Firms unfriendly to mothers – poll

Three fifths of mothers believe UK companies and services are not family friendly, a survey has shown.

Campaign group Mumsnet said most of the people it interviewed say UK companies lag behind those based in countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain when it comes to providing decent working conditions for mothers.

Almost all mothers agree that having children makes career progression more difficult and three quarters say it has made them "less employable".

The poll shows that being able to have "flexible working" is important for nine in 10 mothers but 60% say family friendly policies are non-existent at companies.

Mumsnet's Justine Roberts said: "Other countries seem to welcome families with open arms but in the UK parents often feel their children are seen as an annoyance.

"At Mumsnet we want to work with business and government to change this, and that's what our Family Friendly campaign is all about. We want to see workplaces where parents don't have to deny that their kids exist. We want firms to state on the door that employees don't have to feel bad about asking to go to sports day.

"Being family friendly is good for business too. Companies shouldn't spend time and money training staff only to see them walk out the door once they've had children because their workplaces don't fit with family life."

Our Family and Matrimonial team helps families across West London and Bucks. For advice, contact a member of the team, call us on 01494 790007 or email enquiries@ibblaw.co.uk.