Adam Webster
Associate Professor in Law and Public Policy at Oxford University
Given the unexpected interruptions to the working day which children can present – school holidays, a sudden illness, childcare falling through – the fact that parents can take up to four weeks of unpaid leave per child per year to which parents are entitled can be very handy.
But how does that work in reality? It leaves that parent’s colleagues to pick up the slack, which can become a source of resentment. And more than that, the existence of that unpaid leave can mean that parents – especially mothers – end up seeing their career progression stall as they spend more time away from work.
So, have working parents got it harder than ever? Mothers Emily Watkins and Charlie Bond and work academic Adam Webster give their perspectives.
