Nursery World - Childcare costs push 4 in 10 working parents on low incomes into debt

Working parents on lower incomes are being forced into debt, have had to reduce their hours or quit their jobs altogether due to problems affording childcare, reveals new research.

The research by Working Families highlights how childcare costs are pushing low-income parents into debt, PHOTO: Adobe Stock

Based on a nationally representative survey of more than 2,000 working parents with a total income of £50,000 or less,
‘The Working Families Index 2023: Spotlight on lower-income families’, highlights how many working parents are having to make changes to their employment to afford and/or access childcare.

It also shows that parents on lower incomes are often unable to work flexibly.

Key findings include:

Jane Van Zyl, chief executive of Working Families, said, ‘This research reveals what we suspected, that for many parents on lower incomes, work simply isn’t working. No parent should have to reduce their hours, leave the workforce altogether or get into debt to pay for childcare. No parent should be prevented from accessing flexible working because they don’t work at a desk in a knowledge-based industry.

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