A selection of articles featured in the national press relating to Childcare Vouchers and Early Years Childcare Vouchers.
Working Dads Claim vouchers
Simon Wagner is a Dad-of-three who works as a Financial Controller at PGS Exploration. For the last year, Simon has been taking the maximum amount of £243 each month in tax deductable childcare vouchers.
"My employer sent everyone in the company an email and memo which contained some information about their selected voucher provider, Early Years Vouchers Ltd, and a weblink to their site. I was a bit sceptical at first and thought that the benefits would be minimal but I've been very surprised at how much you can actually save. I save around £100 each month, which makes a big difference.
"I would say that the breadth of services that the vouchers can cover is very good but a lot of people have the misconception that they are only for infants but this is not the case. My wife and I both work full-time and some days we have to send all our kids - aged ten, eight and five - to breakfast club or after-school club. The fact that we can use the vouchers t
More: Working Dads Claim vouchers...
Parents who don't use vouchers are crazy!
Mum-of-one, Katy Jamieson, is a part-time Solicitor at Lightfoot Solicitors who started using vouchers to pay towards her childcare costs in March of this year.
"My firm advertised the scheme internally with posters, which was what caught my eye. It was never something that I knew much about before then and probably something I never would have intentionally sought out. But after reading about it I spoke to my son's childminder and she said that it was an easy way to save money, it also meant that money was transferred direct to the childminder monthly without me having to organise it through my bank - so I gave Early Years Vouchers a call.
"In all honesty I expected it to be a complete pain - signing up, receiving vouchers every month and sorting out the details with my employer and childminder - but it really wasn't. It took me about five minutes to join and I was pleasantly surprised at how simple the whole process was.
"I gave the details to my childminde
More: Parents who don't use vouchers are crazy! ...
Childcare vouchers can be used for so many types of childcare
Working parents are not aware they can save up to £200 a month on breakfast and after-school club costs with childcare vouchers • Many parents don't know that Childcare Vouchers cover childcare for school children aged 5 to 16 - not just pre-schoolers
EYVL calls for increased Government promotion of this out-of-school offering - which can help parents juggle their roles as ‘employee' and ‘parent'
Early Years Vouchers Ltd, one of the UK's leading childcare voucher organisations, says that many working parents are currently not aware of the significant cash savings they can make on Breakfast and After-School Clubs. Working Mums and Dads can save almost £100 per month each on childcare costs for these clubs, which are for five to 16 year olds, but a large number are missing out because of the commonly-held belief that childcare vouchers are just for pre-school infants. Early Years Vouchers Ltd has
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Martyn Lewis - Money Saving Expert says of childcare vouchers
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis tips childcare voucher schemes as one of the top ways to save money on childcare over the school holidays
Amanda Ward, Director, Early Years Vouchers Ltd says, the summer holidays are finally here, but as parents gear themselves up for a well-deserved rest from making packed lunches, washing dirty PE kit and braving the school run, another more pressing problem emerges - how to pay for those expensive holiday clubs for your children? As Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, pointed out this Tuesday morning (22nd July) on GMTV, working parents don't need to pay huge sums for childcare, or take time off to look after the kids but lose out on valuable income, or hope that there will always be a friend or family member around to take responsibility for the youngsters. There is another option. They can make the most of employer's Childcare Voucher Schemes.
Many parents are missing out on huge savings, simply because many o
More: Martyn Lewis - Money Saving Expert says of childcare vouchers...
Thousands of childcare providers now registered with Early Years Vouchers Ltd
Over 2,000 child carers are now using leading childcare allowance organisation - Early Years Vouchers Ltd • Includes childminders, after school clubs and nurseries such as Leapfrog and BUPA's Teddies Nurseries.
EYVL scheme enables registered carers to redeem their vouchers simply and quickly - payments made individually with clear references
Multiple carer sites can now be administered from one central account
Early Years Vouchers Ltd, one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has announced that it now has over 2,000 registered child carers using its voucher scheme. The registered carers include childminders, nannies, after school activities clubs and nurseries, including some of the larger nursery chains such as Asquith nurseries, Leapfrog and Teddies - which is owned by BUPA, the leading international health and care company.
This announcement follows the recent enhancements t
More: Thousands of childcare providers now registered with Early Years Vouchers Ltd...
Customer views of EYVL's childcare voucher scheme:
Tony Stevenson, Kellogg"This kind of scheme is a ‘no-brainer' from an employer's point of view. It not only benefits the company by aiding staff retention and attracting new employees, but also enables it to enhance employees' remuneration packages at no extra cost to the business. EYVL sets itself apart from other childcare allowance organisations by providing a truly personable service - something you can experience by just calling them. You are referred to by name, as an individual and not just a number routed through a call centre."
Claire Harrison, Endemol"From a company's perspective, the EYVL scheme takes away the headache of having to amend, update and track allowances, pay pack details and account balances - as this is all done for you. All you need to do is approve the final figure and sign it off!
"Our employees are also keen advocates of the scheme. No matter what their query is, they are always dealt with professionally by experts who t
More: Customer views of EYVL's childcare voucher scheme:...
All3Media choose Early Years Vouchers for its flexible service and personal attenton
ALL3MEDIA use EYVL's childcare voucher scheme as part of employee benefits package following a competitive evaluation with other major childcare voucher providers
Early Years Vouchers Ltd (EYVL), one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has announced that ALL3MEDIA, an International Group of film and TV production and distribution companies, has signed contract with EYVL for its employee childcare voucher scheme.
After meeting with representatives from a number of providers, ALL3MEDIA selected EYVL's childcare voucher scheme because of its proactive approach and flexible service. Early Years Vouchers Ltd liaises directly with employees from all the companies within the ALL3MEDIA group to provide minimum hassle for the HR department and maximum benefit for employees.
"Early Years Vouchers Ltd just makes it so easy! All I have to do is call
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Endemol employees reap rewards of new childcare voucher scheme
Early Years Voucher Ltd (EYVL) enables parents to save £1,195 on tax and national insurance for childcare fees
• Scheme attracts growing number of working Dads looking for childcare benefits
Early Years Vouchers Ltd (EYVL), one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has announced that employees from one of the UK's largest independent TV and digital media producers - Endemol - have achieved significant childcare cost savings thanks to the EYVL childcare voucher scheme. The scheme allows Endemol's parent workers to take advantage of a wide range of childcare benefits and save up to £1,195 per annum in tax and national insurance for childcare fees - at no extra cost to the business.
Endemol is the latest among a growing number of organisations that want to offer more attractive childcare incentives to their employees. Having looked at a variety of government-approved proposals, the com
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Kellogg selects Early Years Vouchers as its childcare voucher provider
Kellogg, the world's leading producer of cereal and convenience foods, has selected Early Years Vouchers Ltd, one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, to implement its nationwide UK voucher scheme for its employees. The scheme is a major part of the Kellogg business' benefits programme, allowing it to enhance its workforce's remuneration packages at no cost, and enabling parents to make significant cost savings on childcare.
After an extensive study of the market, Kellogg chose to implement EYVL's childcare scheme for its ease-of-use and for the personable ‘help' service that its employees and HR department staff receive when enquiring about an issue. EYVL prepares and handles the majority of the paperwork and salary amendments for the HR department - with no set-up charges, monthly fees or tie-in clauses. The scheme delivers referenced payments that can easily be trackable through the EYVL website that enables Kellogg's parent workforce to efficientl
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Rapid take up of childcare voucher benefit at TBWA
Early Years Vouchers Ltd (EYVL), one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has announced the rapid take up of its vouchers at TBWA\Manchester - one of the UK's top creative agencies with clients, such as ghd, Nissan, and BP - with 12 per cent of its employees signing up to the scheme in the first six months. For the first time, TBWA\Manchester now offers its employees the benefit of tax and N.I. savings up to £1,195 per annum. The business operates as part of the TBWA global agency network, and the EYVL Gold Service ensures that the company provides childcare vouchers to all employees without any additional administration for TBWA\Manchester's HR department.
Early Years Vouchers Ltd's ‘Gold Service' offers the industry's only fully-automated voucher scheme that provides a paperless end-to-end process. TBWA\Manchester is a full service-advertising agency affiliated with Staniforth PR. The organisation selected EYVL's ‘Gold Servic
More: Rapid take up of childcare voucher benefit at TBWA...
Top Five Reasons why Employers should offer childcare vouchers to employees
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 c
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Working Dads take-up Early Years childcare vouchers scheme at Calyon investment bank.
Early Years Vouchers Ltd, one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has announced that the London-based division of Calyon, Crédit Agricole's corporate and investment banking entity, has noted a consistent increase in the take-up of tax-free childcare vouchers by eligible employees, especially amongst working Dads. Currently, 77 per cent of Calyon employees who use Early Years Vouchers are working Dads.
The increase in working Dads using EYVL's scheme means that more couples are now taking advantage of a combined saving of up to £2391.12 per annum towards childcare fees.
Calyon decided to implement the voucher scheme because of its ease-of-use and parent ‘help' service, which answers queries and provides advice on childcare benefits, in addition to the significant tax savings of up to £1,195 per employee on a wide variety of childcare options including nannies, holiday clubs and breakfast clubs. The scheme also provides a nu
More: Working Dads take-up Early Years childcare vouchers scheme at Calyon investment bank....
Staff benefits and allowances 2009: childcare vouchers top the list
Childcare vouchers have the added advantage of tax and national insurance savings for employers, and many provide them as part of a salary-sacrifice scheme up to the tax-free limit of £243 a month.
fOLLOW THIS LINK.
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Childcare vouchers can save parents £1,000s a year
News from money saving expert
Not enough parents know about childcare vouchers. They're operated through employers and allow parents to pay for childcare from there pre-tax salary.
to read more click here
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Childcare is something that is necessary with working parents
Latest News in All About Baby
Childcare vouchers can help working parents. If your employer offers childcare vouchers this is a great way to help you save money. With todays economy, this is something parents should take advantage of, if it is offered.
To Read More click here
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Save money with your firm by taking childcare vouchers
News from the times online
Save with your firm instead of your bank. Workers are rushing to take up benefits there employers are offering for them to make savings.
To read more click here
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Childcare vouchers can benefit companies
News from the grapevine online
Childcare allowance organisation Early Years Vouchers has identified the major benefits childcare vouchers can bring to companies, following the The Telegraphs report that only 2% of parents currently claim vouchers.
Vouchers can save parents up to £1,195.56 on childcare, but companies can also realise savings and related benefits.
1. Tax and NI savings: Childcare vouchers from Early Years Vouchers can be bought by employers for 5% of their value, but the cost can be offset by Nationall Insurance savings of 12.8 per cent.
2. Productivity: Employees are likely to be more focussed and less distracted if they know their children are being cared for while they are at work.
3.Retention: Childcare vouchers help improve the relationship between staff and employers, increasing retention levels. CIPD research put the cost of hiring a new employee at up to £8,200, so improving retention can have significant co
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Few parents take up offer for childcare vouchers
News from Nursery World - Children & Young People Now
Only two out of every hundred working parent have signed up for their entitlement to childcare vouchers, a survey has found.
To read more click here
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How childcare vouchers can benefit carer's too
News from Child Care magazine July 2008
Tax and National Insurance (NI)- free childcare vouchers provide parents and employers with significant financial benefits for carers. By accepting vouchers, they can attract more parents. Childcare vouchers shouldnt increase administration - in fact, with the right scheme, it can actually help simplify processes.
Many carers have to battle to try and keep their accounts up-to-date, as parents regularly pay on different days and for different amounts of hours each week. Figuring out which cheque or cash payment goes with which child can be a bit of a headache. How ever, this needn't be the case. In fact, the right childcare vouchers scheme should help the carer manage their payment processes - no matter how many children they have registered.
Vouchers can make a childcarer's life easy by providing clearly referenced payments - including the child's name and vouchers number, or the particula
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UK teachers miss out on thousands of pounds in benefits
News from Jobs4mothers.com - May 2009
Early Years Vouchers Ltd, one of the UK's leading childcare allowance organisations, has highlighted a very low take-up of Tax and N.I-free childcare vouchers by individuals in the teaching profession. Sign-ons in many other industries, including the media and food manufacturers, have doubled and even tripled in recent months. This indicates that there is a lack of knowledge amongst teachers about the vouchers - which can save almost £2,000 per year to pay towards nurseries
Any teacher who has a child up to the age of 15 years old is entitled to save Tax and National Insurance on £243 of their gross salary each month. Every working parent became eligible to claim in April 2005, the teaching professtion was exempt. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) campaigned to have the law changed and in June 2006 teachers were no longer the only profession unable to adopt childcare vouchers.
Amanda Ward,
More: UK teachers miss out on thousands of pounds in benefits...
Even small firms using childcare vouchers can save money
News from new business
Small firms can also save money on NI payment and keep staff happy and motivated. Any small business employers offering this benefit will make savings in employers national insurance of around £227 per year per employee.
To read more click here
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Voucher price is right for employers
News from Nursery & Childcare Market News
Childcare voucher provider Early Years Vouchers Ltd has reported a 500% increase in the number of employers signing up to use vouchers.
It is thought that companies are recognising the potnetial to make savings using the vouchers as they consider their finances in the wake of the announcement that the UK is officially in recession.
Company director Amanda Ward said "58% of women with a child under five and 78% of women with children between six and 13 are working mums. Yet in spite of this, three quarters of working parents are not able to afford childcare. This demonstrates that there is a requirement for firms to better support working parents, especially during the credit crunch. By offering money-saving benefits, such as childcare voucher schemes, organisations can not only retain qualified employees but also produce a positive working relationship between employer and employee - and pass on
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Childcare Vouchers Saved Us
News from the Guardian online
I work in a small company - there are only 10 of us and there was no provision for childcare vouchers, just because my employer wasn't aware that they existed.
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Early Years Speak to City Talk Radio
Amanda Ward, Director of Early Years Vouchers Limited spoke to City Talk Radio with regards to childcare vouchers being axed and how it would effect parents.
CITY TALK RADIO - INTERVIEW WEDNESDAY 11TH NOVEMBER with Peter McDowall
Childcare vouchers were introduced by the goverment in 2005 and they make a world of difference to all working parents.
Childcare vouchers can be used to pay for ALL forms of registered childcare for children from birth up to the age of 15 and they give parents the ability to choose the type of childcare that suits their child and their working hours. As a mum I know how important it is to have the right type of childcare so that your child is happy and you can concentrate while you are at work.
The majority of working parents using our vouchers are basic rate tax payers. The average cost of childcare in the UK is around £800 a month. The savings they make with childcare vouchers mean that they can mor
More: Early Years Speak to City Talk Radio...
BBC News Explains What Childcare Vouchers Involves
A group of senior MPs are calling for a rethink on plans to scrap the childcare voucher scheme, where parents receive a tax-break on money spent on childcare.
Gordon Brown says this relief is badly targeted and he wants to divert this money to fund nursery places for two-year-olds from less privileged homes.
To Read more click here
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Budget 2010 - changes to childcare vouchers...
Although Gordon Brown made a u-turn on his original plan, there has still been a change to the scheme that will take effect as of 6th April 2011. The new rules will only apply to individuals who join a scheme on or after the 6th April 2011 and they will not apply to employees who are already in a scheme by that date. The maximum tax and NI free voucher value will be based on the employees basic earnings, after deducting personal allowance
If the earnings are within the basic rate band, the employee is entitled to relief on (up to) £55 per week.
If the earnings exceed the 40% tax threshold but not the 50% one, relief is given on £28 per week.
If the earnings exceeds the 50% tax threshold, relief is given on £22 per week.
It was also announced in the recent Budget that the Government intends to legislate a Finance Bill to be introduced as soon as possible in the next Parliament to relax t
More: Budget 2010 - changes to childcare vouchers......
Parents rush to beat childcare allowance deadline!
A STOCKPORT-based childcare vouchers business is benefiting from a rush of last-minute subscribers before allowances are cut.
Early Years Vouchers, which provides vouchers for employers and staff to benefit from the Government's childcare incentive scheme is experiencing rapid growth due to an impending change in legislation. On April 6, the benefits available to higher rate taxpayers on the scheme is due to be cut by half from £1,170 to £610. According to director Amanda Ward, who set up the business in 2002, new and prospective clients are clamouring to get themselves enrolled before the rule change and keep the current level of benefits. She said more than 8,000 clients were using her business already: "We are one of approximately 45 companies in the UK offering a similar service but have been successful by providing a more personal and flexible service especially compared to the larger companies. "The market is huge and there are a large numbers of empl
More: Parents rush to beat childcare allowance deadline!...
Benefits and allowance schemes still popular with employers
Employers are set to continue their use of benefits and allowances as a key tool in attracting and retaining employees, with some planning to increase their use in the coming year.
The XpertHR 2011 benefits and allowances survey, which received responses from organisations employing in total almost 600,000 people, polled employers' current and planned use of benefits and allowances, as well as surveying the most popular forms of benefits.
The key finding of the survey is that, despite uncertain economic conditions, most employers have maintained or increased their pre-recession benefits offerings and continue to provide a wide range of perks to employees.
Further, employers are optimistic as to what benefits they plan to offer for the coming year, with a quarter (26.9%)
More: Benefits and allowance schemes still popular with employers...
EY Childcare Vouchers are a big help to UK parents
We all know that school holidays are an expensive time, but a recent report estimates that parents in the UK are set to spend £8.6 billion over the summer holidays with £3.2 billion of that going on childcare.
With an era of austerity upon us parents are tightening the purse strings and forgoing a family holiday altogether in order to help make ends meet.
The Cost of a Child Report from the LV= calculates that parents will spend on average £110 per child per week during the average 6-week summer break, with nearly half (49%) of parents saying they will need to pay for childcare.
To combat the rising costs one in ten will be relying on family, including grandparents, to look after their children for free. But what help is available to parents who do not have this as an option?
Childcare Vouch
More: EY Childcare Vouchers are a big help to UK parents ...
Women Taking Control of the Finances
A report carried out by Friends Life "Visions of Britiain - Working Women" revealed that "over half of working mothers who have taken maternity leave agree that childcare is so expensive that financially it is not worth returning to work, so they remain at home as carers.
A quarter of working women with children under the age of five spend more than a quarter of their salary on childcare.
Most working mothers agree that greater flexible working arrangements would make their lives easier when it comes to childcare.
Over half of women who returned to work after maternity leave would have appreciated more flexibility and the ability to work from home or part-time.
However, there are ways of helping with the cost of childcare.
Firstly, make sure you take advantage of childcare schemes from your employer. Childcare vouchers operate through a salary-sacrifice scheme.
The employer takes the money out of the worker's gross salary and pays
More: Women Taking Control of the Finances...
Banking the Benefit of Childcare Vouchers
Early Years Vouchers recently featured in The Sunday Times in an article on the childcare voucher benefit.
More: Banking the Benefit of Childcare Vouchers...
Employers Welcome New Mums Back to Work
Not only do Childcare Vouchers help working parents, but the working environment and the flexibility of employers also contribute to a stress-free return to work for mums.
More: Employers Welcome New Mums Back to Work...