A brand-new Penrith business is hoping to change the landscape for working parents and their childcare needs.
Jemma Hossain is launching her new business, Huggle Village, in the Penrith CBD that offers a hot desk working space and creche.
Hossain said the concept came to her as she was navigating returning to the corporate world after starting her own family.
“It all came about because I was in corporate and started a family and I saw that there was a need for working childcare and in the Lower Mountains there is not a lot of childcare,” Hossain said.
“So, what we are having is a huge relocation of families from the city and they are moving out here to Penrith and the Lower Mountains to get more affordable housing and as a result they’re leaving their family like grandparents behind… and they have to juggle work and children and so I thought there are a lot of mums and also dads that require a work space where they don’t have the distractions of children.
“With COVID, we got used to working from home but the juggle of working from home and having children at the same time is quite complicated. So, you’ve got a place where you can go to work, you can work at a hot desk and then you’ve got your children cared for in the creche.”
The hot desk creche concept was designed to fill the gap for parents who struggle to afford other childcare alternatives.
“There is just a gap of working families where you can potentially send your child to childcare, but you don’t get the subsidy because your income is above the threshold,” Hossain said.
“For someone who falls into a tax bracket where they can’t get the childcare subsidy, they could potentially get some money back as a tax deduction.”
Hossain is hoping Huggle Village provides families with an alternative that fits their family’s needs.
“A space like this could possibly provide the flexibility… one parent could work flexibly for two days… and you can have that balance of your child is still with you,” she said.
“So, you are not going to childcare and doing the half an hour drop off and the guilt associated with that.
“You can have them under the same roof, care and comfort as much as you need to, but you can be very productive at your own hot desk.”
Huggle Village offers 14 hot desks, tea and coffee facilities, secure Wi-Fi, and a creche with an associated meal room.
Huggle Village will open on Wednesday, September 18. Visit http://www.hugglevillage.com.au to view pricing options and to book.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.