Indeed, Age UK estimates more than a third (about 40 per cent) of grandparents aged 50-plus care for their grandchildren regularly. Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of those grandparents under 65 are in work. 

Jane Corry, author of The Lies We Tell, among other novels, has been a willing member of this hidden army of grandparent carers, looking after her grandchildren for two full days a week from when they were eight months old. This set-up lasted for three-and-a-half years, until the pandemic arrived. 

“If I was still a staff journalist on a women’s magazine (my last full-time job), I would have definitely taken paid leave to have looked after grandchildren [had it been offered],” she says. “I certainly wouldn’t have felt worried about younger colleagues feeling resentful. If they did, they would soon learn when it was their turn. I would have hoped they would understand since many young parents need help with childcare. Nor would I  have been worried about it highlighting my status as an ‘older worker’. I wear grannyhood like a badge of honour.”

With the scrapping of the forced retirement age of 65, and many workers choosing to postpone retirement, grandparents have become a significant part of the workforce. David Cameron’s government, elected in 2015, had planned to introduce grandparental leave by 2018. Ministers cited research suggesting nearly two million people had given up work, reduced their hours or taken time off to provide childcare for their grandchildren. The government also pointed out that more than half of mothers counted on their own parents for childcare when they first returned to work after maternity leave.

But the plan to introduce grandparental leave at a national level was ultimately shelved, leaving it up to employers to offer such perks on a unilateral basis. Saga isn’t the first to decide to do so.

“I worked for M&G, one of the big financial services companies, until July this year and they offered not only a day [off] for each grandchild, but also one day off per year to spend time with your grandchildren,” says Margaret McCallum, 49, from Stirling in Scotland. “I chose the latter. My granddaughter (the daughter of my stepdaughter) and I spent the morning at the park, had a little lunch and she spent time with me painting and reading. I had no concerns with taking the day, because I’d worked for the company for 19 years.”

While some employers expressed reservations when Cameron’s government proposed grandparental leave (research published in 2016 by the human resources body CIPD found 25 per cent thought it was a step too far), it seems likely they will increasingly see that policies like these can prove advantageous for them, and not only for their staff. Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of Mumsnet and Gransnet, the online parents’ and grandparents’ forums, says: “We know from Gransnet users just how important it is that grandparents are able to provide much needed support to exhausted new parents – as well as getting the chance to meet the new arrival. But embracing family friendly working practices isn’t just good news for employees – it also makes business sense. Employers who recognise the fact that their employees have relationships and responsibilities outside of work will reap the rewards of increased loyalty and staff wellbeing.”

Yet not everyone sees the widespread use of grandparents for childcare as a source of unalloyed joy. A Gransnet survey earlier this year found a fifth of grandparents who provided childcare before the pandemic were reluctant to continue. Campaigners for affordable childcare meanwhile argue that the real problem that needs fixing is the prohibitive costs that mean so many parents are forced to rely on grandparents for financial reasons. 

Jane van Zyl, chief executive of the charity Working Families, which advises on employment rights for parents and carers, says: “It’s great to see an employer recognise the key role many grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren… However, for many grandparents their role is more of an intense one than they’d prefer simply because of the unaffordable cost of childcare for many families. Childcare in the UK is among the most expensive in the developed world, and many grandparents step in as carers to plug those gaps.

“While it’s great to see more employers recognise the role of grandparents and kinship carers, we won’t get a long-term solution until we tackle the cost and availability of childcare across the UK.”

Nor is grandparental leave the only policy likely to help the so-called “silver workforce”. Research has shown the right to flexible working could be important for this demographic. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), those in their late 50s and early 60s are increasingly considering delaying retirement plans as a result of being able to work from home during the Covid crisis. 

If catering to older workers might take various forms in the years to come, it seems one thing is certain: Saga won’t be the last to bring in an eye-catching and progressive perk like grandparental leave.