Her Master’s Voice: Coping in the summer months

Contrary to the belief that the majority of welfare support is only needed by the sick, elderly and frail, often working parents with school-age children dread the long summer break and find holidays a nightmare.

Why? For at least six weeks children will be at home in need of adult supervision potentially preventing a parent from going to work during that time or impacting upon the monthly outgoings.

A new report from the Family and Childcare Trust’s annual survey has estimated that the average cost of childcare during the summer holidays for a week is £133 per child.

This can be financially devastating for unemployed, single parent or low income families that assign every penny of the monthly wage to rent and bills.

Furthermore, summer months mean longer nights and extended bedtimes, which can put a strain on parents’ well-being and mental health if they are going through a tough time themselves.

Every child should have a fun, carefree summer holiday doing the things that kids enjoy, but sometimes providing this can be a real trial for parents.

So how can The Furniture Makers’ Company help?

Did you know that we support the dependants of people who work or have worked in the sector as well?  So we could potentially help by providing finance towards a sitter from a recognised body or it could be day funding a child or children for a camp such as on offer by the Scouts or YMCA.  

Many communities have a local recreation department that offers sports camps, arts and crafts camps, or a day camp kind of model. Most are affordable, but there is still a cost to be met. Or maybe even financing a short respite break if times have been really tough.

But what can my company do?

Our welfare support is there for anything life throws at you, from a minor bump in the road to a major crisis. However, the hard fact of the matter is that the majority of people in the industry don’t even know our help exists. We want to help every single eligible family know where to turn but we need your help to make sure our welfare support is no longer the best kept secret in the industry.

How can I join and become a One Step Champion?

As an employer, you can join our One Step at a Time campaign and become a One Step Champion very simply. It’s fast, simple and free.  On signing up, One Step Champions will be given a suite of tools to help promote the message to their employees, including a certificate of involvement, posters, flyers, case studies and social media content, and be kept up to date with news on how The Furniture Makers’ Company can support their employees.

Make sure your company is the next One Step Champion!

Watch our very short video and sign up NOW!

Join Axminster Tools & Machinery, Camira Fabrics, Celtheath, Crofts & Assinder, Edward Claay and Son, Harrison Spinks, Ocee Design, Panaz, Parker Knoll, Shire Beds, Tempur, Vitafoam and Whitemeadow and make a difference to the welfare support available to those who work in our industry.