Research and analysis

Childcare choices for parents working atypical hours

Findings of qualitative research with parents claiming Universal Credit (UC) and working atypical hours.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions and Government Social Research Profession
• Published: 7 October 2024

Documents

Executive summary

HTML

Report: Parents Working Atypical Hours

Ref: ISBN 978-1-78659-737-3, Ad hoc research report no. 103

HTML

Report: Parents Working Atypical Hours (PDF)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-78659-737-3, Ad hoc research report no. 103

PDF, 336 KB, 35 pages

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Details

This report presents findings of qualitative research with parents claiming Universal Credit (UC) and working atypical hours.

Atypical working hours was defined as working:

• early mornings
• evenings
• nights
• weekends
• variable shifts
• split shifts
• being ‘on call’  

Qualitative interviews

Qualitative interviews were used to provide depth of insight into parents’ childcare needs and their labour market participation. Forty in-depth interviews were conducted with parents working atypical hours and claiming UC. Quotas were used to structure the achieved sample and ensure representation of parents with a range of circumstances.

The findings presented in this report reflect only the perspectives of those interviewed and cannot be generalised to the whole population.

Published 7 October 2024