Over the past week, I’ve juggled after-school club, my son’s tennis training and several work commitments with trying to make sure I make it to the “Dad’s at School Day”. I made it – but by the skin of my teeth and the latter happily covered in modelling clay! I have to say that my wife juggles even more, and certainly more effectively, than I do.

It got me thinking about how much time your average working Mum or Dad spends organising childcare and managing the work/life balance (sorry to use the dreaded term).

It’d be great to hear some of your experiences and I’ve created a very short survey which you can access here, or by clicking the button on the right hand side. It’ll take you no longer than 1 minute to complete (I am sure you’re all busy people) and all responses are anonymous.

Thank you!

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Like me, you’re probably waiting for the budget announcement on 22^nd June, to see if there’s any mention of childcare reform and funding. I don’t know yet whether childcare will feature in the budget, but I’ll be monitoring it carefully and keeping you up to date through the blog.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, we’re in a good position under the coalition government at the moment and I’ve been trying to dispel a pretty big myth lately; that smaller business can’t benefit from offering Childcare Vouchers in the same way that larger companies can.

Research shows that 80% of employers not currently offering childcare vouchers have fewer than 100 employees. Often smaller businesses believe there isn’t as much benefit for them, they don’t have enough parents to qualify and they’ll be under resourced to cope with a further administrative burden.

This really isn’t the case. There’s minimal admin as the voucher provider does that and CVS don’t require a minimum number of parents, so even if only one employee qualifies you can start a scheme today. Most importantly, all companies, regardless of size, make savings on National Insurance for their employees who use the scheme. This means that the scheme is effectively cost neutral to run, and is the same across the board for companies large and small.

During tough economic times, the kind of which we’ve all struggled through for over a year now, Childcare Vouchers are a way to make it easier for your employees and to help take the strain away.

So if you’re a parent thinking about asking your employer to start a scheme, or an employer who isn’t sure whether to take the plunge or not, my advice is go for it – it’s one of the best ways to save money.

You might also be interested in the below articles which I’ve written on this topic:

Making the most out of employer perks – Fresh Business Thinking

Childcare Vouchers – Smallbusiness.co.uk

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For parents looking to start using childcare vouchers, or employees looking to introduce a scheme to staff, now is the time to do it.

As I mentioned in my last post, we’re in a strong position under the coalition Government, but there are changes in store next year.

From 6^th April 2011, childcare voucher scheme rules will change for new entrants who, regardless of their salary, will receive the same income tax relief as basic rate taxpayers do currently.

In order to calculate an individual’s savings, employers will have to estimate, from the beginning of the year, the earnings of any employee joining a scheme. The amount of savings will be based on the level of these estimated earnings:

›       If the level is below the basic rate tax limit for the year, the employee will be entitled to £55 exempt income per qualifying week

›       If the level is above the basic rate tax limit but below the new additional tax limit (50%) the employee will be entitled to £28 exempt income per qualifying week

›       If the level is above the additional tax limit (50%) the employee will be entitled to £22 exempt income per qualifying week.  

These changes will make saving uniform across all tax bands, ensuring equal benefit for all. It means that every parent, regardless of how much they earn, will be entitled to approximately the same level of tax exemption at £11 per week.

Anyone already in or offering a childcare voucher scheme on 6^th April 2011 will not see a difference in the way their savings are calculated, which is why I encourage you to sign up today.

For more about the tax break changes, read the HMRC’s guidance notes on our News / Publications tab. For more about childcare vouchers in general and how to join or start a scheme, visit our website.

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The government published full details of their coalition agreement last week. You can read it on our News/Publications page.

The agreement states that, overall, the most pressing task for the Government is debt reduction and this morning, George Osborne revealed that spending cuts of £6.2 billion will be made.

Amongst the cuts is the removal of Child Trust Funds in January 2011. The coalition agreement hinted towards a reduction in spending in this area, but in fact CTFs will cease to exist in the new year, saving around £320 million per annum.

The coalition agreement also said that spending would be cut on tax credits for higher earners, although they will look to improve the administration of tax credits to reduce fraud and overpayments. However, no announcement was made about that this morning.

The agreement also confirms a focus on making society more family friendly. Initially a Conservative party idea, the Government will encourage shared parenting, including the promotion of a system of flexible parental leave. The agreement also pledges support for a diverse range of providers who will implement the provision of free nursery care for pre-school children. 

There is no mention of how or if Childcare Vouchers will be affected, and I personally believe we’re currently in a strong position under the coalition government. Certainly Childcare Vouchers are still the most viable way for everyone to save on childcare, particularly with the removal of Child Trust Funds and a reduction in spending on tax credits.

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Welcome to the new blog from Computershare Voucher Services (CVS), the UK’s largest dedicated Childcare Voucher provider.

We’ve launched this blog to update you on the latest news from CVS, developments within the industry and bring your attention to any important information or research relating to Childcare Vouchers.

We’re really keen to hear your views and opinions too so please leave us your comments.

We know how important Childcare Vouchers are, for many of you they are the difference between being able to return to work or not, and we’re so pleased that we helped to save them last year; I’d like to personally thank you all for your support during the campaign.

It’ll be interesting to see what our new coalition government will mean for Childcare Vouchers. Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats support Childcare Vouchers and were against previous plans by Labour to reform tax exemption. It’s possible that there’ll be a review of how the childcare industry is regulated and funded as the Conservatives were keen to see this happen, but we don’t know if this will include Childcare Vouchers as yet. We’ll keep you posted.

For more information about CVS, please visit our website www.computersharevoucherservices.com

I look forward to hearing from you through this blog in the future.

Simon Moore, Managing Director, Computershare Voucher Services.

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