How we’re supporting parents this Mother’s Day and every day

Life is busy, and part of our role as one of the UK’s most inclusive employers is making sure work feels accessible and flexible for all of our colleagues. For us, that means recognising that while working is one important element of life, our policies and culture should empower people to be at their best in all aspects of their lives.

We never underestimate how challenging the often-delicate juggle between work and family life can be and we’re constantly looking for ways we can help colleagues bring their best selves to work while respecting their individual needs. And that includes our working mums – and indeed our working dads.

We’re incredibly proud to have been named ‘Family Friendly Employer of the Year’ at the 2024 Personnel Today Awards and ‘Human Company of the Year’ with the TLC Lions in 2024 and 2025. These accolades recognise our continued commitment to creating a level playing field for our colleagues where they, and in turn our business, can prosper.

Here are a few of the ways in which we’re supporting our working parents and all families, wherever they are in their journey – enabling them to thrive at E.ON.

Family friendly flexibility

We offer flexible working as an option right from day one of starting at E.ON because we know it’s one of the foundations of a great working culture, helping build trust, productivity and a culture based around respect.

Giving colleagues the option to work flexibly, where it’s right for both the colleague and for the business, quite simply allows people to be at their best – both in and outside of work. Colleagues who want to work flexibly, including flexible start times and compressed hours, agree the most appropriate arrangement with their manager to ensure the end result will maximise colleagues’ performance and productivity while also being able to keep up with the demands of life outside of work.

More than half of our colleagues at E.ON, many of whom have parenting or other caring responsibilities, now have some form of flexible working pattern in place.

Blending workplace and home working

Working flexibly can also include where our colleagues choose to work. We believe it’s important to have a balance between face-to-face working at our sites and giving colleagues the freedom to work remotely where their role allows. This blended approach enables colleagues to work wherever they are most productive, while also ensuring the benefits of in-person team building and teamworking are honoured.

Making job sharing work for everyone

Job sharing can be a fantastic way for the business to support people who want to work part-time, and we offer job sharing as an option for many of our roles.

We spoke to Jane Branscombe (below right) and Naomi Furlonger (below left), Early Careers Talent Consultants at E.ON, about their experiences as working mothers who have made job sharing a success. Jane and Naomi have been successfully job sharing for more than 10 years, having previously worked in PR and Communications roles.

Jane Branscombe, said: “With three school-aged children, E.ON’s willingness to let me work part time is what’s allowed me to continue with my career. Job sharing with Naomi has made things very much more manageable, at work and at home.

“A job share goes much further than co-operation between two part-time colleagues in the same team. For me, in very practical terms,  it’s about managing projects between you, having a point of contact always available and ensuring work progresses in one another’s absence. I think it’s working well if other people don’t notice a difference in terms of the service they get on different days of the week, because it’s a seamless arrangement. 

“Job sharing creates very loyal employees; I’m grateful that E.ON facilitates this way of working, and it’s in my interests to ensure it works for the company too.”

Naomi Furlonger added: “I’ve been working as a job share for over 10 years now, ever since I returned from maternity leave with my first child.

“Being part of a job share has enabled me to have the work life balance I’d hope for. I can genuinely switch off from work on my non-working days as I know that Jane is working and will manage anything that comes in and needs to be dealt with. This is invaluable for me as it means I’ve been able to have the valuable family time that I always wanted, without having to compromise on my career aspirations.

“As a job share you really learn how to work as a team, recognising each other’s strengths and having trust in your job share partner.”

Policies that support families at every stage

Our progressive policies shape our organisation, and these policies are shaped by our colleagues’ needs. As well as supporting existing parents, we’re proud to provide a range of support for people at every stage of their family journey.

For example, we offer:

• maternity, paternity and equal parent leave, giving colleagues the opportunity to choose the best options for their family
• enhanced policies to support colleagues going through their adoption, surrogacy or fertility journeys
• special leave to support colleagues experiencing pregnancy loss or whose children are in neonatal care

Listening and learning

Families come in many forms, and we believe it’s important to listen to our colleagues, to learn and to offer a range of options to enable them to deliver on their work and home life commitments.

Our ‘Working Families’ colleague-led network brings together parents of all kinds and all stages – from expectant parents to existing parents and includes guardians, foster, adoptive, co-parents, grandparents and stepparents too.

Open to everyone and one of E.ON’s supportive and inclusive colleague networks, Working Families aims to build a network of support and mutual understanding for families across our organisation through open dialogue and listening cafes.

Caring for our carers

For many people, family life will invariably involve looking after those we care about. Being a carer can be incredibly challenging – emotionally, physically, financially and professionally. That’s why we’ve created tools and resources to help colleagues find the support they need from us.

Support can include flexible working, resource with practical advice on topics such as how to navigate financial support and caring options for elderly loved ones, and our carers’ passport which help carers to easily share their needs with their manager.

To find out more about how we're supporting families as part of our wider commitment to equality diversity and inclusion across our workforce, take a look at our annual inclusion report.