In light of the credit crunch, P&MM, the UK’s leading employee benefits provider, has reported strong growth in the childcare voucher sector as increased numbers of employees sign-up to take advantage of its salary sacrifice product, Childcare-Plus.
“The credit crunch has undoubtedly deepened the consumers’ thirst for opportunities to reduce costs”, said Richard Davies, head of employee benefits at P&MM, “and the savings that working parents can make with Childcare-Plus promise to make a significant impact on household budgets.”
Richard continued: “The problem has often been reported that simply not enough parents are aware that their employer offers assistance in paying for childcare through a salary sacrifice scheme.
“Indeed, when taking over childcare voucher schemes at major organisations including Oxford County Council, Nottingham City Council and Essex County Council, P&MM discovered that, more often than not, employees were not aware or encouraged to utilise the schemes available.
“However, we immediately set about re-energising each programme with powerful, innovative marketing techniques and ongoing management support to really push the message home. Within just three months of taking over the schemes there was an impressive 30 per cent increase in up-take across all schemes”
Childcare-Plus from P&MM is available either as a stand-alone product or as part of a wider benefits package and the vouchers are delivered as e-vouchers, making them safe, secure and easy to use.
Childcare-Plus vouchers are redeemable at any OFSTED or DFES registered/approved childcare provider, allowing parents to choose the nursery, day-care centre or crèche that is most convenient to them.
In addition to the childcare voucher scheme, Childcare-Plus also offers parents a package of additional benefits with discounts of up to 28 per cent off or 2 for 1 entry at over 300 theme parks, zoos and tourist attractions around the UK.
Participating venues include Legoland, The Sea Life Centre, Alton Towers, London Zoo and Chessington World of Adventures plus many local and Regional attractions.
P&MM can have a scheme set up for an employer within 4-6 weeks of being appointed but it is also possible to set it up in just 7-10 days.
From there, a fixed deduction to the employee’s salary is applied through payroll, meaning that administration will be minimal.
P&MM operate flexible payment options and will provide statements of all transactions to both the parent and the childcare provider.
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Richard finished: “Salary sacrifice schemes offer an appealing, money-saving benefit to staff as well as savings in NI contributions for the organisation, so it’s a win-win situation for all involved.
“Our results demonstrate that by simply changing suppliers organisations can re-energise the benefit, enabling more people to take advantage of it.and reap the benefit”
