Corporate India Focuses On Childcare Benefit As Part Of RTO Plans
ProEves, the most trusted aggregator of preschools, playschools and daycare centres across the country, announced the report from the 7th edition of the ProEves Childcare Benefit Survey. This report covers the childcare and parental benefits for employees with young children at home, in post-pandemic corporate India. Respondents from 70 companies across sectors such as IT/ITES, BFSI, FMCG, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Services shared their thoughts through the survey. Funding of childcare services, flexi days return plan, daycare options that are close to their homes, eligibility of women and men for these benefits, among others remained the core focus for majority of the respondents.
With corporates heading back into offices across the country, 72% of the respondent companies are expecting a Flexi-day return policy by April – June quarter. Therefore Integrated Childcare is a go-forward approach, which will encompass virtual care for the anxious parents; Physical daycare support across Near Office/ Home for the parents looking to get back to physical daycares and very few companies (12%) are offering Nanny support for their parents.
Majority(85%) of the companies either offer complete funding, or offer partial funding for Physical Daycare support to their employees. Table 1
Table 1: Childcare Benefit Funding
Childcare Benefit Programs | Virtual Care | Physical Care | Nanny Care |
Funding of the Benefit % Prevalence | 58.57% | 84.29% | 11.43% |
50% of the companies, in fact, offer these benefits to all employees – irrespective of their gender. This Gender inclusive approach shows us that India Inc is investing in supporting their working parents.
Table 2: Childcare Benefit Eligibility
Childcare Gender Eligibility | Both | Women | TBD |
Eligibility % Prevalence | 50.00% | 44.29% | 5.71% |
Speaking about the survey, Ketika Kapoor, Co-founder and CEO of ProEves observed, “Employee wellness has taken on a new meaning since the pandemic, and it continues to evolve as the environment changes each day.As companies plan their RTO, childcare support and provide working parents support are the priorities for Corporate India in 2022. Infact other than compliance, Near Home Flexible care and Gender inclusiveness are the new benchmarks of childcare benefits in 2022 to support RTO.”
