Here’s a common misconception: When employees ask about whether your firm is offering any child care or dependent care programs, they are not necessarily asking if you have an on-site program. They just are inquiring if you address the subject at all.
In fact, most companies that provide dependent care assistance to their employees have a plan where they can contribute part of their pretax wages to individual accounts. Those contributions are used to reimburse the employee for child or dependent care expenses away from the company.
Whether on or off site, many companies are considering a review of their policies for child and dependent care. Some advantages providing child care to your employees can offer your organization include:
- Possible savings in money – A 2005 study co-authored by University of North Carolina professor Rachel Willis surveyed 925 employees at three light manufacturing firms—two that offer on-site child care and one that does not. It found that the two firms offering the benefit saved between approximately one-half and twice the cost of operating the child care centers, including subsidies to employees and other costs.
- Improved employee morale, reduced turnover and absenteeism, and increased productivity – In a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, employers cite child care issues as causing more problems than any other family-related issue in the workplace, with increases in absenteeism and tardiness reported in nine out of 10 companies. And 80 percent of the companies surveyed said that work days were cut short because of child care problems.
- Incentive for recruitment – A study conducted by Simmons College, Graduate School of Management found that 93 percent of parents cite work-site childcare as an important factor in job change, and that 42 percent of all employees surveyed said that the availability of on-site child care was an important factor to their decision to join their present employer.
The issue of child and dependent care remains a divisive one. Many questions arise from regulations, including liability for taking care of ill or injured children, and some younger and older employees see it as an incentive that does not benefit them. It is a decision that needs careful consideration of its pros and cons before being implemented at a company.
For more details on how you can establish child or dependent care policies for your employees, please call a member of CAI’s Advice and Counsel Team at (919) 878-9222 or (336) 668-7746.
Tags: CAI, Child care, dependent care programs, HR, Human Resources, National Conference of State Legislatures, Rachel Willis, Simmons college
If my company paid my current wages plus child care and paid maternity leave (which I would only use once) then I would stay with them forever and could go years without a raise, pending crazy cost of living increases of course.
You’ve got great insights about day care, keep up the good work!