Is UK business just anti-family?

The UK has a fertility crisis. With total fertility rates falling every year since 2010, in 2022 the TFR was just 1.49 children per woman. And, according to the Office for National Statistics the key demographic 'driver' for this decline is women aged 30-34. Women in this key demographic have been having fewer and fewer babies over the last decade and that's having a dramatic effect on overall TFR.

You may be wondering why this is a problem. Surely there are too many people on the planet already? We're all consuming far too much and having babies just makes matter worse and the world will explode, right? No actually. For many developed countries the 'replacement rate' - the number of babies needed to become adults to maintain the elderly population - is far too low.

The minimum rate generally agreed upon to maintain a population is 2.1. In South Korea, the rate is now at 0.72, well below the rate required to maintain the ageing population of 55 million. In fact, by 2100 the South Korean population is predicted to almost halve as a result to just 28.6 million people. 

For a nation like South Korea, this population implosion is an impending disaster that their government is desperate to avoid. Yet, despite billions in government incentives being offered, would-be parents are citing sky-rocketing childcare, lack of well-paid jobs, astronomic housing costs and a cut-throat education system as fundamental reasons to avoid having a family.

Perhaps for British people contemplating having kids, this sounds all too familiar. There's zero financial incentive to procreate and single income households are penalised via taxation in a way that dual income families are not. Stay at home parents aren't recognised for their work in raising future citizens for this country - they're scorned for it. Even transport taxes parents - if you're crazy enough (like me) to have three kids, you'll need to buy another, much bigger car to fit the mandatory child seats in. Let's not get started on school holiday tax... We've reached a point where 'procreation has become a luxury item'.

Indeed, there are numerous posts here on LinkedIn that describe the underhand practice of forcing pregnant women out of their jobs via fake redundancies or constructive dismissal. To be a parent at work is made worse by cultures that sneer at parents - usually women - who need to leave on time or work flexibly to meet childcare commitments. Having children 'whilst in possession of a job' is somehow seen by UK business as irresponsible and lacking in commitment.

The obvious irony is that by creating hostile conditions for working parents now (or for those preparing for parenthood) in the name of improved productivity, these businesses are actively shrinking their own markets for the future, reducing the available workforce and depriving the UK of innovation from young minds.

This isn't a call to 'breed for Britain' and there are many perfectly valid reasons why people choose not have children, yet it's astounding how the UK is creating it's own perfect storm for population implosion via legislation and sharp business practice.

What could UK business do to improve matters and more importantly who's out there doing it well?