When childcare falls through, so does the workday.
Little Break gives your working parents vetted backup childcare for sick days, PD days and school breaks. They stay at work, focused. And they stay with you.
The hidden cost on your payroll
The school calendar doesn't match the work calendar. Your parents feel it, and so does your bottom line.
12
weekday non-instructional days between September and June on one Calgary school's 2025–26 calendar, plus a 16-day winter break and 9-day spring break.1
13
work absences a year that parents said they avoided once their employer offered childcare benefits.2
86%
of parents in a 2024 study said a childcare benefit made them more likely to stay with their employer.2
425%
the top return on childcare benefits across five companies studied. The lowest was 90%. Every one paid for itself.2
Three ways childcare gaps hit the business
Every gap shows up somewhere: an empty desk, a distracted call, a resignation letter.
Sick days that aren't theirs
A child wakes up with a cold, daycare says stay home, and a parent loses the day, or logs on while juggling a sick kid and gets little done.
PD days and school breaks
Non-instructional days, teachers' convention, winter and spring break. Predictable for schools, a scramble for parents, and a planning headache for managers.
Parents who walk out the door
When childcare keeps breaking down, good people cut hours or leave. In the US alone, childcare problems cost employers an estimated $23 billion a year.3
Solutions
A childcare benefit your parents will actually use
Pick one or combine them. Every sitter meets the Little Break standard: police check with vulnerable sector search, first aid and CPR, references, interview and our training.
Backup Care Credits
Most popularPrepay a bank of sitter hours. Employees book in the app when school is out, regular care falls through, or a kid is home with the sniffles. Sick-day sits go to Sick Day Ready sitters.
$30 / sitter-hour, prepaid · $35 for sick days
PD Day Kids' Room
On PD days and school breaks, we run a staffed kids' room at your office, led by an ECE. Parents come to work, kids are down the hall having a great day.
Quoted per day
New Parent Night Care
Give employees welcoming a baby a Fourth Trimester pack of overnight newborn care. A rested parent returns from leave sooner and more ready.
From $1,400 for 5 nights
Family events and conferences
Kids' zones for holiday parties, family days and conferences, so parents can attend and actually take part.
Quoted per event
Membership as a perk
Cover the Little Break Membership for your team: lower fees, priority booking and free Little Reports for every evening and weekend sit.
$19 per employee, per month
Monthly impact report
Every plan includes a simple report: hours used, workdays covered and estimated productivity recovered. Totals only, never details about employees' children.
Included
Your parents don't lose the day when their kid has the sniffles.
Sick Day Ready sitters have extra training and follow a clear health protocol, so a cold at home doesn't mean an empty desk at work.
Mild illness only
Colds, sniffles and kids on the mend. A symptom check at booking keeps fevers and contagious illness with a parent.
Masks and a Sick Day Kit
Masks for respiratory illness or on request, plus gloves, wipes and sanitizer on every sick-day sit.
A cleaner home after
Hand hygiene throughout and a wipe-down of high-touch surfaces before the sitter leaves.
Updates all day
A free Little Report logs fluids, rest, symptoms and any medication the parent asked for.
Add a Nurse Check-in · $45
A video consult with a Registered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner. The parent joins from work, the sitter from home, and everyone leaves with clear next steps. Delivered by our licensed healthcare partner.
How it works
Live in a week. No admin for HR.
- 1Choose your plan. Credits, kids' room days, Night Care or a mix, sized to your team.
- 2Employees join with your company code. We send a launch email and a one-page guide for your intranet.
- 3They book when they need it. A vetted sitter picks up the shift. If one cancels, we find a replacement.
- 4You get one invoice and a monthly impact report. No tracking down receipts.
Savings calculator
What are childcare gaps costing you?
Move the sliders to match your team.
What absences cost you today
workdays a year, in salary paid for time not worked
Productivity recovered
days covered
Little Break cost
8 hours a day at $30
Net return, before retention
Plus the parents you keep. Retaining even one parent who would have left saves the cost of hiring and training a replacement, which this calculator doesn't count.
Estimate only. Uses salary divided by 230 workdays as the value of a workday, a conservative measure that leaves out overtime, coverage and missed deadlines. Sick-day hours bill at $35 instead of $30.
Vetted to childcare standards
Founded by a licensed childcare operator. Every sitter is police checked, first aid certified, interviewed and trained by us.
Replacement guarantee
If a sitter cancels, we find another. Your employee shouldn't have to.
Peace of mind at work
Parents get live Little Reports, so they can focus on the meeting, not their phone.
Calgary owned and operated
A local company with local sitters who know the city, and a real person to call when you need us.
Questions from HR
Something else? Book a call.
Can sitters care for sick kids?
Yes, for mild illness: colds, sniffles and kids recovering at home, with Sick Day Ready sitters who opt in, wear masks for respiratory illness and follow our sanitation protocol. Children with a fever, recent vomiting or diarrhea, or a contagious illness stay with a parent; parents complete a short symptom check when they book. Sick-day hours bill at $35.
What is a Nurse Check-in?
An optional video consult with a Registered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner from our licensed healthcare partner, on a call with the parent at work and the sitter at home. The parent requests it and joins, and health information stays between the parent and the clinician. Employers can bundle check-ins into their plan. Emergencies always go to 911.
What do we see as the employer?
Usage totals and impact, such as hours used and workdays covered. Never the names or details of employees' children.
How does billing work?
One invoice. Credits are prepaid, and kids' room days and events are quoted up front. Plans start at [100 hours].
Is this a taxable benefit?
It depends on how you set it up. Talk to your accountant or payroll provider; we're happy to share how other employers handle it.
How fast can employees book?
In a few minutes in the app. Same-day requests are filled when sitters are available, and booking the night before works best.
Keep your best people at work, and with you.
Book a 20-minute call. We'll size a plan to your team and show you the numbers.
What we'll cover in 20 minutes
1Calgary Board of Education, Tom Baines School 2025–26 instructional calendar. Calendars vary by school.
2Boston Consulting Group, Childcare Benefits More Than Pay for Themselves at US Companies (2024). Figures are the highest reported across the companies studied.
3ReadyNation, reported by Fortune (2023). US data.