Can you ask for a pay rise to cover childcare costs?

Pregnant Then Screwed CEO, Joeli Brearley shares her advice for asking for flexible working and pay increases. By Lauren Taylor.

Can you get a pay rise to help with childcare costs? (Alamy/PA)

One in four UK parents have to give up their job or leave education due to the high cost of childcare, a new study says.

The research, by global children’s charity Theirworld, showed that the childcare crisis in the UK is worse than many other countries – 23% of UK-based parents had to either quit their job or drop out of studies due to childcare costs, compared with 17% in Brazil and 16% in Turkey.

So, what conversations can working parents – particularly mothers, as childcare so often disproportionately falls on women – have with their bosses to combat the crisis, if they do want to stay in employment?