Starbucks is offering backup childcare to its employees for just $1 per hour

If you’re a working parent, you know how difficult it can be sometimes to find childcare. From daily care to those times when your child is home from school sick, it can be pretty tough.

Those “last minute” moments are about to get easier, however, for parents who work at Starbucks. The coffee chain just announced Care@Work, a partnership with Care.com to provide subsidized emergency backup childcare and adult care to employees at U.S. stores, whom they refer to as “partners.” According to a press release from Starbucks, that means 180,000 partners will get help with backup caregiving.

Here’s how it works: Partners will now have 10 subsidized backup care days each year, with in-home care costing only $1 per hour for childcare or adult care, and in-center backup childcare costing $5 per day.

Partners will also have free access to a premium membership on Care.com, which normally costs about $150 a year. Beyond the 10 subsidized days of backup care, they can still use their membership to access adult care or childcare services at the regular cost.

In addition, at no cost, they can also access resources to help with senior care planning. These resources include connecting with a senior care adviser for professional guidance and a customized plan to help understand long-term caregiver options, housing alternatives, finances and legal concerns.

“This is giving our partners (employees) resources for things that happen in regular life,” said Ron Crawford, vice president of benefits at Starbucks. “We wanted to give them something to help fill in the gaps. Care@Work is the final piece of the puzzle.”

Such a benefit has the potential to help with employee retention. A 2016 analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health found that two million working parents had to quit their jobs that year alone because of childcare issues. It noted that in the long-term, parents who leave the workforce to care for their children are forgoing potential benefits and retirement savings.

Along with parents, people taking care of their elders also have trouble, with a 2011 report by the AARP Public Policy Institute stating that one in five U.S. workers say they currently provide assistance for older relatives and friends. Additionally, nearly 70 percent of caregivers reported that they had to take time off, come late, leave early or make other work adjustments because of caregiving.

If you work at Starbucks, you can now enroll in the program by visiting Care.com.

Would you be more likely to work for Starbucks because of this benefit?