Working Hours
(asked on 28th August 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) key workers and (b) their employers of those workers having to reduce their hours to care for children in place of grandparents as a result of covid-19 restrictions on household contact.
The Government recognises the crucial role played by key workers and the huge efforts they have been making to balance their work and childcare responsibilities during this difficult period. We acknowledge that for some keyworkers, COVID-19 restrictions will create challenges for managing these responsibilities. We equally appreciate the challenges faced by the employers of key workers, who have ensured that our critical services have kept running.
People should socially distance from those not in their household or support bubble in order to keep people around them safe, limit the risk of the transmission of the virus and limit chains of transmission. We recognise that it may not always be possible or practicable to maintain social distancing when providing care to a young child or infant. People should still limit close contact as much as possible when providing childcare and take other precautions such as washing hands and clothes regularly.
We do not record this data directly, but the Office for National Statistics provides information on employment rates and hours worked comparing men and women with and without dependent children. The 2019 release is available at the following link: