Publishers roll out support for staffers battling with home-schooling

With schools set to stay closed until at least 8th March, publishers are providing parent employees with a range of measures to enable them to cope with work and home-schooling, including increased flexibility on working hours, additional days off, peer-to-peer support groups, free resources, and the option of furlough on 100% salary.

Hopes of a return to classrooms immediately after the February half-term were dashed by the prime minister on Wednesday (27th January), when Boris Johnson said he hoped it would be safe to reopen schools in England from 8th March; however, a firm decision won't be taken until the week of 22nd February.

Bonnier Books UK said it was "committed to supporting our people through the challenges of the ongoing pandemic", and the option of "flexible furlough" has been put on the table for those parents wishing to make use of it. "For several years now, we’ve offered flexible hours for all as a way of helping our people to strike a better work-life balance," said Anna MacLaren May, the publisher's people director. "For parents who are now juggling childcare and home-schooling with work, we’re also offering the option of flexible furlough, while maintaining salaries at 100%."

Flexible furlough is allowed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, giving businesses flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part-time basis, with the government paying 80% of the salary.

The leadership team at Penguin Random House UK said its message to all employees, and particularly parents and others with caring responsibilities, is that they "trust them to do the best they can in these extraordinary circumstances". Managers are understood to be working closely with their teams to provide more flexible working options and to discuss, prioritise and reduce workload for those who are facing particular challenges in balancing work and home life as schools remain closed.

In December, PRH initiated "Winter Hours", giving all staff the option of taking Friday afternoons off during winter months, and this was recently extended to February. It is currently trialling a Zoom/Teams meeting-free period every day from midday to 2 p.m., giving colleagues greater flexibility in how they plan their working day. An extra day off will be given to all colleagues across the company, on Friday 19th February. "For parents in particular, we hope designating a day that coincides with most school half-term dates will offer some additional relief," a spokesperson said, explaining further: "Where an employee’s child’s half-term dates differ, they will be able to take the Friday off during the relevant week instead."

Resources and tips are being shared on the company's intranet and through other internal initiatives such as the Penguin Voices programme, bringing in authors and other experts to speak to staff virtually about topics such as mental health, and Zoom drop-ins are being hosted by the company's tech support teams to talk through any technical issues parents might be having with home-schooling.

Hachette UK has been responding with a range of similar supportive initiatives, from continuing to offer flexible working arrangements based on its "complete trust" in staff, to making informative resources available to employees and promoting peer-to-peer networks like its Working Families group. It is offering three extra days off to employees to demonstrate its "gratitude for their commitment despite the challenges of the pandemic".

"We recognise the unique challenges for parents who are home-schooling or looking after small children during a lockdown," said a Hachette UK spokesperson. "That’s why we continue to offer fully flexible hours and operate on a basis of complete trust, so that our staff can work in a way that suits their personal circumstances and optimises their wellbeing.

"We’ve also made a wide range of free resources available to anyone who is educating or entertaining children at home, from Hodder Education’s Parent Hub to Hachette Children’s Group’s activity packs based on bestselling books such as the Oi! series, and we’ve added helpful titles, such as the PlayHOORAY! Handbook by Claire Russell, to our digital staff library so busy parents can access them easily from home. At a grassroots level, we’re lucky to have a very active Working Families Group, which has connected parents across the company and offered invaluable peer-to-peer support throughout the pandemic. This year, we’re also giving all our staff three additional days of annual leave, to show our gratitude for their commitment despite the challenges of the pandemic."

Understanding and "informality around work schedules" accommodating childcare and home-schooling responsibilities has been key to HarperCollins' approach, while support networks have also come into their own.

"Many of us at HarperCollins are parents of school-age children, navigating the very real challenges of childcare responsibilities during this current lockdown," a spokesperson said. "Throughout the business, there is an understanding of the extra pressures that parents are facing, and as leaders, managers and teams we are supporting the specific needs of individuals through flexibility and informality around work schedules and the realities of childcare and home-schooling, and our established parents network group continues to support parents through this time."

Simon & Schuster UK recently partnered with an employer-sponsored care provider, to offer emergency care solutions for working parents and carers. Jess Harris, HR director at S&S, commented further: "As we continue to work from home in the challenging times, similarly to previous lockdowns, we’re working with managers to offer flexibility where needed and are emphasising the importance of communication to ensure that the right balance of health and wellbeing, combined with our work commitments, is at the forefront."

The publisher's children's books division has been making resources available too, including free activity sheets for children to complete, in order to make life easier for working parents. Rachel Denwood, m.d. of S&S Children’s Books, said: "Simon & Schuster Children’s Books have been working hard to support parents and home-schoolers in lockdown by making our books available to share and read online and by sharing free activity sheets and downloadable reading resources. During last year’s lockdowns we made selections of audiobooks and e-books free through partnership activities, and we are working on new initiatives in this space, to be announced very soon."