Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

ChildcareEquality, diversity and inclusionPaternityHR practiceFamily-friendly benefits

Childcare vouchers: an introduction for employers

by Personnel Today 6 Jun 2011
by Personnel Today 6 Jun 2011

The number of working parents in the UK is on the rise. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2010, the employment rate for lone parents with dependent children was 57.2%, for married or cohabiting mothers was 71.3% and for married or cohabiting fathers was 89.4%. That equates to an awful lot of employees with potential childcare needs.

All these workers require childcare that is affordable, accessible and of the highest quality. Childcare vouchers are a fantastic way for employers to give working parents with dependent children help with financial support that is exempt from tax and National Insurance contributions.

Alison Chalmers, director of childcare voucher supplier Kiddivouchers, explains: “Many employees find childcare vouchers to be a convenient way of paying for childcare, because they can set up payment instructions so that their vouchers are paid straight to their carer.  For busy parents, this means one less job to worry about.”

She adds that childcare vouchers can also help families with budgeting, as parents can choose to order vouchers throughout the year and save them up for expensive times like school holidays.

The first £55 per week (£243 a month) for basic rate tax payers, £28 per week (£124 a month) for higher rate tax payers or £22 per week (£97 a month) for additional rate tax payers provided through childcare vouchers is exempt from tax and national insurance contributions and each employed parent can claim. 

Prior to 6 April 2011 all parents could receive up to £55 per week of childcare vouchers exempt from national insurance and tax, regardless of earnings, and any parent who applied to join a scheme up to 5 April 2011 will receive the former rate indefinitely unless they change employer or leave their current plan.

HM Revenue & Customs estimates that a third of employees have access to such scheme as a large number of employers have already signed up. Employers should be aware that vouchers can only be used on Ofsted-registered childcare.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Research shows that a diverse range of employees currently make use of childcare vouchers. Analysis from the Social Market Foundation found that:




  • Around 190,000 people were using childcare vouchers in 2007
  • The vast majority of voucher users are on middle incomes, with around 83% of users paying income tax at the basic rate
  • Childcare vouchers appear to be used more intensively by working lone parents than by couples
  • Manual and unskilled workers are the most common users of childcare vouchers
  • Voucher users are diverse in terms of family structure, gender, geographic location and ethnicity.

Childcare vouchers can be offered in a number of ways depending on the employer’s budget and requirements. They can be given in addition to employees’ existing pay, as a benefit-in-kind or as part of a salary sacrifice scheme.

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Widespread action could trigger changes to strike laws, says Cable
next post
Charity raises concern over skin cancer research

You may also like

Public sector workers gain pay rises of up...

22 May 2025

HSBC employees warned of office attendance link to...

22 May 2025

Deloitte scales back salary rises and promotions

22 May 2025

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Redefining leadership: From competence to inclusion

21 May 2025

Consultation launched after Supreme Court ‘sex’ ruling

20 May 2025

Next to improve wage-setting transparency after shareholder pressure

16 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

Culture, ‘micro-incivilities’ and invisible talent

14 May 2025

University of Salford launches Better Working Lives cluster

14 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+