Oh baby: Bristol aims to be bundle of joy for returning to work parents

Bristol City Centre BID levy paying businesses across a variety of sectors have implemented innovative and family-focused initiatives in order to combat difficulties parents may face when returning to work after they have had a baby. From dedicated financial bonuses upon them heading back to the office as well as completely flexible working options, to assistance with private healthcare and even leave for grandparents, Bristol businesses are paving the way.

At a time when Pregnant Then Screwed has reported that 17% of UK parents have had to leave their job due to the cost of childcare, and the chancellor has this week announced that parents with one and two year olds will begin to receive 30 hours of free childcare to begin to combat such statistics, a number of businesses in the city are demonstrating that Bristol is ahead of the curve when it comes to making the transition back into work as smooth as possible.

Here’s what a number of our levy paying businesses are doing to make the transition as smooth as possible…

RECRUITMENT EXPERTS FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BALTIMORE CONSULTING, BASED ON PRINCE STREET

Lauren Cox, Marketing Manager at Baltimore Consulting

In terms of wellbeing and personal development, we offer flexible working for all of our staff - whether that be hybrid or completely remote. I work around my childcare arrangements, meaning I work in the office two days a week and the rest at home. One of my favourite policies that we offer is the Self-development Window, which is available to all of our employees. We offer staff a 2-hour window every month to spend becoming the very best version of themselves - to read a book for example - as I know I never get the chance to do that without little fingers and toes grabbing it out of my hands! Another is the DNA Duvet Day, meaning that we offer an additional day off for all of our team, which they can choose to take whenever to recharge their batteries. We also offer a gym hour every week, which can be taken at any point - as well as paid-for counselling if our staff require it. Our entire leadership team has all been through life coaching to help with our personal development as well as more in tune leadership for our team’s benefit.

Other initiatives on offer at Baltimore Consulting include

Enhanced parental leave packages – An enhanced maternity and paternity package for all employees, as well as leave for family circumstances and adoption leave.
Return and rebuild bonus – Employees returning from long-term leave receive a cash injection to tide them over whilst they rebuild their client-base.
Feel good Fridays – Contractual hours are until 12pm, but all staff have the opportunity to take Friday completely off.
Volunteering – Two days per annum to spend time volunteering.

Wellbeing Wednesdays – Extended lunch break on the first Wednesday of every month to encourage staff to step away from their desks and recharge their batteries in whichever way they see fit.
Mental Health – There are always two fully qualified Mental Health First Aiders on site. Baltimore Consulting also has a long-standing partnership with Bristol Mind who offer team training.
Spectrum.Life – On demand therapy for all staff and their families, from counselling through to mindfulness.

LEADING LAW FIRM AND AWARD-WINNING SOLICITORS, VWV, BASED ON NARROW QUAY

Esther Rayson, HR Advisor at VWV

From the moment someone tells us they’re pregnant or beginning the adoption process, we make sure they know immediately what is available to them. We provide a dedicated guide for women that have just become pregnant, outlining any and all questions they might not even know they need to ask. It also details our shared parental leave policy, which gives parents more flexibility in how to share the care of their child in the first year after birth. Flexible working is key - if they are keen to continue to work in the office, we make sure they’re as comfortable as possible - offering them back support or whatever else they may feel they need. If they’re suffering with sickness, we make sure they’re working from home if that’s what they would prefer. Regular check-ins are key while they’re still at work, but we also check how they’d like to be contacted while they’re away on maternity leave so they can be kept in the loop with important information if they so wish. Around the six month mark after the baby has been born, we get back in touch to ask if they’ve thought about their return and if they’d like to look at flexible working - a high percentage of new mums take this up. When the baby is born, the mum receives a £100 boost from our healthcare provider and has the option to add the baby to their private healthcare policy.

Other key family-focused initiatives at VWV include:

Ethically-sourced gifts – All new mums in the business receive a baby grow and a baby bundle as a gift from VWV shortly after the baby is born by From Babies With Love, a charity providing ethically-sourced gifts with all profits going to orphans and abandoned children around the world.
VWV Parents Network – An employee-led platform, the dedicated Parents Network meets every few months to offer a time to both discuss and balance the stresses of working and parenting simultaneously.
Pregnancy complication support – A dedicated toolkit is in place for managers to help support members of their team who may have suffered miscarriage or stillbirth. There is a dedicated section on the company intranet, with wellbeing support on offer for any team member who may have gone through either of these.

SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATOR, INSIDE TRAVEL GROUP, BASED IN ELECTRICITY HOUSE ON QUAY STREET

Tania Yanada, Office Manager at Inside Travel Group

Here at Inside Travel Group, we have a number of family-focused initiatives that are continually being worked on and refined, including a dedicated breastfeeding policy. We have a special room on-site for breastfeeding, with no windows, to ensure the utmost privacy. One of our goals this year is to set up a Family Working Group made up of parents and carers where policies are discussed and further actions agreed." Our overarching aim is to be as flexible as possible in terms of what parents really need. This includes adjusting working hours, working patterns and working location. We have embraced hybrid working across the team and have a number of fully remote staff. We are flexible in our approach and listen to the requirements of the individual and do our best to balance these with the needs of the business. Our Learning and Development Manager has recently returned from Maternity leave to a four day a week pattern with Wednesdays off, starting later in order to make nursery drop off times. We have a number of staff including myself with a reduced hours work pattern, which fits around family life.

Inside Travel Group also offer:

Dedicated workshops for those about to go on maternity leave, which cover health and safety, mental health, legislation and all required paperwork.
A Parents Group, which was set up in lockdown. The group offers support with home-schooling and is a free forum for staff to come together and share advice as well as share the experience of having kids and working from home.
Keeping in touch days and events – while colleagues are on maternity leave – Inside Travel Group are entirely flexible as to how many of their 10 keeping in touch days individuals might like to do, and work alongside them to find the right balance, whilst being open to discuss possible flexible working applications for when they return to work. Those on maternity leave are also invited to all office parties, including the annual summer boat party and Christmas festivities…!

LEADING SPECIAL INTEREST CONTENT BUSINESS, OUR MEDIA, BASED ON COLSTON AVENUE

Hannah King, Head of People & Comms at Our Media

We have five employee network groups, including Our Women and Our Working Families. These groups are support networks for our employees to help each other, feel included and have a voice. They’re a group for people to feel safe, ask questions and learn from the experiences of others but also to support us as a business and share ideas, solutions, concerns and review policies and instigate change. These groups have helped us create and introduce policies to support with pregnancy loss, fertility, surrogacy, adoption and menopause. For those who are pregnant, we offer enhanced maternity pay (12 weeks at full pay and 16 weeks at half pay) as well as paternity pay (four weeks at full pay). Our grandparents leave (five days paid, pro rata) means that new grandparents are able to take days off to welcome new additions and support new parents in adjusting to life with a newborn. It’s important to us that our family-led initiatives are not solely directed at our female workforce. We also offer a reintroduction plan on return to work, whereby colleagues can buddy up with someone else in the business who has recently returned from parental leave to offer coffee and lunch catch-ups - and if the colleague returning to work is breastfeeding, we have a private space for them to express.

Our Media also offer:

10 days paid dependency leave (pro rata) to support with caring responsibilities e.g. teaching strikes.
Fostering leave – Five days paid (pro rata).
Flexi time hours – Start between 8am – 10am, finish between 4pm – 6pm. The flexible working policy also supports employees to request coming back to work with further flexibility or part time.
Hybrid working – 60% is the basis for office time but colleagues can put in a flexible working request for additional flexibility.

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Oh baby: Bristol aims to be bundle of joy for returning to work parents

RECRUITMENT EXPERTS FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BALTIMORE CONSULTING, BASED ON PRINCE STREET

Lauren Cox, Marketing Manager at Baltimore Consulting

LEADING LAW FIRM AND AWARD-WINNING SOLICITORS, VWV, BASED ON NARROW QUAY

Esther Rayson, HR Advisor at VWV

SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATOR, INSIDE TRAVEL GROUP, BASED IN ELECTRICITY HOUSE ON QUAY STREET

Tania Yanada, Office Manager at Inside Travel Group

LEADING SPECIAL INTEREST CONTENT BUSINESS, OUR MEDIA, BASED ON COLSTON AVENUE

Hannah King, Head of People & Comms at Our Media

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