Are holiday childcare costs changing the way parents work?

For working parents, the school holidays can feel like a yearly juggling act.

Children in England spend around 190 days a year at school. Take out weekends, and that leaves roughly 65 weekdays of school holidays for parents to cover. But a full-time employee is usually entitled to around 28 days of paid annual leave. So, for most families, there’s a sizeable gap to fill.

Parents may need to piece together annual leave, holiday clubs, help from family, flexible working and informal childcare arrangements just to cover the summer holidays.

But those compromises aren’t always shared equally. Research from Working Families found that 4-in-10 mothers had reduced their working hours to manage childcare, twice the proportion of fathers.

This can have longer-term consequences. Taking time out of work or working fewer hours can affect women’s earnings and career progression. This is part of what’s often called the ‘motherhood penalty’ - the financial and career impact women can experience after having children.

It can also follow women into retirement. Lower earnings and time away from paid work may mean less money going into a pension. Over the years, this can contribute to the gender pension gap - the difference between the pension savings of men and women.

For single mothers, the challenge can be even greater. There’s one income and often less room to make the numbers work.

When the school holidays cost more than £1,000

Summer is usually the biggest challenge. According to Coram Family and Childcare’s Holiday Childcare Survey, in 2026, the average holiday club costs £191 per child per week across Great Britain. That’s 5% more than in 2025.

Across a six-week summer holiday, the average cost reaches £1,145 for one child. For two children, the bill could be around £2,290.

But cost is only part of the problem. Coram found that only 57% of holiday clubs are open for a full working day, which it defines as 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Childminders are more likely to cover those hours. But they cost an average of £61 more a week than holiday clubs. For a parent who commutes or works fixed hours, childcare that ends too early may not be childcare they can actually use.

So the question isn’t simply, “Can you afford childcare?” It’s also, “Can you find childcare that makes it possible to do your job?”.

How can childcare affect your pension?

Around a third of women in paid work work part-time, compared with 9% of men. Women also do around 60% more unpaid care and domestic work than men.

These caring responsibilities can shape how people work. For parents, that can mean reducing their working hours or choosing a more flexible job. For others, it could mean moving to a more flexible role, becoming self-employed or making a longer-term change to their working pattern. Mothers are much more likely than fathers to make these changes.

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These choices can make sense for different reasons. For example, an extra day of childcare might cost close to what you’d earn from working it. 

But understanding the financial impact can help you plan ahead.

A change to how you work could mean:

• lower pension contributions from you;
• lower or no pension contributions from an employer; and
• less money available for other savings.

None of this means you shouldn’t make the change. It just helps to know what to check first.

• Check your employer’s pension contributions - if your salary changes, the amount your employer pays into your pension could change too. Some employers pay more than the minimum 3% of your ‘qualifying earnings’ while as the employee, you pay 5%. They may also match what you pay in, up to a set limit. For example, if you increase your contributions to 7%, your employer might pay in 7% too. Check with your HR team to see what your employer offers. 
• See whether you can keep contributing the same amount - if your budget allows, you may be able to maintain your current pension contribution rather than reducing it in line with your salary.
• Check your National Insurance (NI) record - If you’re caring for a child under 12 and claim Child Benefit, you could get National Insurance (NI) credits towards your State Pension. This can apply even if you’re not working or don’t earn enough to pay NI. 
• Consider third-party contributions - if one parent is cutting back on paid work to take on more childcare, their partner or another family member can contribute to their pension on their behalf.
• Make a plan to review contributions later - if you need to reduce what you’re saving now, you could look at it again when you’re paying for less childcare hours or your working hours increase.

What could make things easier?

There are things parents can do to make the school holidays easier. But there’s a limit to how far families can budget or organise their way around a gap that’s built into the system.

Coram has called for more holiday childcare places and better support for childminders, who are more likely to offer hours that cover a full working day. Employers can make a difference too.

Working Families recommends options such as flexible hours, term-time working and temporary flexible arrangements. Anna Whitehouse - known online as Mother Pukka - has also campaigned for greater flexibility through Flex Appeal, helping take the issue to Parliament.

Flexible working doesn’t always mean permanently reducing your hours. Depending on your job, it could mean changing your start and finish times, compressing your hours or agreeing a temporary arrangement over the summer.

Employees have the right to request flexible working from their first day in a job, although employers don’t have to agree to every request. So, it’s worth checking what your employer offers and what might work for your family.

You may also be able to use tax-free childcare towards approved holiday clubs or childminders. And if you’re parenting with someone else, planning how you’ll split annual leave and childcare across the whole school year could help share the impact more evenly.

None of these options completely solves the childcare gap. But the responsibility shouldn’t fall solely on mothers to work less, earn less and somehow make up the difference later.

The bottom line

As children get older, you may need less childcare, and your working patterns could change too. This may leave more room in your budget to review your pension contributions and consider saving more. 

The school holidays can put pressure on both your time and your finances. But this stage of family life won’t last forever. For now, it’s about finding a balance between today’s needs and your longer-term plans. And as your circumstances change, there may be more opportunities to turn your attention back to your pension.

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on individual circumstances. This information shouldn’t be regarded as financial advice.