EYVL's Top Five reasons why employers should offer childcare vouchers to working parents

  • Part of major drive to educate parents and employers on the benefits of childcare voucher schemes   
  • Identifies key employer benefits, including improved productivity and retention levels plus N.I. savings
  • Follows a report by The Telegraph, which shows that only 2 per cent of working parents have signed up for childcare vouchers

Manchester, UK - 11 June, 2008 - Early Years Vouchers Ltd, one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has identified the top five reasons why employers of all sizes - from SMEs to large multi-site corporations - should make childcare vouchers available to working parents. Vouchers can provide parents with significant savings of up to £1,195.56 on childcare costs and employers with benefits, such as increased productivity levels and N.I. savings of up to £373 per employee each year. Early Years Vouchers Ltd has published its Top Five as part of its drive to educate employers in this area, following a report in The Telegraph in March which reveals that just 2 per cent of working parents are currently claiming childcare vouchers.

Although employers play a key role in educating working parents about their entitlements, many still don't currently offer childcare vouchers. For some, there is a misconception that childcare voucher schemes are designed for bigger companies who have a large percentage of working parents to cater for, plus a large HR department to deal with the expected extra workload. However, in reality, multi-site corporations, such as Kellogg and Endemol, as well as SMEs with only one or two people on the scheme can benefit from EYVL’s voucher scheme as it offers a fully automated process that alleviates the HR workload.

"There is an assumption that implementing a childcare voucher scheme will be very complex and employers are afraid that they will have to dedicate a section of their HR department to deal with the running of it," explained Amanda Ward, Director of Early Years Vouchers Ltd. "I believe that if employers knew how simple it really is, including how much of the leg-work is done by us, plus the financial and social benefits to them as a business, they wouldn’t think twice about signing up."

Top Five Employer Benefits

  • Tax and NI savings - Vouchers can be purchased for staff at a cost of five per cent of the voucher, however this cost is offset by the N.I. savings made by employers of 12.8 per cent, which equates to as much as £373 per parent, per year. EYVL doesn't make any other charges or set-up fees
  • Productivity levels - Parents who know that their children are safe, happy and being cared for by professionals are more likely to stay focused on their job
  • Return to work levels - Childcare cost savings are a fantastic boost to get Mums and Dads back to their place of work after having children
  • Staff retention - According to CIPD Recruitment, Retention and Turnover research, it was found that the recruitment of a new employee can cost as much as £8,200. Therefore, offering money-saving benefits can be a very cost-effective way of retaining qualified employees and produce a positive working relationship between employer and employee
  • Reduced absence levels - Some working parents who find it difficult to afford professional childcare rely on informal arrangements such as family, friends and neighbours to look after their child. However, when such arrangements become unreliable some parents will have no choice but to take a 'sick' day from work which, according to My Business, the resource for small businesses, costs the industry around £4 billion each year

About Early Years Vouchers Ltd:
Early Years Vouchers Ltd is one of the UK's leading childcare voucher companies. Founded in 2004, the company operates one of the UK's most advanced fully functional online childcare voucher systems for parents, carers and employers of any size - from large nationwide organisations with many thousands of employees to small companies with just two or three. The scheme enables each parent to achieve significant cost savings for the 2008-2009 tax year of up to £903.96 per year for a 20% tax payer and £1,195.56 per year for a 40% tax payer. Additional information is available at www.childcare-vouchers.net or contact:

Amanda Ward
Director
Early Years Vouchers Ltd
Tel: 0845 0945 804
Email: amanda.ward@childcare-vouchers.net

Manuela Whittaker
ThePressOffice - PR for Early Years Vouchers Ltd
Tel: 01780 721433
Email: mwhittaker@pressoffice.targetwire.com

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