Becoming a parent is a major transition in a person’s working life. For many expectant and new parents, this time of excitement is accompanied by worries about how best to combine their new parenting role with work. At the same time, SME employers often feel overwhelmed by the need to support pregnant staff and new parents while continuing to run their business on a day-to-day basis. In this section, we summarise key concerns of both employers and employees and link to examples from our research that demonstrate the small steps SMEs can take to support employees on their parenthood journeys – small steps which make a big difference and are often highly valued by staff.
Did you know? Parents value flexible working just as much as enhanced maternity and paternity leave! Our study showed that the most valued forms of support among SME employees are informal flexible working (43.3%) and formal flexible working (41.3%), followed by enhanced maternity or paternity leave and pay (39.1%).
- Limited resources
- (In)formality & flexibility: balancing business needs with the support needs of staff
- Limited awareness of employee rights
- Health & safety assessments
- Managing staff absence
- Job insecurity and negative career implications
Limited resources
Tight resources – in terms of time and money – are often a key characteristic of smaller workplaces and can influence all areas of running a business. This also includes particular challenges for supporting expectant and new parents, such as concerns about meeting legal requirements – link to Legal entitlements for expectant parents, managing maternity or paternity-related absence at work – link to Managing staff absence, or providing enhanced leave and pay – link to Leave.
“Anyone with less than say 20 staff is going to be massively affected by a pregnancy because of all the legal requirements we have to put in place and the costs – I guess the financial costs of pregnancy to a small business are not offset by the government support. […]. I get tax relief to a higher amount than [what] it would have cost us, but it’s nowhere near the actual cost of the impact to the business. (Bill, Small business employer)
Did you know? The benefits of supporting parents outweigh the disadvantages: While SME employers in our study acknowledge the financial and administrative costs of managing staff with childcare responsibilities, they rank the benefits of support (e.g. improved workplace culture, increased motivation and retention), higher than the costs.
Small steps can make a big difference
SME employees value flexible working arrangements just as much as enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay. There are many simple, low-cost ways to support parents that staff will greatly appreciate. Our toolkit provides examples throughout. Most of these are related to flexible working and a supportive workplace culture (see Good Practice Examples – link to section).
(In)formality & flexibility: balancing business needs with the support needs of staff
SMEs often operate with informal practices due to their smaller size and Limited resources – add link. Many do not have an HR department or even a dedicated HR person or formalised written policies. As a result, they often adopt a more flexible and less structured approach to staff management. This approach can provide greater flexibility, allow fast decisions and the ability to adapt support to individual staff needs, and was mentioned by our research participants as a key advantage of smaller workplaces compared to larger employers.
“It wasn’t a formal flexible working request with a formal response it was a conversation in the office that was just accepted… I think in a larger company it probably would have been a lot more formalised.” (Nathan, Small business employee)
“It’s pretty much all informal arrangements [in my workplace] at the moment. Parental leave is codified but not that parents can flex their time around to accommodate family things. Nobody will question you about ducking out early to go to football practice, if you’re then working another hour some other time.” (xxx, Father, small business employee)
Did you know? (Informal) Flexibility matters! The most valued support type among SME employees is informal flexible working (43.4%), e.g. allowing staff to work from home, take 2h off or leave early to accommodate a family emergency, followed by formal flexible working (41.3%). Small acts of support, therefore, often matter more than expensive benefits!
While Flexible working (add link) arrangements are highly valued by staff, it can also be challenging to ensure all employees are receiving the same levels of support (see Creating a supportive workplace culture – add link). Developing at least a ‘support framework’ can help to provide a certain level of consistency in support provision. Nevertheless, without written policies, employers may also unintentionally violate labour laws or fail to meet compliance requirements, risking legal consequences and fines (see Meeting employee rights).
Meeting employee rights
SMEs often do not have an HR department or written policies, which can result in gaps in knowledge of labour laws (see (In)formality & flexibility). Keeping up with constantly changing employment legislation is also challenging without dedicated HR staff. Our research showed that both SME employers and employees had limited awareness of legal entitlements for (future) parents at work (see Legal entitlements for expectant parents – link). Almost one-third of SME employees in our study also said they did not know what support existed in their organisation at all.
By getting on top of employees’ rights and putting support processes in place, SMEs can create safer and fairer workplaces that benefit both employees and the business. While there is ample legal information online, it is recommended to seek advice from an external HR consultant to ensure legal compliance and avoid costly fines. Using an HR firm can be a more affordable solution than hiring an HR person and give the employer the headspace to focus on other aspects of running the organisation. Some services are tailored to the needs of SMEs, including options to help with written policies as a one-off, on-demand support for a complex case, longer-term day-to-day advice, and the provision of HR software.
Health & safety assessments
Employers must conduct personalised health & safety risk assessments for expectant and new parents, identifying risks like heavy lifting, chemicals, or long hours, and making adjustments such as flexible working, or reallocation of tasks to ensure safety. Support needs of staff will change over time and need to be reviewed on a regular basis (see Risk assessments and Managing sickness during pregnancy – add link).
How to start a conversation on a sensitive topic
Many support challenges emerge because they are simply not spoken about. For employees, telling their employer that they are pregnant or asking for a specific type of support may be stressful. Similarly, employers may want to be supportive but may not be able to provide what the employee is asking for, or may not know how to enquire about their employee’s needs. Creating an environment where both parties feel comfortable raising any issues without fear of negative consequences helps to set a workplace culture based on trust (see How to create a supportive workplace culture). However, in practice, this often does not happen, particularly when work is hectic or when the topic to be discussed is of a sensitive nature (see e.g., Breastfeeding support – add link).
Setting the scene for a sensitive conversation at work
Reserve a time to speak: Ask for a one-to-one meeting at a calm, unhurried time and place.
Make your case: Clearly state the specific problem or support need and come prepared with potential solutions.
Be respectful and listen to your conversation partner: The aim should be to create a space for honest dialogue, not a confrontation. Let the conversation partner speak without interrupting; ask clarifying questions like “How would this work for you?”
Show empathy and understanding: Try to imagine yourself in your conversation partner’s position and seek to understand rather than judge them.
Seek solutions together: Make clear that the aim of the conversation is to find a solution that works for all affected parties (typically employer, employee and colleagues) (see Life course approach – add link).
Agree on actions: Clearly define what will happen next and by when. It might be a good idea to already agree on a time for a follow-up conversation to ensure accountability.
Useful resource
Managing pregnancy and maternity at work – A conversation guide for managers (includes conversation checklists)
Managing staff absence
The costs of maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave cover, finding suitable cover and managing absence, if cover is not an option, are often key concerns in smaller workplaces (see Planning leave and Managing staff absence – add links).
Sometimes, some simple, no- or low-cost steps can be taken to manage absence (e.g., re-allocating tasks among the team). However, investing time and potentially money in developing strategies to manage parental leave and other necessary adjustments can also help manage unexpected and longer-term absences related to, e.g., sickness and burnout. These strategies might include creating an absence management plan; building multi-skilled (add link to relevant section in Good Practice Examples) teams to increase flexibility and resilience, and developing a Life Course Approach – add link to staff support to ensure a fair and inclusive workplace. In any case, early, open communication and flexible, creative solutions are key to achieving positive outcomes for both staff and the wider organisation (see Starting a conversation about a sensitive topic and Creating a supportive workplace culture – add links).
Job insecurity and negative career implications
Employees often hesitate to ask for support with family responsibilities due to fear of negative consequences for their reputation at work or their career opportunities. Particularly in smaller teams, they often also feel a strong sense of responsibility and do not want to be a burden to their employer or colleagues. Not seldom, these concerns already emerge in the family-planning stage and can lead employees to postpone parenthood to avoid negative reactions at work. Regular, open conversations can help reduce such concerns (see Creating a supportive workplace culture).
Will add examples on sidelining
Did you know?
Most common concern – ask Bastien for figures.
