How could the Government's change in approach to childcare affect your workforce?

Understandably, the cost and need for childcare can have a significant impact on a parent’s employment decisions.  With childcare costs reportedly at an all-time high, there’s an additional strain on parents’ salaries, making the decision of whether to provide childcare at home, or return to work and pay for childcare, one of many dimensions.   With parents making up a significant part of most organisations’ workforces, it’s important for employers to understand what support is available for parents, and what you can do to help your employees return to work.   

The issue of childcare and “making work pay” has recently been under heavy review by the Government, with numerous changes announced over the last few months.  Below are some of the key changes for you to be aware of:

• David Cameron has recently announced that the Government will be increasing the free childcare allowance for working families with three to four year olds from 15 hours to 30 hours a week.  It is anticipated that this will take effect from September 2016.    

• The Government are in the process of introducing ‘Universal Credits’ across the UK – these are being introduced in stages (whether you can claim at the moment is based on where you live and personal circumstances).  Universal Credits will replace existing benefits such as working tax credits and child tax credits.

• The current Employer Supported childcare voucher scheme (offered as an employee benefit by thousands of employers across the UK) is being replaced by a Tax Free Childcare scheme in Autumn 2015, which will be run through the Government website, gov.uk. 

 What you, as an employer, can do to help your workforce