I would like to know if there is a Young People at Work policy in place, particularly in relation to employees bringing their children into the workplace and any safeguarding requirements or considerations.
Hi,
The following is not my policy but what I like about it is that it’s not from a rad NFP, it’s local government. It’s from a regional library who had an innovative CEO for a long time. I also note this is from a few years ago so I don’t know what their current policy is. I’m in Victoria, Australia but have worked in the UK and our safeguarding obligations are similar.
I’m currently doing some sessional teaching in FE and uni and the holidays don’t match school holidays (because of course they don’t). I was appointed quickly and unexpectedly and didn’t have child care. I thought if I brought my kids in the administration would want me to keep them out of the classroom to avoid disruption and I could just leave them in the staff office or a student communal area but it was the opposite. I was required to have them in class with me so that I was supervising my children due to safeguarding concerns. The uni I am at is not progressive. It is a heinous, exploitative money-making machine so the fact that I could bring my kids into class within the capitalist cesspool of an environment, is a precedent that it can be a bare minimum standard in terms of supporting employees manage their family responsibilities.
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Just one more thought I had… When I was prioritising people being able to bring their kids to work/babies to interviews etc at our NFP, one of the concerns of the Board/trustees was whether our insurance covered that. So, you might want to get on the front foot and look into that yourself before someone else raises it. Good luck!!!
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This is so helpful. Thanks so much for sharing Nat.
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You’re very welcome, Khai. I hope you organisation is supportive. I am self-employed at the moment so am dealing less with my own organisation’s policies than usual but most of my clients are not-for-profits/third-sector orgs and occasionally I might give them policy advice. Inclusive, family-friendly (however we define family) policies and approaches are one of my passions so if you make a breakthrough/your org lands on something truly human, I’d love to hear how it goes. Good luck!
This is helpful, i’m drafting one and using your example as a guide. We’re a small team and we work remotely. So sometimes we have events/ workshop, and our staf may have childcare problems and we want to make sure we accommodate and cover any risk assessments as the event space may vary 