Survey: Work places ‘not mum friendly’

Workplaces are not “mother-friendly” according to a survey which indicates that flexible work hours and cheaper childcare would help them get back into the labour force after having a child.

The survey, by RecruitIreland.com in collaboration with website mummypages.ie, also found 61% of mothers said they experienced financial difficulty while on maternity leave and 91% said they could not afford to live on the state maternity benefit of €230 a week.

In addition, 43% of those surveyed said they had delayed having children because of poor maternity benefits and a similar percentage — 45% of respondents — said the cost of childcare had prevented them from going back to work.