Czech employers are interested in the so called children’s groups and also agree with less stringent criteria for the establishment and operation of these alternative pre-school facilities for the care of their employees’ children. This was revealed by a Deloitte survey involving 55 companies and nearly 900 employees from across the Czech Republic that was conducted in March and April 2013.
Relaxing the rules within the forthcoming law on children’s groups would be welcomed by 94% of the companies. If the law is approved, 71% of companies, particularly the large organizations, would support the care of their employees’ children in children’s groups. As far employees are concerned, 82% of them would prefer children’s groups. In addition to the greater availability of pre-school care for employees’ children, both the employers as well as employees would also welcome tax concessions on children’s groups.
The survey clearly showed the persisting discrepancy between the requirements of employers and the capabilities of employees in terms of the length of parental leave. 84 % of companies said that an earlier return of employees from parental leave is important to them for reasons of knowledge retention. They are particularly interested in the earlier returns of managers and employees working in technical positions.
More information about the survey results is available in the press release on Deloitte’s website or directly on the survey presentation site.
Children’s Groups are a type of childcare service for children from the age of one year until the start of compulsory education. The service consists of regular care outside of the child’s household, in a group of children, and is not regulated by rules on schools and school facilities. The bill on the establishment of children’s groups has already been passed by the government, which wants to support the growth of alternative pre-school facilities and allow parents a faster return to their jobs. If the Parliament and Senate also approve the act, companies, regions, municipalities as well as non-profit organizations will be able to start establishing children’s groups as of January 2014.
-kk-