The HR Podcast · 2026-09-08 · 23 min
Half your team wants the same six weeks off, and most of them aren't asking to change their contract - they're stitching together annual leave, dependant leave, and adjusted hours to get through the summer. In this episode, Sarah Ropek and Claire Cathcart discuss practical, tested ways to manage school holiday annual leave without a rigid policy getting in the way, why flexible working for parents tends to pay you back in loyalty, and how tools like annualised hours contracts can genuinely solve the problem for the right role. You'll also get a clear, honest take on keeping things fair between parents and colleagues without children, and why a blanket corporate policy on this often causes more problems than it solves. Key Takeaways The average cost of six weeks of summer childcare is now £1,145 per child , according to Coram's 2026 holiday childcare survey - and around 4 million UK employees have changed careers, with roughly 2 million leaving a job in the past year, because an employer wouldn't offer enough flexibility, per CIPD research.
Are Your Employees Ready for AI? | With Katie Jacobs71 / 100Right to Work Checks: The Compliance You Can't Ignore | With Ian HamiltonWhat The Fair Work Agency Looks at When Investigating a Business | With Lisa Pinney OBE
Why Is Everyone Talking About The 4 Day Week?
Should We Be Transparent About Pay?