If you support working parents professionally (or indeed personally), we would like to work alongside you and give you accurate and current information. We provide a helpline, information, specialist help for those advising children with disabilities, as well as a legal advice and outreach service.

Parental Rights training for advisers and information workers

Key training on

Parental Rights, Flexible Working
Benefits and Tax Credits

Our essential course covers the three main areas you staff needs to address when dealing with pregnant mothers, new parents and working families:

Leave and time off including maternity, paternity and parental leave and time off for appointments

Pay and Benefits including tax credits, maternity and paternity pay, benefits and grants

Employment Issues including ante-natal considerations, returning to work, requesting flexible working and breast feeding

Our trainers come to you, so there is no need for your staff to travel and we will tailor the course to the needs of your organisation. Each delegate will go away with a comprehensive pack which they can use for future reference.

Click here to download the leaflet

Helpline

When money is tight, getting the balance right between work, childcare and home is crucial. When problems occur, an informed voice and sympathetic ear can make all the difference. Our helpline for low income families and their advisers is run by Stephanie Mckeon, Rachel Roe and Catherine Rogan, our qualified advisers, who give parents free advice on their legal rights. Call free on 0800 013 0313 for the Helpline opening times.

Information

We publish wide-ranging and comprehensive free information for parents and advisers. You can read or download our factsheets from from this website - please click here to go to the full listing.

If you copy or circulate the factsheets, please ensure that Working Families is credited and that you have the most recent update: benefits, taxation and the law change frequently.

We have also produced a guide for health visitors (and others advising parents) to the legislation which came into force in April 2003. New Rights for Working Parents covers parents' rights to request flexible working, paternity leave, adoption leave, maternity leave and pay, parental leave and emergency leave.

Click here to find out more and order a copy

Children with disabilities

Working Families runs 'Waving not drowning' - a network and information resource for parents of disabled children and for professionals who work with them. Paid employment outside the home can be enormously important to parents of a disabled child, both for the economic well-being and future life-chances of the whole family and for the parent's own self-esteem. Yet the majority have either given up paid work entirely or reduced their commitment. There is much which professionals can do to support parents at work, or to re-enter the workplace.

To download a copy of Can Parents of Disabled Children Work? a guide for social workers click here alternatively to download a copy of the guide for  health visitors click here.

Waving not drowning

Please join our mailing list for the 'Waving not drowning' parents' newsletter, to keep you informed about the advice we are giving to parents of disabled children, and about their concerns.

Please click here, complete the form and email it back to us.

For more information in this area, we suggest you visit Contact a Family and Carers UK

Outreach

To reach those who might not otherwise have access to the service we provide (perhaps because they are not aware of the existence of the Project or because they are reluctant to ring a helpline), we currently undertake two types of outreach:

- short talks for professionals working with parents, covering: parental leave, emergency family leave, flexible working (the sort of arrangements possible, the legal position and negotiating with an employer), a brief overview of maternity leave and pay, different types of childcare and Working Tax Credit.

- information stands providing free advice and factsheets. Stands have been run in supermarkets, at summer festivals such as the Lambeth Country Show, at Job Centre events for Lone Parents and at events such as the Lads to Dads conference.

No charge is made for our outreach work, although it is available only within the London area at the moment - phone Rachel, Stephanie or Catherine on 0800 013 0313 our free helpline.

Download a copy of our poster
to spread the word about our free legal helpline

Reg Charity No: 1099808