‘Returnships’ fund will help mothers get back to work

NEW programmes are being launched to help mothers get back into work as part of a £5million Government fund for “returnships”.

The schemes are for teachers, social workers, health professionals and civil servants, and will offer training and support to help “returners” refresh their skills, as part of the Government’s drive to close the gender pay gap.

Many of those taking advantage of the scheme are likely to be women who have taken time out to bring up their children, but the programme is open to both genders and could benefit people who have taken a career break for other caring responsibilities.

Anne Milton, skills minister said: “Millions of us need to take time out from our careers, but it can be really hard to return.

“This is bad for the people affected, and the businesses who miss out on their talents. Women in particular find the routes back into employment closed off after taking time out to start a family.

“These returner programmes will make it routine for women to go back to the workplace and get on with their careers. It ultimately should also help us to tackle the gender pay gap. I think it’s important that the public sector leads by example and introduces programmes to support people returning to the workplace.”

Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that women who take time out of work earn around 2 per cent less when they return for every year spent out of paid work.

According to research by PWC, addressing the career break penalty could provide a £1.7billion boost to the UK’S annual economic output, increasing the annual earnings of female professionals by an average of £4,000.

Official figures put the gender pay gap at a record low of 18.1 per cent. The disparity is 7 per cent for women in their 20s but widens to 25 per cent for those in their 40s. By next April, the Government is requiring all employers with 250 or more staff to report their gender pay and bonus gaps.

Prof Lisa Bayliss-pratt, director of nursing at Health Education England, said: “Clinicians of all backgrounds returning to practice have a vital role to play in our NHS, as they tend to be more experienced and highly skilled.”