Research reveals employers can use holiday clubs to keep their businesses running

For many working parents, the school summer holiday is the most dreaded stretch of the year. While a week in the sun may be fun, there’s the remaining six weeks of unstructured childcare to arrange, often at significant cost, with little or no support from employers.

New research from the Bright Horizons Work-Life Gap Report 2026, which surveyed 1,200 working parents, reveals that workplace-funded holiday clubs are changing that. While flexibility consistently tops the list of what employees say they need, this data shows it is practical care infrastructure, not working patterns, that determine whether employees can actually show up, focus and stay.

Holiday Clubs: the numbers

Among employees using employer-sponsored Holiday Clubs:

The picture is equally compelling for retention. When employers provide practical childcare support during school holidays, staff notice and they remember it, particularly women, who continue to carry a disproportionate share of the childcare load.

Holiday clubs: the benefits

• For parents: access to fully vetted holiday clubs and camps, with costs covered or subsidised by their employer
• For employers: continuity at a time of maximum potential disruption

These figures sit in sharp contrast to the wider workforce baseline, where only 37% of employees report being able to switch off and maintain healthy boundaries between work and life, and where school holidays represent one of the most predictable and recurring sources of care disruption employers currently leave unaddressed.

When support stops, so does performance

The research draws a clear line between care infrastructure and business outcomes. Among employees using Bright Horizons nursery provision, 98% say it improves their ability to attend the office and 95% report a positive impact on productivity. Holiday Clubs extend that into the school holiday calendar, providing cover during the periods when working parents are most likely to take unplanned leave, reduce hours or disengage.

The data also highlights the disproportionate impact on women. Without support, 48 % of working mothers say caring responsibilities have negatively impacted their career and only 61% believe they can progress while working flexibly. Employer-sponsored Holiday Club provision directly addresses one of the most consistent pressure points in the working year.

• 84% of women say workplace holiday club provision increases their likelihood of staying with their employer

Commentary from Bright Horizons

Chris Locke, Executive Director of Work + Family Solutions at Bright Horizons:

"School holidays are one of the biggest and most predictable challenges in the working calendar, and yet they remain one of the least supported. For many working parents, the six to eight weeks of summer alone represent a significant logistical and financial strain that plays out directly in absence, reduced focus and career hesitation.

What this data shows is that when employers take that pressure seriously and provide practical cover, the returns are immediate and tangible. Employees show up more, focus better and are more likely to stay. For organisations navigating return to office expectations, Holiday Clubs are not a nice to have benefit. When you remove that childcare pressure, parents can actually be present at work. That's when the productivity gains follow.

The employers who will win on retention and performance are those who recognise that care does not pause for the school calendar, and neither should their support."

To learn more about Bright Horizons Work + Family Solutions, and the employee support that is offered, click here.