Government to offer “mummy bonds”

Mums and dads who have taken five or more years out of the workplace to look after children are to be offered an allowance of £500 to help them back into work, reports The Times.

The money will be used, for instance, for refresher courses in IT, interview techniques, pay negotiation and to retrain in another career.

The proposal is part of the Social Mobility White Paper to be launched on Tuesday and applies to all parents and to carers.

According to The Times, research shows four out of 10 mums of children under five are full-time parents while three out of ten mums of children aged five to 10 are still full-time parents.

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Companies could be forced to publish gender pay gap details
Companies could be forced to publish figures in their annual accounts revealing the number of men and women in particular pay bands, according to the Guardian.
It says that the Government’s equalities office is drawing up plans which could be used to compile a league table of companies with a good or bad record in tackling the gender pay gap.
Office of National Statistics figures show men are paid 17.1% more than women in full time work and 36.6% more than women in part time work.
Employers’ organisations have been against compulsion in tackling the gender pay gap, but the TUC is in favour, saying the voluntary approach has not worked.
Legislation is expected to be published shortly.
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