Work-Related Child-Care Centres in Canada - 2001 : Chapter III

Chapter III : A Study of 14 Workplace Child-Care Centres in Canada

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The Department of the Future Childcare Centre
The Body Shop Canada
Toronto, Ontario

The Body Shop is a company known for its involvement in various social action campaigns. Setting up a workplace child-care centre for the employees of its Canadian home office and for its retail employees in the Toronto area is part of that corporate culture. This profile provides an example of how the head office of an international company can influence national headquarters in different countries in terms of providing services and benefits to employees.

The Employer

In 1976, the Body Shop opened its first store in Brighton, England. Entrepreneur Anita Roddick, who founded the company, identified a niche in the market for naturally based skin and hair products. The Body Shop evolved from one small shop in Brighton into a worldwide network of shops. Franchising allowed for rapid growth and international expansion. The company has 1,600 stores and employs more than 4,000 workers around the world.

The Body Shop opened its first Canadian franchise in 1980 and now has 126 stores across the country, with more than 50 in Ontario.

Besides manufacturing and selling naturally based skin and hair products, The Body Shop Canada campaigns for causes that reflect its corporate values. For example, the company is socially committed to women’s issues, human rights and environmental protection. In 1994, The Body Shop Canada received an award for its campaign against domestic violence. In the same year, The Body Shop implemented a policy offering paternity leave to all eligible male employees. The Department of the Future Childcare Centre is one more offspring of this corporate culture.

The Child-Care Centre

History

In 1990, a child-development centre opened at The Body Shop International, in England. This idea was well received by the Canadian headquarters of The Body Shop in Don Mills, Ontario, which decided to build an on-site child-care centre for its employees’ children.

During 1993, about 25 external and internal consultants worked on issues relating to all facets of the centre’s design. In 1994, The Department of the Future Childcare Centre, located in the building that houses The Body Shop Home Office, opened its doors. At first, only a few children were using the centre, but their numbers have increased gradually. The services of the centre are offered primarily to children of employees of The Body Shop Home Office and its corporate retail stores. However, children from the community can also enrol.

Operation of the Centre

The Department of the Future Childcare Centre currently cares for 32 children. Services are available on a full-time basis, and the facility is open from 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The centre is a not-for-profit organization that is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors on which four parents can sit.

The child-care centre puts into practice corporate values such as recycling and reducing energy consumption. Toddlers and preschoolers also have their own garden where they learn how to grow vegetables. The centre’s principal source of revenue is fees charged to parents. The Department of the Future Childcare Centre charges community parents $900 per month for infants, $825 for toddlers and $700 for preschool children. Employees of The Body Shop are entitled to reduced rates of $700 for infants, $650 for toddlers and $600 for preschool children.

Periodically, the centre obtains some funding from the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) for specific projects. For example, it received $5,600 to restructure the playgrounds. Additional funding is also available when renovations are required. In 1999, the centre received money to install an additional washroom as part of an expansion that added spaces for eight children.

The Body Shop Canada Home Office contributed to the start-up costs of the child-care centre. At the present time, the employer provides it with some administrative services such as bookkeeping. However, the rent and maintenance are the sole responsibility of the centre.

Children at The Department of the Future Childcare Centre enjoy a variety of activities. Music, drama, nature and science activities take place on a daily basis. Twice a week, the Rainbow Fun Program offers activities geared to physical fitness. A few times each year, the children participate in special trips, for example to the zoo or to an apple orchard. Expenses are paid with money the centre collects from fund-raising activities.

In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors, parents have many ways of getting involved in centre. One parent sells crafts and donates her commissions. Other parents participate in outings with children, and mothers of infants are encouraged to come to the child-care centre to visit their babies.

The centre takes into account cultural differences and, in recognition of the diversity of its clientele, encourages parents to come and share their cultural and religious celebrations with the staff and children of the child-care centre.

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