‘So many working parents are screwed’: mothers on Britain’s childcare costs
Joanna Jayarajan, 41, a self-employed mother of two from London, is one of many thousands of working parents in Britain for whom the current childcare offer simply does not work.
She used to work five days a week providing extracurricular activities in schools and nurseries, until she lost her last au pair a year ago, and subsequently a chunk of her income (her wages more than offset the cost of the childcare).
“I can now only work about three days a week, because I have my seven-year-old every day after school. My two-year-old is with two different childminders, but my older one has been on a waiting list for after school club since January 2022.
“My work requires flexibility, and like for other people who work shifts or irregular hours, au pairs previously provided affordable, flexible childcare. But since we left the EU, it has been impossible to find an au pair as the pool of legal candidates is limited to very few.
“I now have to work less, because I don’t have anyone who can help. My parents are not well enough, so I have to beg favours from other mums or from my babysitter to plug the gap.”
Jayarajan says she would use babysitters, who cost £15 an hour locally, more frequently if the government provided financial assistance for childcare that is not Ofsted-registered.
“I know so many parents, especially in the medical field – GPs, nurses, midwives – who are basically screwed because of the lack of flexible affordable childcare. My friend is training as a midwife, she’s got three kids and was thinking about sending them to her in-laws in Cyprus so she can work her shifts.”
Pressure is building for the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to announce some help for hard-pressed parents in Wednesday’s budget.
Jayarajan is one of dozens
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