Take-up of childcare vouchers at Notting Hill Housing increases by 25 per cent

  • Follows personal induction by EYVL Director, Amanda Ward
  • Highlights the need for further childcare voucher education in the workplace
  • Early Years Vouchers Ltd now offers personal Q&A sessions to improve voucher knowledge in the workplace

Manchester, UK - 26 August, 2008 - Early Years Vouchers Ltd, a leading UK childcare voucher organisation, has announced that Notting Hill Housing, one of the UK's largest providers of affordable housing, has shown a dramatic increase in the take-up of childcare vouchers following an induction by EYVL Director, Amanda Ward. The increase of some 25 per cent in the last two months has highlighted the need for further education about the Government initiated scheme. According to a recent survey, only two per cent of working Mums and Dads in the UK currently realise they're entitled to childcare cost savings.

The Government initiated childcare voucher scheme offers all working parents childcare cost savings of between £900 and £1,200 per annum. Because of the lack of awareness in organisations, EYVL now offers personal in-company Q&A sessions to improve childcare voucher knowledge in the workplace.

Notting Hill Housing joined Early Years Vouchers Ltd after a request from a new male employee. Following a slow take-up of the scheme, Amanda Ward spent the day with HR staff and employees to take part in a Q&A session, which has since resulted in a 25 per cent increase in sign-ons. Early Years Vouchers Ltd visits companies around the country who have signed on to its scheme in order to offer working parents 1:1 advice relating to their personal circumstances as well as group inductions and Q&A sessions.

"We realised that there is a significant lack of knowledge surrounding many benefits, especially childcare vouchers, and with over 700 staff here we needed help to educate our employees on what they are entitled to," explained Angie Casey, HR Operations Manager at Notting Hill Housing. "Having a Director from Early Years come in to do a personal induction to the scheme really made an impact on our working parents. Amanda Ward explained exactly how the scheme works and how much our employees could save and within just two months we've seen a 25 per cent increase in take-up, which is fantastic."

Amanda Ward, Director of Early Years Vouchers Ltd, said: "The problem a lot of employers face is the lack of knowledge about the existence of childcare vouchers within their workforce, and those that have heard of them are unsure about what they can be used for. For example, they're available for children up to the age of 15 and can be used for anything from after school clubs to full time childcare. It really falls to employers to teach their workforce about what they're entitled to and we do as much as we can to help this process. Notting Hill Housing is a fantastic example of how a simple Q&A session can really boost awareness and understanding of the benefits - and we make sure we provide this service to every company that comes on board."

About Notting Hill Housing:
Notting Hill Housing is one of the country's leading housing associations managing nearly 20,000 homes in London, housing over 60,000 people and employing 700 staff.  The Group includes: Notting Hill Housing Trust, Notting Hill Home Ownership, Notting Hill Commercial Properties and Notting Hill Developments. Additional information is available at www.nottinghillhousing.org.uk

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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