At NELFT, we know that caring at work and home can be challenging. That’s why we are dedicated to supporting our working parents so they can balance their home and work responsibilities. In celebration of International Women's Day and Mother's Day in March, we’re highlighting all the support we have available for #NELFTWomen.

A core part of this support is our award-winning Parents and Carers staff network (PCN). The network organises events with continued feedback from its members on what support they need. For example, recent workshops have been organised on topics such as, supporting teenagers, health eating and children’s mental health. We have a dedicated intranet section for PCN members, which is updated regularly and includes an interactive parent’s support guide and separate carers guide. The network runs monthly ‘drop in sessions’ where staff can come and seek advice without the formality of a network meeting.

The network has also introduced a 3-stage coaching program, aimed at supporting staff before, during and after parental leave to help them prepare for the transition to parenthood.

With a workforce of 80% female, we have worked hard to ensure there is support for women at the Trust before, during, and after the menopause, as we understand the difficulties that the symptoms can have on their daily life. We have collaborated with wellbeing organisations such as Superwellness and Menohealth, to run lunch n learn sessions for our staff. This has been positively received by those who have attended and we will continue to build on our menopause support package for staff.

We have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 employers benchmark for 2 consecutive years (2021 and 2022). The Working Families Benchmark is the only tool available that measures all aspects of flexible working and work-life policies and practice. It evaluates how well these are integrated into an organisation’s values and culture, and also looks specifically at how well they support and engage with parents and carers. We are proud to have achieved this accolade to demonstrate our commitment in supporting working parents.

We work hard to ensure NELFT is a great place to work, where staff can balance their work and home responsibilities. Below are some of the flexible working arrangements we offer, in addition to our agile work set-up:

• Part-time
• Condensed hours
• Job sharing
• Staggered working hours
• Compressed hours

If you are looking for a supportive organisation to join and begin a new challenge, take a look at the current vacancies on our careers website.