Galgorm Collection has become the first hospitality employer in Northern Ireland to offer its 1,100 employees access to subsidised childcare, giving HR and reward teams in a historically hard-to-retain sector a benefit designed to remove one of the biggest practical barriers working parents face when entering, returning to or progressing within the workforce.

Galgorm Collection is a Ballymena-based hospitality group operating hotels, restaurants, spas, golf facilities and corporate venues, and was the first hospitality business on the island of Ireland to achieve Great Place to Work certification across its entire portfolio.

Sleepy Hollow Group is a Northern Ireland childcare provider with more than 30 years of experience, operating a network of Early Childhood Centres and Primary Schools across the region.

The strategic logic addresses a structural barrier to hospitality recruitment and retention, shift patterns and entry-level roles common in the sector, rather than treating childcare support as a discretionary add-on.

A new dedicated childcare facility opening at Galgorm Courtyard Business Park in October 2026 will serve staff at Galgorm's flagship property, while employees across the group's wider portfolio gain priority access and discounted rates at Sleepy Hollow locations throughout Northern Ireland, extending the benefit beyond a single site.

Laura Millar, people and development associate director at Galgorm Collection, said childcare can be one of the biggest challenges facing working families, and that the company wanted a meaningful solution making a real difference to team members' everyday lives as it looks to strengthen its employee offering. Nikolai Koplewsky, director of Sleepy Hollow Group, said combining its early years expertise with Galgorm's commitment to employee wellbeing offers practical support helping parents and carers balance family life with their careers.

The scheme adds to an existing benefits suite including private healthcare, complimentary spa access, discounted stays, training and development programmes, and referral bonuses.

For the sector, the case signals that hospitality employers are increasingly building structured childcare partnerships as a recruitment and retention differentiator, rather than relying on pay alone in a sector long challenged on staff turnover.

Source: Belfast News Letter