With the Autumn Budget just around the corner, many workers across the UK will be watching closely to see how their taxes, allowances and public services might change.
But one group that is definitely going to be watching is working parents. Working parents are the backbone of the UK economy. And yet, so many of them are battling high childcare costs, a lack of meaningful protection at work and a benefits system that isn’t keeping up with the cost of living.
As the government reviews its spending, working parents across the UK are looking to them to help relieve some of these pressures and take the financial strain off their families.
What Policies Most Affect Working Parents?
There are a number of policies that do affect working parents the most, these include:
Free childcare hours – the amount of free education and childcare gifted to working parents by the government.
Investment in schools and early years centres – improving childcare, education and allowing more spots to open up for working parents.
Increases in national or living wages, which may help put more money in working parents’ pockets.
Increases in taxes, which could put less money in working parents’ pockets.
To find out exactly how working parents want the government to do this, we asked them directly. Here’s what they had to say…
Our Experts
- Sammy Rubin, CEO and Co-Founder at YuLife
- Sarah Bone, Co-Founder, YEO Messaging
- Jamie Stewart, CEO of Binq
- Matthew Wilson, Founder at Handy Gardeners
- Andrew Hulbert, Institute Of Workplace
- Antonia Medlicott, Founder and Managing Director at Investing Insiders
- Hannah Martin, Founder at Rich Retiree
- Sarah Farmer, Founder of Bright & Brilliant
- Brian Davis, CEO of Handy Rubbish
- David Drew, Founder at The Dental Barns
- Fiona Wylie, Founder at Brand Champions
- Aggie Meroni, Founder of White Bee Digital
- Matthew Parden, CEO at Marygold & Co.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Sammy Rubin, CEO and Co-Founder at YuLife
“Working parents don’t need another promise; they need hours back, less admin, and support that shows up this week. If the Autumn Budget wants a fast return for families and the economy, make prevention and predictability the default.
“First, buy parents back time. Fund wraparound childcare where demand is spiking and keep it open 8–6 through term and holidays. Strip complexity out of support so parents stop spending lunch breaks decoding schemes. Every hour returned is an hour to work, rest, or actually be present.
“Second, fast-track mental health. When anxiety or burnout hits a parent, speed matters. Create rapid access routes to counselling and evidence-based digital support. Days saved here prevent weeks of absence later. We see the difference when help is two taps away, not two months.
“Third, turn healthy habits into family routines. Small incentives work. Back everyday movement, sleep and recovery with simple rewards that fit the school run. A 10–15 minute continuous walk at lunch, a wind-down before bedtime, make the healthy choice the easy one and you reduce crises before they start. That’s YuLife’s model: prevention designed into the day.
“Finally, reward predictable flexibility at work. Flex without notice is chaos. Encourage employers who offer reliable schedules, backup care, and preventative wellbeing benefits, and link reliefs to outcomes, higher retention, faster time-to-support, better health engagement.
“Good policy should feel like a calmer Monday: childcare that’s there, support that’s instant, and work that respects the school bell. Give parents time, access and certainty, and the payoff arrives in weeks, healthier families, steadier teams, and a workforce that can finally exhale.”
Sarah Bone, Co-Founder, YEO Messaging
“I recently met a founder of an IT startup who had three rounded corners on his business card and one sharp edge. When I asked why, he said the three rounded corners represented the first three years he made no money – and the fourth straight edge, marked his first year of making a slim profit. It struck me how perfectly that captures the resilience of startup life: long stretches of sacrifice before things finally begin to take shape.
“As both a founder and a mother of two young children, I relate to that story deeply. Building a software business while raising a family demands the same blend of perseverance, patience, and optimism. Rachel Reeve’s long awaited autumn budget could offer real, practical support by making childcare affordable and predictable, not a luxury or logistical gamble. Childcare shouldn’t be treated as a social cost; it’s an economic growth driver.
“The UK’s high childcare expenses act as a silent barrier to innovation, sidelining talented parents, particularly women, who could otherwise be building companies inspired by their passion. Expanding childcare credits, improving access to wraparound care, and supporting flexible work infrastructure would create measurable returns in productivity, innovation and tax revenue.
“If the government truly wants to unlock entrepreneurial potential, it must start by helping founders with families stay in the game in those first few cutting years.”
Jamie Stewart, CEO of Binq
“As the founder of Binq and a dad to two young children, I know exactly how tough it is to balance work and parenting. That’s even more the case when you’re trying to build a business (which can feel like another child in terms of the time and attention it
needs!)
“But that said, one of the things about being a founder is that you get to decide how your business operates – and that’s why Binq has had flexible working at its core from the start. I’d love to see the Autumn Budget support more companies to offer flexible working. It’s a key driver in attracting the right talent and, longer-term, the quality of life it offers will help with retention, too. I need flexibility to help me balance being a present dad and doing my job and I think everyone deserves the same opportunity.
“It does bother me though that there’s still a great pool of talent that even the most flexible business like Binq can’t attract – the parents (especially mums) who have to stay at home because of the costs of childcare. I hope the Autumn Budget delivers more enhanced childcare provisions to give everyone choices.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Matthew Wilson, Founder at Handy Gardeners
“As a small business owner in the trades, I see firsthand how limited childcare options impact both parents and employers. Beyond expanding subsidized, flexible childcare, I believe introducing grants or tax relief for small businesses that implement family-friendly scheduling could make a real difference — for example, helping cover the cost of hiring or training additional staff to allow more flexible shifts.
“I’m also seeing growing demand among employees for part-time or job-share roles, so government support that encourages small businesses to offer these arrangements could help keep more skilled parents in the workforce.”
Andrew Hulbert at Institute Of Workplace
“As an entrepreneur and father of two I will be blunt. The Autumn Budget must stop tinkering and deliver for parents now. Cut childcare costs and vacancy rates fall. Make flexible working the default and you keep senior talent who would otherwise walk. Strengthen parental leave so parents can return without penalty. These moves are not social nice to haves they are business essentials that protect skills reduce recruitment spend and raise productivity.
“Invest where it matters. Targeted childcare support expands the labour pool and helps mothers and fathers stay in work. Employer incentives to normalise flexibility will lower churn and speed up growth. Parental leave reform that supports phased returns keeps experience in the workforce. Anything less is political theatre. If the government wants growth it must recognise parents as an economic priority. Deliver that and Britain gains resilience competitiveness and real growth. Act now. Prove you mean it.”
Antonia Medlicott, Founder and Managing Director at Investing Insiders
“As both a parent and a startup founder, I’d like to see the Autumn Budget recognise that childcare isn’t just a family issue, it’s an economic one. Founders already face extreme time pressures, and the current system of childcare funding and parental support is overly complex and difficult to navigate, particularly for the self-employed.
“For mothers starting businesses, the barriers are even higher. There’s limited access to paid leave, patchy childcare provision and very little targeted support during those early, high-pressure years of both motherhood and entrepreneurship. The result is a widening gender gap in startup participation and growth.
“If the government is serious about driving innovation, it needs to make it easier for parents, especially mothers, to build and scale businesses while raising young children. Simplifying tax relief and improving access to affordable childcare would be a strong start.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Hannah Martin, Founder at Rich Retiree
“The biggest barrier to working parents is the cost and availability of childcare. It’s tough enough dealing with the expense of nurseries, but once children start school another issue arises: managing your working hours with the short school day, and then dealing with school holidays. Full or partially funded wraparound childcare and subsidised holiday clubs would help stretched parents – especially single parents – to balance work with family responsibilities.
“When my son was younger our local leisure centre ran reasonably priced holiday sports clubs during working hours. You could opt for a morning, afternoon or full day. This was a lifeline for my family; it meant I could work guilt-free while my son had fun, ran off energy and socialised with other children.
“While I appreciate that, in the short term, this represents an additional cost for an already-squeezed budget, it makes financial sense to help parents, especially mothers, return to and stay in work. Short-term financial benefits include increased tax income and reduced benefit spend, and in the long term it can help to reduce the gender pay gap and boost women’s career progression.”
Sarah Farmer, Founder of Bright & Brilliant
“As a founder and parent of two neurodivergent teenagers, I’ve seen first-hand how little real support there is for working parents — not just in the early years, but right through to adolescence. When my child became seriously unwell, I was laughed at by a GP who told me I had “no chance” of getting CAMHS support. It was heartbreaking — and sadly, I’m not alone.
“Many founders I know are juggling growing businesses with caring for children who need extra support. Affordable after-school care is still a huge challenge, and mental health services are stretched beyond breaking point. For self-employed parents, there’s no safety net at all. Even when we try to invest in our businesses, we’re penalised — I couldn’t access a government-backed loan because I take dividends rather than a high salary.
“If the government truly wants to build a stronger economy, it must start by supporting the people who keep it running — working parents. The Autumn Budget is an opportunity to make childcare affordable, mental health support accessible, and financial systems fairer for self-employed families. We don’t need sympathy; we need smart, practical support that helps families and businesses thrive together.”
Brian Davis, CEO of Handy Rubbish
“Both as a parent and the chief executive of Handy Rubbish, I know first-hand how lacking child care supports are holding back working families and small businesses. The cost of childcare, which now runs out at up to nearly £15,000 a year for under-twos means that many founders and parents are scaled back in their ambitions. If the government truly cares about supporting working parents, it should focus on providing affordable childcare which is accessible for all and flexible support for those who run their own businesses. This is not just a social problem it’s an economic one as well. When parents can work and grow businesses, our whole economy thrives.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
David Drew, Founder at The Dental Barns
“As both founders of The Dental Barns and parents to two young children (15 months and 28 months), my wife and I live the working-parent juggle every day.
“The government’s support through tax-free childcare and funded hours is invaluable — but the reality for many founders, especially in service-based businesses like ours, is that we don’t work 9–5. Our practice runs late evenings and weekends to meet patient demand, yet most providers who accept funded hours or tax-free childcare aren’t available outside standard hours.
“That mismatch makes it incredibly difficult for parents who want to grow a business and raise a family. Flexibility is vital — not just financial support. Improving access to Ofsted-registered nannies, or widening eligibility so more trusted providers can offer funded childcare, would transform things for parents like us.
“We’re not asking for more money, just more adaptability in how the system works. If the government truly wants to back small business owners and start-up founders with young families, it needs to reflect the way we actually live and work — often after hours, with babies asleep upstairs and laptops still open.”
Fiona Wylie, Founder at Brand Champions
“I founded Brand Champions after seeing how biased corporate life can be against working mothers. Too often, employers assume that returning mums are less committed, when in reality the challenge lies in the limits of paid childcare and the hours.
Today, the majority of my own team are working mums. I trust them to manage their work in a way that delivers results for the business while allowing them to meet family responsibilities and we’re proof that it works. When flexibility and trust replace outdated assumptions, everyone benefits.
As we look ahead to the upcoming UK Budget, one thing is clear: we urgently need meaningful investment in childcare. Funding must reflect the true cost of quality nursery provision, ensuring parents can access the hours they need and that childcare professionals are properly paid.
Working mothers can only contribute fully to the economy when they know their children are being cared for safely and well. If the Government is serious about growth, it must start with a childcare system that works for families, for businesses, and for Britain’s future.”
Aggie Meroni, Founder of White Bee Digital
“Current childcare and flexible policies make life extremely hard for families. The cost of living has never been higher, making it impossible for most households to live on one salary but the £100k cap on childcare cost relief also means families are bypassing promotions and pay rises so they avoid paying high childcare fees which would negate any salary increases. Flexible working laws have improved but in practice it is still challenging to have flexible working requests accepted, further exacerbating the conflict between 9-5 working hours and school hours of 9am-3pm. All those who have families are at prime age in their working lives and they are being held back by archaic policies which can’t be helping our economy grow.
“Having retrained myself, I did this with zero government funding or support. Not everyone has the personal means to fund upskilling and retraining after a career break or redundancy. More investment is needed to plug the current skills gaps in the market with those who are desperate to work again.”
Matthew Parden, CEO at Marygold & Co.
“As both a parent and a business leader, I see how rising childcare costs, higher living expenses and continued economic uncertainty are stretching working families across the UK. The Autumn Budget is an opportunity to ease that pressure and provide support for parents who are balancing work and family responsibilities every day. Practical steps such as improving access to affordable childcare, extending flexible working support and reviewing tax relief for part-time and self-employed parents would all help create more stability for households. Financial wellbeing needs to be part of that conversation too. Families want confidence to plan ahead, not just short-term fixes.
At Marygold & Co. we believe that flexible financial tools which simplify budgeting, saving and planning can play an important role in helping parents manage modern family life with greater control and confidence. The right financial support, both from government and through innovation in financial services, can make a meaningful difference to working parents across the country.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
