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Single-parent families and social protection:
what is the employer’s role?

May 20, 2022

Single-parent families tend to be more isolated and vulnerable than other types of households. For this reason, single parents may require additional support – such as enhanced social protection. Here, employers can play a pivotal role.

Single parenthood is far from an exception in France. According to France’s Nnational Iinstitute of Sstatistics, Insee, almost one in four families in France is headed by a single parent. And according to another French statistical body, DREES (1), close to one in three of these families considers itself to be poor – three times as many as for two-parent families.

How does this affect the health of single parents?

As shown in a study by the Council of Europe, this gap in resources is all the more problematic because single parents overall have greater healthcare needs. Often, they must cope with higher levels of physical and/or mental stress, which can negatively impact their health and that of their children.

Some sources of psychological stress are:

grief over a separation, a divorce or the death of a spouse;
conflictual relationships with the child’s other parent;
a higher level of demands from their children, often leading to increased fatigue.

How can employers help?

The Quality of Life at Work Observatory (2) has issued nine recommendations for companies to create a favorable work environment for employees who are single parents. They include:

providing a health insurance policy with enhanced benefits,
granting additional days of leave to care for a sick child,
implementing a system by which employees can donate days off to other employees,
arranging for more flexible working hours,
authorizing working from home more frequently,
setting up childcare and/or homework tutoring services.

In terms of healthcare, the Observatory advises single-parent employees to take advantage of several measures provided by their employer, such as:

the ability to schedule medical appointments during working hours,
telemedicine consultations or medical consultations in the workplace
workshops to prevent health-related risks for employees, on nutrition, stress, sleep, exercise, and so on.

«We need to make life easier for these single mothers and fathers, so that ‘single parenthood’ does not become a synonym of ‘struggling household’. Supplemental health insurance for employees can do this. For example, it can help employees deal with health issues, both their own and those of their children.» said Patricia Delaux, Director of Health & Personal Protection at AXA Santé et Collectives.

The Quality of Life at Work Observatory also recommends putting single-parent employees in touch with non-profit organizations and public agencies in charge of single family households. It underscores the importance of seeking help from peer support networks.

Single parent families in numbers

2 million: the number of families in France with at least one minor child who lives with a single parent, without a live-in partner
23.9%: the percentage of single-parent families in France who live in overcrowded housing (versus 10.3% for families with two parents living as a couple and 16.3% for stepfamilies)

40.5%: the poverty rate for single-parent families in France (versus 15.4% for families with two parents living as a couple and 16.6% for stepfamilies)
€15,800: the average annual income of single-parent families in France (versus €24,200 for families with two parents living as a couple and €21,600 for stepfamilies)

Sources :

(1) DREES : Direction de la Recherche, des Etudes, de l’Evaluation et des Statistiques
(2) Observatoire de la Qualité de Vie au Travail, in partnership with the French Directorate general of social cohesion (DGCS)

Insee Focus Study, September 13, 2021
https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/5422681 ;
https://drees.solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/er389.pdf ;
https://www.coe.int/t/dg3/health/reportsingleparents_FR.asp ;
https://drees.solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2021-04/ER%201190.pdf ;
https://www.observatoire-qvt.com/accompagner-la-monoparentalite-en-entreprise-lobservatoire-de-la-qualite-de-vie-au-travail-analyse-les-besoins-des-salaries-monoparentaux-et-presente-ses-recommandations-pour-passer-a-l/

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