How can mums afford to work now wages so rarely cover childcare costs?

Two days. That’s how long I had off work after having my second child. Not because I wanted to rush back but because running a business and taking maternity leave just wasn’t an option. And now, four months in with two young children in nursery, my childcare bill stands at £51,000 a year - a staggering figure that feels more like a second mortgage rather than an essential service for humankind.

I sit writing this article while breastfeeding, encouraging my oldest to listen to his Tonie instead of me reading to him, telling my other half there is cereal in the cupboard for dinner, and mentally running down the 50 things I need to respond to at work before tomorrow. And what for?

Well, to change the world, create a thriving business, have a happy team, and have security for my family.

Now, it can be tough. I did forget my age this week and had to Google it (mum brain), so maybe that creeping feeling that something is amiss is me forgetting reality; that the reality is the system is so stacked against parents and small businesses that the dream I imagine is precisely that… a dream.

For families like mine, and for so many across the UK, the cost of childcare is not just expensive - it’s crippling. And it’s not just parents who are suffering. This is an issue that affects everyone: businesses struggling to attract and retain talent, an economy slowing under the weight of a shrinking workforce, and a government desperate to plug a growing deficit.

The cost of UK childcare: a financial straitjacket

The UK has some of the highest childcare costs in Europe.

In England, on average, parents pay £302 per week (£15,700 per year) for full-time nursery care for a child under two. In London, that cost rises to £395 per week. Afterschool care adds another £67 per week per child, while holiday clubs cost an average of £175 per week, creating a year-round financial burden.

The situation is almost untenable for families with more than one child in childcare. Most families experience an overlap where two children are in nursery at the same time, meaning parents are faced with annual costs well over £50,000. And for what? To have the privilege of going to work and contributing to the economy?

Just think about that for a moment: the average salary for 40-year-olds working full-time in England is £39,000. In adtech in London, it’s £43,000, and senior roles are £80,000 to £110,000. Yet childcare costs them more than this? Well, who doesn’t love to work for free?

Mothers are being priced out of work

As a mother and business owner, I see the impossible choices families make daily. Why?

Because I see the salaries our industry is paying and I hear and feel the pain of being a mum and a woman.

Many women want to work, build careers, and contribute to household income, but the numbers just don’t add up. The patronizing rhetoric of “Well, you can’t have everything; you did choose to be a mother” or “You just wouldn’t be able to cope with work and a baby!” is what is painted as the picture.

But the reality is… it just doesn’t make economic sense to have a baby.

Childcare is swallowing such a vast portion of take-home pay that it only makes financial sense for one parent to reduce hours or quit altogether - and let’s be honest, that parent is usually the mother. We talk about wanting to close the gender pay gap, yet we’ve built a system where working mothers are penalized the moment they have children.

Maternity pay is pitiful, less than minimum wage, but paternity is even worse. I am by no means dismissing the father, I fly the flag for equal paternity, but I do get financially and emotionally why the woman is often the logical choice.

In Guildford, where I live, the nursery cost is £103 per day per child, meaning a household needs to earn at least £70,000 before tax just to break even. That’s before rent, food, bills, or even thinking about saving for the future.

On top of this is the £100,000 trap. If you earn a penny over it as a household, you lose all free childcare hours up to three years old (approximately £5,700 for me per year, per child based on 37 weeks it’s paid on) and half of the 30 free hours for over three-year-olds, plus all your tax-free allowance (£2,000 per child, capped at £4,000).

So why ask for a pay rise or more hours if it essentially leaves you out of pocket?

The gender pay gap isn’t solely the fault of women being afraid to ask for a pay rise; we know what we are worth and working for free isn’t that!

Unsurprisingly, the UK is seeing a decline in birth rates, an aging population, and a growing crisis in workforce participation. Women - particularly those in high-earning roles - are stepping away from their careers because the financial and emotional toll is just too high. When high earners leave the workforce, the government loses out on tax revenue, exacerbating an already dire fiscal situation.

Businesses can’t bridge the gap either

I run a business. I could make the decision to pay my employees higher salaries to help them cover the soaring cost of childcare. I could also introduce fully paid parental leave for a year, giving mothers and fathers the financial security they need to stay home with their newborns without worrying about income.

I hear you…”Come on, Suz. Get off your high pram, stop the breast pumping and bra burning, and lead from the front!”

But why should the burden of fixing a failing system fall on me - or any other business owner for that matter?

As a small business, my margins are already stretched. National Insurance contributions have gone up, corporation tax has risen from 19% to 25%, inflation is pushing up operational costs, and consumer demand is slowing. If I absorb the cost of the UK’s childcare crisis by dramatically increasing salaries or extending fully paid parental leave, my business simply won’t survive.

And I’m not alone in this. Small businesses account for over 60% of UK employment. But with every additional tax increase, every rising operational cost, and every new financial burden, entrepreneurs are questioning whether it’s even worth it any more.

Because here’s the real crisis: when businesses are disincentivized from hiring, there are fewer jobs, less income tax, lower consumer spending, and ultimately, slower economic growth. The childcare crisis isn’t just forcing parents out of the workforce - it’s actively discouraging business owners from creating jobs in the first place.

The reality?

Parents are either leaving the workforce or reducing their hours, businesses are losing skilled workers, and the economy is slowing because of it.

A broken system that’s costing the country more than it saves

This isn’t just a problem for parents. It’s a problem for taxpayers, businesses, and the government itself. The UK’s tax burden is already at a 70-year high, yet public services are stretched beyond capacity.

The budget deficit sits at £61bn, and with an aging population, fewer workers will be available to fund pensions and social care. Traditional tax sources like fuel duty, alcohol, and cigarettes are in decline, meaning the government needs a new strategy to sustain revenues.

Yet, rather than investing in a solution that could increase workforce participation, boost GDP, and generate long-term tax revenue, we are content to let childcare remain unaffordable, forcing more parents - especially women - out of work.

A better solution: why childcare reform is an economic imperative

The evidence is clear: investing in affordable childcare isn’t just a social policy - it’s an economic necessity. Research suggests that for every 10,000 mothers who return to work on their desired hours, GDP increases by £290m.

If full childcare provision were in place, it is estimated that 60,000 mothers of young children would return to work, and the UK economy would gain £1.7bn in additional GDP. These returning workers would generate £820m in additional earnings, leading to higher tax revenue and reduced government spending on benefits.

Other countries have recognized this. Sweden, Germany, and France have implemented far more affordable childcare models, and their economies benefit from higher female workforce participation rates and stronger GDP growth.

So why is the UK lagging behind?

Well, ask Beyonce …who runs the world?

Clearly, the right lyrics didn’t quite have the edge for a number-one hit. But in short, there is a short-term cost to the change and we live in a five-year cycle.

If we want to grow the economy, reduce the deficit, and ensure a sustainable tax base for the future, we need to fix childcare now.

This isn’t just about making life easier for parents. It’s about creating a more productive, fair, and sustainable economic system that doesn’t force women out of the workforce, doesn’t penalize businesses with unsustainable salary expectations, doesn’t kick the issue of a declining birth rate down the line, and doesn’t rely on ever-higher taxes to fund a shrinking economy.

We cannot afford to ignore this issue any longer. The question isn’t whether we can afford to invest in childcare reform - the question is, how much longer can we afford not to.

Also published in: The Drum