Not a nice-to-have,
...a business necessity.
Parental leave and return to work are pivotal career moments, with consequences that extend far beyond the individual employee.
With the cost of replacing lost talent ranging from 20% to 213% of an employee's salary, it’s a business imperative to support this transition for your valued working parents.
55% of women and 27% of fathers who have taken extended parental leave felt it had disadvantaged their careers. Most say they don’t feel adequately supported, understood or catered for upon their return.
UK businesses are estimated to lose over £647 million each year in recruitment costs and lost productivity linked to inadequate support for working parents.
A very real business cost
Parental leave and return to work represent one of the most significant transitions in an employee’s career.
Organisations experience:
→ Loss of experienced, mid-career talent
→ Increased recruitment and onboarding costs
→ Disruption to teams and clients
→ Reduced diversity in leadership pipelines
→ Lower engagement and trust
MATRI’s research estimates that UK businesses lose over £647 million each year in recruitment costs and lost productivity due to poor support for working parents.
Crucially, 83% of mothers who left within a year said poor return-to-work or parenting policies were the reason — not a lack of ambition or capability.
This means attrition at this stage is often preventable.
The gap between policy and reality
Most organisations already have parental leave policies in place. Many are compliant. Some are generous.
Yet MATRI’s research shows that parents are still leaving, because policy alone does not address:
→ confidence loss
→ identity shifts
→ unspoken expectations
→ fear of being sidelined
→ anxiety about returning to work
Parents consistently report that what they needed most was human support: understanding, flexibility, clear communication and confidence-building conversations.
This is the gap MATRI exists to fill.
How MATRI helps organisations
MATRI provides structured, evidence-based support for working parents designed to sit alongside existing policies and benefits.
We help organisations move from policy-led compliance to people-led outcomes.
Our programmes support parents through pregnancy, parental leave and return to work by focusing on the areas most closely linked to retention: confidence, clarity, communication and connection.
What partnering with MATRI looks like
MATRI works with organisations to offer:
✔️ A structured online platform
Parents access high-quality, on-demand content that supports them before leave, while away and on return — without adding pressure or time burden.
✔️ Targeted live support where it matters
Working mothers receive live group coaching and expert webinars at key moments in their journey, reinforcing confidence and connection when it’s most needed.
✔️ Practical tools, not just information
Parents are supported with frameworks and prompts that help them navigate handovers, conversations with managers, flexible working discussions and return-to-work planning.
✔️ Programmes designed for scale and consistency
Support is delivered consistently across teams and locations, reducing reliance on individual managers “getting it right”.
Manager Training
For many employees, the first moment of anxiety comes when they need to tell their manager they’re pregnant, or that they’ll be taking leave to support their partner. How that transition is handled — from the first conversation through to return to work — is critical to its success.
MATRI’s manager training helps managers to:
→ Respond well to initial disclosure
→ Navigate leave planning conversations with confidence
→ Support a smooth and confident return to work
→ Set clear, supportive expectations throughout the transition
Handled well, these moments protect confidence, support retention, and benefit both teams and the wider organisation.
Impact and Outcomes
Organisations that invest in structured parental-transition support see stronger retention, smoother returns to work and higher engagement.
Post-programme data shows that MATRI members feel more equipped, more confident and better prepared to manage both work and career decisions after returning from parental leave.
→ Pre-leave, confidence is often fragile and uncertain.
→ Post-return, confidence becomes more grounded and practical.
These shifts directly address the drivers of attrition identified in the MATRI research, particularly loss of confidence, anxiety about career impact and uncertainty around return-to-work expectations.
Let’s talk
Every organisation is different.
Every workforce has different needs.
If you’re exploring how to better support working parents - or want to understand whether MATRI is right for your organisation - we’d love to have a conversation.
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