How you and your child can benefit from a child care voucher scheme

Companies are choosing to take advantage of the new child care voucher scheme in order to provide an additional benefit to staff. The main advantage of this particular incentive scheme is its flexibility, as it allows employees to sacrifice a certain amount of their salary in exchange for vouchers, which can then be redeemed by their child care providers.

Many employees are attracted to the scheme, but because it is relatively new, they don't understand the full benefits of it. At Fennies, we help companies, employees and child care providers understand how the child care voucher scheme can work for them, and we are always on hand to give advice.

Can my children and I benefit from the child care voucher scheme?

Absolutely. If you are employed and your employer offers child care vouchers, then you should look into the scheme and take advantage of it. You can sacrifice up to £55 of your salary per week, which is exchanged for child care vouchers before you pay tax. This saves you money. Your employer will arrange the administration of the vouchers, which will be sent directly to your home address. You can vary the amount you sacrifice for vouchers each month, so if you need to pay for additional child care during the summer holidays, for example, you can exchange more salary for vouchers during that time.

How do I use the vouchers?

Once you have received the vouchers, you can use them to pay your child care provider, as long as they are registered with Ofsted, or the equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and they accept vouchers. You simply hand over the vouchers when you need to pay for your child care, and the provider will redeem them immediately with the scheme administrator.

You will save money on your income tax bill, because income tax will only be deducted from the amount of salary you are paid after the exchange for vouchers has been made. In addition, because only registered and inspected child care providers can accept the vouchers, you can be sure of the quality and standards of the child care you are choosing. If your employer offers a child care voucher scheme, speak to your HR department to see how it could work for you.

Date: 08/12/2005