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The service provided and the attention from the consultant could not be faulted, it ranged from advice when I couldn't make a decision through to the practical elements of identifying the right people. This service made the job so much easier and less stressful than it would have ever been if I was "going it alone".
P&G employee & parent

I was very impressed and hugely grateful for the service. If I had not been able to use the service and had such a wonderful nanny, I would have had to have taken 3 days off work as my other nanny broke her leg. Many thanks.
Management consulting firm employee

We recognised that the demographic of our employees is changing. More of them live away from their families, but increasingly have growing eldercare responsibilities, which is why we introduced the service.
HR Manager, Procter & Gamble

We realise the importance of helping our employees balance work and life... Not only is it the right thing to do, but it also has a direct impact on our business and the future of our organisation.
Head of Employee Benefits, Investment Bank

Work+Family in 2012

What to look forward to, what to avoid...
and a few predictions to boot

11/01/2012

The Olympics

A "glorious, chaotic nightmare" is how one HR Director described the forthcoming Olympic jamboree. We're all looking forward to it but there's going to be some hangover.

For thousands of working Londoners combining work and family is already a juggling act. The Olympics adds an extra ball to the mix! Some of our main clients - Deloitte, Freshfields, and GSK - are very closely involved as sponsors and lessons for employers and parents are clear. Plan ahead and if you need some help with your care arrangements book early.

Webinar: Is your business flexible enough for the Olympics?

We'll be joined by guests from some of our 'Olympic ready' clients who'll be sharing their thoughts and advice on what businesses could and should do to avoid staff disruption over the coming Summer.

Get Ready, Set, Go! Email webinars@myfamilycare.co.uk to let us know you're interested in attending the webinar taking place this February.

Read: Are you HR fit for the Olympics?

Flexible Working

The results of the Modern Workplaces Consultation are due early this year. The Government is onside but very cautious. Good businesses benefit enormously from flexible working but the public sector has got it horribly wrong (in perception, at least, flexibility is often linked to low productivity).

The business lobby groups (the CBI and the IoD) don't quite know where to position themselves which means we don’t expect anything too ground breaking from the consultation.

Lord Davies et al

Thanks to Lord Davies and the eagerly awaited annual Cranfield report of female directors at FTSE companies, female leadership will remain firmly on the agenda. There will definitely be progress - the interim numbers from Cranfield showed some first small steps - but it will be slower than Helena Morrissey and her cohorts would like.

Miserable economic conditions can hinder female talent every bit as successfully as the old boys club.

And a prediction? There will be significantly more female partners at female law firms but please give us a couple of years for that to pan out. 14% female partnership at Magic Circle firms is the starting point.

Prizes and awards

Opportunity Now’s Top 50 Employers for Women is the big one and happens in April. If you’re serious about the work+family challenge then consider putting yourself through the extremely rigorous Top Employers for Working Families benchmark (winners announced in October).

Eldercare

There is a massive and increasingly well documented funding crisis on the way. It will continue to receive headlines and rightly so.

We're looking forward to the Government's white paper (expected March/April). There's been widespread talk that most of the Dilnot recommendations will be watered down. We expect to be pleasantly surprised. And watch out for the launch of the Good Care Guide - a trip advisor type service for the care industry. It's been a long time coming.

Childcare

We don't expect any changes to the voucher rules in 2012 although we do expect a bit of consolidation in the industry. We also expect some of the larger nursery chains to get together, with Busy Bees being a likely acquirer. A few more Sure Start centres will close down but overall the childcare market is in good health - if only it didn't cost so much.

Ben Black
MD, My Family Care