The principal status of 454,700 people in Ireland was “looking after the home or family” according to a recent CSO report. Of those people, the vast majority were women (98%) although the number of men in this role nearly doubled in the 10 years up to 2016, rising from 4,900 to 9,200.
Protection specialist Royal London surveyed people in Ireland to find out what financial value they would put on the economic cost of being a stay-at-home parent. The Royal London survey found that people believed it would cost anywhere from under €10,000 to over €50,000 to employ someone to do similar work to a stay-at-home parent within a professional environment.
The majority (29%) of those surveyed predicted the yearly value to be within €20,000-€30,000, but comparative cost-analysis research from Royal London reports the average pay for this job could be more in the region of €42,000 a year.
Royal London considered the duties of a stay-at-home parent and researched the cost of replacing the “jobs” they do for the family and in the home. Tasks included some of the ‘top jobs’ parents carry out on a weekly basis such as cooking, cleaning, driving children to their various activities and so on, and the average work-place costs associated with these duties. Royal London’s calculations reveal that the cost to employ someone to run a households and perform all the tasks usually done by a stay-at-home parent would be an estimated €42,104.
Commenting on the findings Sara Murphy, Royal London said, "Most adults believe the stay-at-home parent’s potential annual salary would be in the region of €20K - €30K. This is significantly lower than the €45,611 reported earlier in the year by the CSO, as the average earnings of a person in full time employment. Admittedly, people probably don’t place too much attention on guestimating the costs of running a home, but it’s worth our consideration."
She added, "While the main family wage earner might put mechanisms in place to replace their income should they get seriously sick or pass away, stay-at-home parents may be less likely to place the same emphasis on putting the necessary financial precautions in place."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
