The system of Childcare Vouchers was introduced so that there was a mechanism in place to ensure that the money generated through the scheme, was being directed correctly to the childcarers.
Can the government child care voucher scheme help your staff?
Companies of all sizes have realised that it is important to offer a good range of benefits to their staff. Standard benefits include pension schemes, additional holidays and personal leave days, but in order to retain experienced, trained staff and attract highly qualified, motivated new employees, companies need to offer flexible benefits in addition to those that are normally expected.
One of the benefits that companies are beginning to adopt in large numbers is the government's child care voucher scheme. Introduced as part of their plan to attract more parents back to work, it is designed to benefit the company, the employee and the child care provider.
As far as the companies are concerned, it is a scheme that requires very little from them other than commitment and a small amount of administration. The scheme itself is largely administered by an external provider who handles the distribution of vouchers and the redemption of them by the child care providers. The scheme is a “salary sacrifice” one, which allows employees to take a defined amount of their salary in child care vouchers. This exchange in salary is made before tax or National Insurance deductions, which reduces the employee's tax and National Insurance bill, and the company's National Insurance bill.
Many parents with child care demands will look favourably on a company that provides this benefit. It allows them to be flexible with their child care, and make substantial savings: if both parents are employed, and claiming the maximum amount allowable, as 40% tax payers, they could be saving over £2,000 pounds per year.
Companies are attracted to the government's child care voucher scheme because it enables them to offer a valuable and attractive benefit to staff, whilst saving money on their own National Insurance contributions and without the administrative burden that often comes with employee benefit offerings. At Fennies Vouchers, we can provide the administrative support you need to run a successful child care voucher scheme, providing a benefit that will help to motivate and retain your staff, whilst also saving you money.
The introduction of childcare vouchers provides a genuine cash saving for working parents, and Fennies Vouchers would like to ensure that the experience of using childcare vouchers is quick and simple, and does not add an unnecessary administrative burden to the already busy lives of the working family.
