Ah, summer. Sunshine, long evenings, school’s out… and for working parents, the logistical juggle begins.
Every year, we hear from employers trying to do the right thing by supporting working parents through the summer holidays while maintaining business performance, fairness across the team, and a strong sense of culture.
It’s not always easy. One of the most common questions we’re asked is:
“Is it OK for someone to work while looking after their kids during the day?”
Here’s our honest, HR-informed answer:
No, not really.
And it’s not about being inflexible or unsympathetic. It’s about being realistic, consistent, and safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone involved; parents, their children, the wider team and the business.
Why It’s Not Ideal – for Anyone
- Split focus means reduced output
- No matter how committed someone is, trying to handle emails with one eye on a toddler and the other on a Teams meeting just doesn’t work. Mistakes happen, deadlines slip, and others may quietly carry the extra weight.
- It impacts wellbeing
- Trying to be present for work and children at the same time is incredibly stressful. The guilt, mental load and constant multitasking can take a toll on energy, focus, and confidence, leading to burnout over time.
- Childcare is costly and complex
- Even when parents want to make alternative arrangements, summer childcare isn’t always available or affordable. These aren’t excuses, they’re real constraints. Employers need to be empathetic, not dismissive.
- Fairness matters
- Not everyone has the same responsibilities, flexibility or support outside work. When one person is perceived to “make it work”, others may feel frustrated or undervalued. Clear boundaries protect morale as well as performance.
- It’s not always safe or appropriate
- Homeworking while supervising young children raises genuine health and safety concerns. It may invalidate insurance or breach your risk assessments and those risks often go unspoken.
- Confidentiality counts
- Whether it’s client information or internal conversations, it’s easy to forget that data protection still applies at home. Little ears and eyes don’t always mix well with sensitive business content.
So, What Can You Do?
At Peas in a Pod, we’re about keeping things human-first and business-savvy. Supporting parents doesn’t mean compromising on performance, it means removing the barriers that make it harder for people to do their best.
Here’s how employers can strike the balance:
Set Clear (and Compassionate) Expectations
Make it clear in your homeworking and flexible working policies that working from home isn’t a substitute for childcare, but frame it with empathy. Parents aren’t always choosing this setup; sometimes it’s the only affordable or available option.
The key is to set people up for success, without judgement or assumption.
Offer Flexibility (That Works in Real Life)
Flexibility isn’t always about fewer hours, it can be about different hours. Could someone shift their start and finish time? Compress their week? Use unpaid parental leave, or a mix of leave and remote working? Just be clear on your expected response times and any core hours that need covering.
Also – just a reminder that asking for flexible working is an employee’s legal right, and ensure your process is clear and supportive.
Provide Perks and Benefits That Make a Difference
Depending on your budget, consider offering practical perks such as:
-
- Summer holiday childcare vouchers or subsidies
- Access to employee assistance programmes (EAP) for wellbeing support
- Temporary ‘core hours’ adjustments to reduce pressure
- Offering additional paid or unpaid parental leave options
- Access to local childcare partnerships or emergency backup care services
These perks demonstrate genuine care, reduce stress, and boost morale, helping parents feel supported rather than stretched.
Encourage Planning Ahead
Support managers to have proactive, open conversations early. Don’t wait until the last week of term. The sooner people talk about what they need, the easier it is to plan workloads and keep things running smoothly.
Promote Guilt-Free Leave
Time off isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. Encourage people to take leave over the summer where they can, and make it clear that doing so is supported and expected.
Model it from the top. If leaders aren’t taking breaks, others won’t feel they can either.
How We Can Help
We don’t believe in handing over a dusty policy and disappearing. We’ll work with you to understand your team and design solutions that actually fit real life. We can help with:
- Refreshing or creating homeworking and flexible working policies
- Supporting managers to have confident, compassionate conversations
- Providing case-by-case advice to keep things fair, kind, and clear
- Writing communications that explain things properly, without the legal jargon
Bottom Line?
You can support your team through the summer holidays without compromising your business needs. It takes planning, clear communication and a generous dose of empathy.
Need help working it out?
Let’s talk. We’re here to help, every step of the way.
