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A survey by workingmums.co.uk looks at the impact of furlough on working mums’ plans for the future and their sense of confidence and job security.
Nearly a third of working mums [32%] who have been furloughed during the pandemic have re-evaluated their lives as a result, according to a workingmums.co.uk survey.
The survey of 1,300 mums, conducted in June/July as employers were asked to contribute towards it, found just over one in five mums were furloughed at some point during the pandemic – mostly during the first lockdown only [48%].
Twenty two per cent have been furloughed throughout and 21% have been furloughed on several occasions and brought back. Nine per cent were only furloughed in the second lockdown. Twenty-eight per cent had used flexible furlough, where you come back in on reduced hours with furlough making up the other hours.
Just sixty-one per cent had their furlough pay topped up by their employer. Furlough is paid at 80% of wages with employers able to top up the remaining 20%. Forty eight per cent said they were more anxious about their job security as a result of being on furlough, while 37% were more worried about their finances.
The survey shows generally that 21% of working mums have gone into debt due to Covid and 5% have used food banks.
Of those who asked to be furloughed due to childcare issues, 53% were refused by their employer.
Gillian Nissim, founder of WM People, the umbrella company for workingmums.co.uk, working
*Workingmums.co.uk has produced a toolkit for transitioning back into the workplace after a break.