Soaring childcare costs stop 1m mothers from working

Researchers found the proportion of new mothers returning to work has fallen in the past year, with cost of childcare the reason most often cited for their decision.

In September this year, nearly a quarter of mothers, 24 per cent, said they did not return to work after giving birth, up from 18 per cent in June last year.

For those who chose to stay at home, childcare costs were a key reason for not returning to work – 59 per cent of stay-at-home mothers, amounting to an estimated 1.2 million in Britain, did not return to paid employment because of such costs.

But the study, by analysts Mintel, also found 61 per cent of mothers return to work because they cannot afford to stay at home and look after their child after giving birth.

Ina Mitskavets, senior consumer and lifestyles analyst at Mintel, said: “Job security is highly prized in the current climate of uncertainty, with many mothers returning to work within the 12 months that their job has to be legally held open for them.

“Affordability of childcare, or lack of, is keeping lower-income mums and those with more children at home.

“Lower salaries are frequently not covering childcare costs, which are rising more rapidly than the average salary.”

While financial needs topped the reasons why mothers went back to work, only one in 11 (9 per cent) said they were able to return to work because they had found affordable childcare.

Aside from economic reasons, keeping the mind active (28 per cent), being more independent (5 per cent) and not wanting to give up a career (21 per cent) were the other main reasons for mothers returning to work.

Only one in 25 mothers said her partner wanted to stay at home with the baby.

The biggest share, 20 per cent, returned to work when their baby was between seven and 12 months old, and 17 per cent returned to work when their baby was less than six months old.

However, just 8 per cent returned once the child was five or older.

Sixty-one per cent of stay-at-home mothers said that raising a family was more important than a career outside the home.

More than a third of mothers (36 per cent) believe that they are faced with greater expectations than their own parents were, and one in four (26 per cent) said they are under a lot of pressure to be a good parent and have a successful career.

Case study: ‘Childcare left me with less than £25 a day in pay’

THE cost of finding childcare for her three-year-old son, Calum, and after-school care for her eight-year-old daughter, Emma, forced Kate Black to take a three-year unpaid sabbatical from her civil service job in Glasgow.

“I tried returning to work after having Calum, but it only lasted a year because I realised it wasn’t worth it. The care costs were £34 a day for nursery and another £12 for after-school, £46 in total.

“This cost was compounded because I had to drop my hours to be able to cope with the fetching and carrying involved with the kids, so I was only earning £70 a day.

“I had to ask whether it was worth £24 I was receiving at the end of the day, which didn’t even take into account the cost of getting to work and buying lunches.

“It was a difficult choice to make, because it had serious implications: you’re not paying into your pension, you’re not getting the experience of working, but it just really wasn’t worth it. I have health problems as well, which weren’t helped by the stress of it all.”

Mrs Black, from Glasgow, said she would try to return to work when Calum started school next August, but she said that even then it would be on limited hours, so as to avoid paying after-school care.