For all new joiners since April an annual earnings assessment carried out by your employer will categorise you into a basic, higher or additional rate tax payer, which will then decide your maximum voucher amount. Your employer registers with us to provide childcare vouchers. This scheme has now been closed to new entrants, however, if you are already a member you can continue in the childcare voucher scheme for as long as you require.
You will automatically stop receiving childcare vouchers, but you may still use any stored vouchers before they expire. If you leave your employer then you cannot join your new employer's childcare voucher scheme. You can pay for as many children and childcare providers as you wish with your vouchers, but the amount of vouchers that can be taken is limited to the specified amounts.
If both parents claim vouchers, the benefit is doubled. Grandparents, unless legal guardians, are not eligible to receive childcare vouchers. You may pay for any registered childcare with childcare vouchers.
Check that your childcare provider is registered with the relevant body. Parents, step parents and guardians may not receive childcare vouchers as payment for childcare.
Yes, childcare vouchers can be used to pay for Reception year fees in private schools prior to a child reaching the compulsory school age of 5. They can also be used to pay for before and after school care for older children at a private school and also for the boarding element of boarding school fees, providing that these elements are invoiced separately.
You may use childcare vouchers if your Local Authority does not cover all of your childcare costs. You can pay as many childcare providers as you wish providing they are registered with Sodexo Motivation Solutions. If you wish to add a childcare provider to your account, simply go online and add them using our comprehensive system. Should your childcare costs exceed your childcare vouchers you may either pay the balance directly to your child carer or use our flexible top up feature, which enables you to top up your voucher balance with your own money.
This not only allows you and your child carer to keep track of your payments more easily but your child carer will receive just one payment from you rather than two. To ensure both receipts into your voucher account are correct, from you and your employer, and any refunds made to you are accounted for, we will track both receipts separately to avoid any miscalculations.
Voucher top-ups allow you to top-up your voucher account balance with your own money using your debit card. This means that when your childcare costs exceed the value of your vouchers you can make a single payment per month to your child carer directly from your account. Register all your childcare providers with Sodexo and work out how much you need for each provider throughout the year, add it up and divide by 12 to give a monthly amount.
You may find an online account the easiest way to store and save credit. HMRC guidance suggests that you can leave the scheme at any time. However, we ask that you stay for a minimum of one month to avoid unnecessary administration.
It is also worth bearing in mind that your employer may not allow you to re-join the scheme for a specified period of time. From 5th October , If you leave the childcare voucher scheme you have to re-join within 52 weeks of leaving the scheme. If you leave your employment you cannot join your new employer's childcare voucher scheme. Vouchers last for up to 30 months, so you can save them up for times when you may need extra childcare throughout the year.
All vouchers expire on their expiry date. Refunds are not possible under salary sacrifice contracts. Once your pay has been exchanged for a childcare voucher under contract it is generally not possible to reverse it back through the payroll. In circumstances where a refund is allowed, the refund would be returned to your employer and paid to you through payroll and would be subject to tax and national insurance in the normal way.
Yes you can. The Childcare Choices website has had some issues and has wrongly been stating that a parent cannot claim both during the quarterly eligibility confirmation process on the Childcare choices website. If you experience this, please contact HMRC. Click the 'Change' button next to the desired date that you wish to leave the scheme. Then go to the bottom of the page and click the red 'Leave the scheme' box. On the 'Request to leave the scheme' page enter the reason for leaving and click on the green 'Confirm' box.
The request is sent to your employer's account and they will need to approve this before you can leave. Alternatively, if you make your elections through your employer's benefits site, you will need to select the leave the scheme option through that site. You can re-join the voucher scheme provided you do so within 12 months and provided you have not joined the Tax Free Childcare scheme in that period. We comply with all relevant data protection legislation and are committed to only using your personal data for the purposes of providing our childcare voucher services.
We will never pass your information on to third parties. If you would like further advice or information, please get in touch with the team.
Email: customercare. Your vouchers may or may not appear on your payslip. Often your salary is shown with the voucher cost deducted and the voucher value is shown separately.
The reduced tax and National Insurance contributions are then shown on the opposite side of the payslip. The impact on the state pension scheme is likely to be negligible. Most other pension providers are happy to accept childcare vouchers as notional pay. Ask your employer for confirmation of whether your pension contributions are affected. If you are contributing to a personal pension, you are unlikely to be affected by taking childcare vouchers, but we recommend that you seek advisement on this.
Option 1 - You can withdraw from the childcare voucher scheme. If you do so prior to the period in which SMP is calculated the 'qualifying period' , your SMP calculations will be based on your higher salary not including your salary sacrifice deductions.
This period begins at approximately week 17 of your pregnancy. Option 2- You can opt out of the childcare voucher scheme during the qualifying period, so your SMP calculations are based on your higher salary, and then re-join the scheme afterwards. The qualifying period lasts for 8 weeks and is approximately between weeks 17 and 25 of pregnancy.
As long as you resume your childcare voucher claim within 12 months, it will not be considered a new claim. Option 3- You can remain in the childcare voucher scheme during the qualifying period, and your maternity leave until you are no longer receiving contractual or occupational maternity pay. Your SMP will then be calculated at the lower rate after your salary sacrifice deductions. Statutory Paternity Pay is not affected. Before making your decision, you should seek advice from any relevant agencies in relation to Tax Credit Implications or ongoing childcare costs.
Taking childcare vouchers may have an effect on Tax Credits. They also have an online tool to help you decide whether you'll be better off with childcare vouchers. Most employers are happy to accept childcare vouchers as pay when calculating overtime, so your payments should not be affected by taking childcare vouchers.
Check with your employer. Your childcare provider has to demonstrate they are registered if you want to pay them using childcare vouchers. If your childcare provider is regulated by a national body such as Ofsted they should have a registration number and a certificate.
E-vouchers work in a similar way to online banking. If you temporarily lose access to the internet, you can manage your account by calling our friendly customer care team on If the complaint is not resolved within the timeframe, it will be escalated to the team leader, who will in turn escalate to the Compliance Manger if they are unable to resolve it.
Sodexo is a member of the CVPA. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of any complaint made to us as regards our compliance with the CVPA Code of Practice, please send your complaint to:. From 5th October , the childcare voucher scheme is closed to new joiners. The only childcare support available to parents is Tax Free Childcare TFC , a government scheme for information go to www. Your employer then orders your vouchers and you receive them electronically 3 to 5 working days after your payday.
The management fee charged by Sodexo for the administration and processing of vouchers is a percentage fee, based on the face value of the vouchers ordered. Sodexo will keep you updated on all developments via the Sodexo childcare voucher portal and regular e-communications.
Salary Sacrifice involves the employee agreeing to formally give up some of their existing taxable salary, in return for a non-cash benefit. Your employees must sign a salary sacrifice contract to vary the terms of their employment.
The earnings they exchange for childcare vouchers are gross, so there is no tax or NI to pay. The amounts that your employees can take in childcare vouchers without paying tax and NI depends on their earnings. You will need to complete a Basic Earnings Assessment for each new joiner to the scheme.
Each April all new joiners since April need to be re-assessed. Since April employers have a responsibility to complete a Basic Earnings Assessment BEA for new joiners to the Childcare Voucher scheme and to re-assess annually each April all those who have joined the scheme since April From 5th October , no employees are allowed to join the childcare voucher scheme if they have not previously been a member of your scheme or if they have previously had childcare vouchers through your scheme they can re-join provided a period of less than 52 weeks has elapsed since they were last in the scheme.
The Basic Earnings Assessment determines an employee's relevant earnings for the tax year and will compare these earnings to the income tax bands to set the level of childcare voucher amount that the employee is entitled to.
Employees who joined the childcare voucher scheme prior to April are not affected by these rules and no Basic Earnings Assessment is required.
There may be an effect on Tax Credits. Sodexo cannot comment on individual circumstances and it is the individual's decision as to whether they wish to take childcare vouchers. It is advisable for employees to contact the Tax Credits helpline on prior to applying for childcare vouchers, to establish individual circumstances.
Whether you would like further advice or information or would like to share your feedback on the scheme, please get in touch with the team. The help button on the childcare voucher portal site has a section where you can find information on supporting and growing your scheme.
The FAQs and user guide section provides information for your employees. These documents address most employee questions and concerns. In addition to this, employees can also contact the Customer Care team at customercare.
For this reason they may wish to suspend scheme membership during the qualifying period and then re-join the scheme afterwards. On the parent portal, there is a calculator to assist parents in finding out whether they are better off staying in the childcare voucher scheme during weeks 17 — 24 or not. At this point the employee may take a break from receiving childcare vouchers until she returns to work. As long as the employee resumes her childcare voucher claim within 12 months, it will not be considered a new claim.
By offering childcare vouchers through a salary sacrifice scheme, you save on Employer NI of As well as the financial savings, employers should also be aware of the potential savings to be made in terms of staff recruitment and retention. Our expert team are always on hand to offer support and advice to make the scheme a success. You can change your cookie settings at any time.
If you joined one of these schemes on or before 4 October you might be able to keep getting vouchers or directly contracted childcare.
If the business you work for changes owner, your employee rights are usually protected. Check with your new employer if you can still get vouchers or directly contracted childcare. You cannot continue to claim childcare vouchers or directly contracted childcare if you successfully apply for Tax-Free Childcare. Use the childcare calculator to work out which type of support is best for you.
You must tell your employer within 90 days if you get Tax-Free Childcare. You can continue to use any vouchers you already have, including to make a joint payment for childcare with Tax-Free Childcare. You can get help with childcare costs for children under You might be able to apply for:. You could also get free hours childcare when your child is aged 2 to 4. You can only get childcare vouchers if you have already joined a scheme. Tell government straight away if your circumstances change and you're getting:.
If you're getting 30 hours free childcare or Tax-Free Childcare you have to confirm if your details are up to date every 3 months. Your eligibility for support with childcare costs might also change. Your child starts primary school the September after they turn 4. The Government closed the Childcare Voucher scheme to new entrants in October , but those parents who were already using the scheme can continue to do so as long as they remain eligible.
This means they must:. Employers For Childcare is one of a number of Childcare Voucher companies operating in the UK, but is the only Social Enterprise which provides this service. You can read more on our latest Customer Satisfaction Survey here. The process of switching is easy, it usually can be done in a matter of days and our dedicated team is on hand to support employers who choose to make the switch.
A real win-win! For a competitive quotation, tailored to your business, get in touch by emailing hello employersforchildcare.
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