Company-subsidized vacation care

In the BerufPLUS project of Zukunftswerkstatt Düsseldorf GmbH, Lilly Fleck advises parents and companies on the topic of childcare in a professional context. In this interview, she reports on the special role that company offers play during the vacations and how both employees and employers can benefit equally from them.

Why is vacation care important for working parents?

Pupils in NRW have 75 working days off a year - all vacations taken together. However, parents only have an average of 28 vacation days. This is not enough to cover childcare. They therefore need alternative options for the remaining days. There are currently not enough places available in open all-day schools. If the company provides support here, this can save parents time and money. They don't have to search for places themselves and book expensive vacation camps. They can also save on travel by simply bringing their children to work and taking them home again after work - provided, of course, that the vacation childcare is located directly in the company or the surrounding area. The fathers and mothers then arrive at work more relaxed and know that their little ones are well looked after. This is not the only benefit for the entire team. After all, vacation requests pile up, especially in summer. When parents receive company support in looking after their children, everyone can plan better, coordination within the team is easier and the whole thing becomes a little less stressful.

What exactly can this company support for vacation childcare look like?

There are various models. Depending on the size of the company, the personnel, space, time and financial resources, the age and number of children to be cared for or existing offers, for example from the local authority, companies can provide support in very different ways. The simplest thing is to take over the search for existing offers and make them available to employees, for example in the form of a list of links. The most time-consuming option is certainly to organize the vacation care independently without outside help. Setting up a program completely on your own involves responsibility. It takes a lot of motivation and willpower. To reduce the organizational effort, however, companies can also work with service providers. This is usually a little more expensive. However, if you compare the offers, you can also find profitable options for this. As a last resort, companies can get together with other companies and organize a joint offer. In the start-up phase in particular, there are many organizational issues to be clarified and agreements to be made. The advantage is that companies can expand their networks.

What advantages do companies have when they promote a better work-life balance by offering company vacation childcare?

I think the biggest advantage is that companies with family-friendly offers do a lot for their image and for securing skilled workers. On the one hand, they promote the loyalty of current employees to the company. On the other hand, they can also attract new colleagues more easily. In my experience, young people in particular are once again very family-oriented and pay attention to these aspects when choosing a job. Of course, an important prerequisite is that the measures are also communicated to the outside world.
In addition, working parents who are supported by their employers are much less stressed. And less stress leads to less sick leave. Companies simply have happier and more motivated employees, which is generally associated with an increase in productivity.