EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 HOURS 18 SEPTEMBER 2006

 

WHAT IS THE KEEP TIME FOR CHILDREN INITIATIVE ABOUT?

• Raising awareness of the extent of parents working unsocial hours, particularly at weekends, and its effects on family life.
• Sponsoring new research into working unsocial hours, particularly at weekends.
• Campaigning for Government to provide more protection for working parents, especially those required to work at weekends. • Promoting good practice among employers with regard to flexible working.
• Helping parents and families look at the issues for them and offering practical suggestions.

 

KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS

1. ‘WORKING ATYPICAL HOURS: WHAT HAPPENS TO FAMILY LIFE?’ LATEST REPORT BY NATCEN

• Nearly 90% of families where both parents work have at least one parent who works at atypical hours.
• Around 80% of working fathers and over half of working mothers work some unsocial hours.
• Fathers in couple families who work unsocial hours do an average of 13 unsocial hours a week, with a third doing more than 15 hours.
• Working mothers (whether in single or couple families) who work unsocial hours do an average of 10 unsocial hours, with a quarter doing more than 15 hours.
• The average couple mother in a dual earner family who works at unsocial times spends approx eight hours less with her children over the whole week
• Fathers in sole earner families who work at unsocial hours spend approx ten and a half hours less with children over a whole week.
• Evidence of shift parenting – if both parents work unsocial hours the average overlap of hours worked at unsocial times is two and a half, or three and a half hours if both parents work on the same weekend day. This means that, on the whole, children have at least one parent to look after them, but shift parenting families are missing out on time as a family.
• Relatively few parents spend significantly more time with their children to make up for time lost by their partner working at unsocial times.
• Mothers’ work at unsocial hours significantly reduces time spent eating with their children.
• Dual-earner mothers who work unsocial hours spend less time on sport and social activities with their children.
• Dual-earner fathers who work on Sundays spend less time playing, reading and teaching with their children over the week.
• Where time for activities is lost by one parent’s unsocial working, there is little evidence that it is made up by the other partner spending more time with children on these activities.
• 11-13 year-olds whose parents work on a Saturday spend significantly more time on their own.
• For 14-18 year-olds, Saturday work by their parents reduces the amount of time they spend on their homework and increases time spent on social life and entertainment.

 

2. ‘KEEP TIME FOR CHILDREN: THE INCIDENCE OF WEEKEND WORKING’ NATCEN (2004)

• Three out of four families experience some weekend work. 40% of families have at least one parent who regularly works at weekends – 2.4m families and around 4.5m dependent children. • 1.5m families with dependent children have a parent who regularly works on Sundays.
• In around 200,000 families, both parents work on the same day at the weekend.
• Over half of parents who work weekends also work in the evenings.
• Parents who work regularly at the weekend are more likely than others to be poorly qualified or on low income (claiming housing or council tax benefits).

 

3. OTHER KEY FINDINGS

• Around 75% of workers do not work atypical hours out of choice.
• The large majority of mothers were dissatisfied with working long hours and particularly working on Sundays – 78% of the latter.
• Around 40% of mothers said that working weekends limited available weekly time on children’s activities, family outings and visits.