'Leeds and Sheffield are among top ten UK cities where couples have decided not to have children because of childcare cost'

Leeds and Sheffield are among the the top ten UK cities where couples have decided not to have children because childcare is too expensive, according to a new study.
By Greg Wright
Published 14th Mar 2022, 08:24 BST
Updated 14th Mar 2022, 08:26 BST

Easy Offices surveyed 2,000 people across the UK asking them how they felt about topics related to parental leave and childcare, to find out what impact these issues have on the lives of workers.

The survey revealed the top ten UK cities where couples have decided not to have children because childcare is too expensive.

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London is on the top with 24.1%, followed by Birmingham 22.6%, Liverpool, 20.9% and Manchester, 19.9%.

Leeds and Sheffield are among the the top ten UK cities where couples have decided not to have children because childcare is too expensive, according to a new study.Leeds and Sheffield are among the the top ten UK cities where couples have decided not to have children because childcare is too expensive, according to a new study.
Leeds and Sheffield are among the the top ten UK cities where couples have decided not to have children because childcare is too expensive, according to a new study.

In fifth position is Glasgow with 18.8%, then Edinburgh, 17.3%, Brighton, 15.9%, Nottingham 15.1%, Leeds 14.9%, and Sheffield 14.5%.

The research also revealed that around 1 in 6 (17%) agree that the cost of childcare has forced potential parents to consider leaving work behind altogether.

Easy Offices also looked at the top industries where parents are considering leaving their job because childcare is too expensive.

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These were sales, media and marketing (35.2%), followed by retail, catering and leisure (35.2%), finance (34.7%), IT and telecommunications (25.0%) and finally travel and transport (25.0%).

On average the survey revealed respondents would sacrifice 8.8% of their salary in exchange for parental perks.

Respondents also believe mothers on average required the most time off for paid leave at 21.7 weeks. The average length of time that fathers should have was 13.8 weeks and for adoptive parents, it was 17.5 weeks, according to the survey.

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Andy De Wet Steyn from Easy Offices said: “It was quite surprising to discover that despite the increasing equality in parental leave between the sexes, the UK public still believes mothers require more time off than fathers.

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“Our research clearly highlights that childcare and parental leave issues have a significant impact on the lives of UK workers, with a large proportion of workers even considering leaving their job because of the price of childcare”

Censuswide carried out a survey of 2,000 general consumers in the UK.

The full report can be found here: https://www.easyoffices.com/uk/blog/flexible-working/the-parental-leave-report

Related topics:LeedsSheffieldGlasgowLiverpoolLondon