Childcare costs ‘soaring by £600-plus a month’ as firms insist on return to office

Survey finds parents under pressure, as second study finds some are leaving workforce because of costs

Parents of nursery and primary school-age children are facing more than 600 of extra childcare costs a month, a study has found, as employers demand staff spend more days in the office.

More than half of parents said they had come under increasing pressure to increase time spent at their desks, in response to a survey by the flexible childcare provider Pebble.