organization (ILO), Equality and Human Rights Commission, Department for Work and Pensions, Maternity Action, Acas, Fawcett Society, Federation of Small Businesses, Medical Women’s Federation, SME (owner-) managers, SME employees – including expectant/new mothers and fathers, and policy makers.

The research findings were used to develop a practical toolkit in an accessible, bite-sized format designed to specifically support both SME employers and employees in managing pregnancy and new parenthood at work. A close link to policy and practice was right at the heart of the research. The toolkit was designed with our interview participants and advisory board members.

The research was conducted between 2022 and 2025 and was funded under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Transforming Working Lives Programme of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Method

Our mixed-methods study included the following elements:

  1. Employing a longitudinal and participatory approach, qualitative data was collected on experiences in relation to pregnancy, maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental leave, flexible working, breastfeeding and childcare support:
    • SME employees: In-depth interviews, repeated at 2-3 time points over 18 months with 35 parents of dependent children (6 years old or under) (=100 interviews in total)
    • SME employers: In-depth interviews, repeated at 2 time points over 18 months with 35 SME owner/managers (=70 interviews in total)
    • Two focus groups with fathers and working parents
  2. Two large-scale cross-sectional surveys of 2000 SME employers and 2000 employees working in SMEs were conducted to complement the qualitative data and more broadly explore attitudes, intentions, experiences and social norms around pregnancy, breastfeeding and childcare support, parental leave and flexible working for parents, and the availability to and take-up by mothers and fathers to inform academic and policy debates further.

For more information on this study, please contact project leader Dr Bianca Stumbitz.