With Mother’s Day approaching, a moment to recognise the often unseen and undervalued labour that goes into raising a family, new analysis reveals just how much unpaid work mothers across the UK are really doing.
The UK’s most trusted discount code website, NetVoucherCodes, has analysed government data to find out exactly how much unpaid work mothers are doing across the country that I thought might be of interest for Daily Waffle.
According to research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Time Use in the UK survey[1], employed women with dependent children spent on average 85 minutes per day on unpaid childcare, and 167 minutes per day on unpaid household work such as cooking and cleaning.
If you multiply the daily figure by the number of days up until Mother’s Day on the 15th of March, mothers across the country have racked up 310 hours and 48 minutes in unpaid labour.
We’ll look at the UK living wage of £12.21, although many mothers are earning much more than this and the average UK hourly wage is closer to £19.67 per hour, according to ONS[3].
When Mother’s Day rolls around, mothers across the country will have totted up £3,794.87 in unpaid labour.
Collectively, there are 6.3 million mothers with dependent children aged 15 or under in the UK[3]. If we applied the same methodology, mothers across the UK are collectively losing £23.9 billion in unpaid work by working 1.96 billion hours.
Rebecca Bebbington, personal finance expert at NetVoucherCodes comments on the findings:
“These findings really highlight something we often overlook: the invisible, constant effort that keeps families running. Mothers aren’t just caretakers, they’re multitasking, problem-solving, and emotionally labouring in ways that rarely get noticed.
Mother’s Day is a chance to pause and acknowledge that work, and a small act of appreciation, whether a card, flowers, or a thoughtful treat, can go a long way in saying ‘thank you’ for everything they do, every single day.”
Find deals on Mother’s Day gifts and experiences at NetVoucherCodes.
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Sources:
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2021/previous/v1
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2025
- https://www.civitas.org.uk/2023/05/10/mothers-preferences-over-childcare-and-work/
