Study calls into doubt the popularity of childcare vouchers

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Study calls into doubt the popularity of childcare vouchers February 2012

Posted date: 31 January 2012

Julian Foster, Managing Director of Computershare Voucher Service

Research has found that childcare provisions are only offered by 10 per cent of employers, contradicting other studies.

The results from Maris Interiors revealed that only eight per cent of staff had the opportunity to take up childcare vouchers (CCVs), while two per cent had nursery or crèche facilities available at work.

This conflicts with findings from the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, which found that CCVs were the most popular employee benefit, second only to pensions.

The new study also showed that 72 per cent of workers felt that childcare provision had fallen. A further 60 per cent said that their company’s approach to childcare had impacted on their productivity, while 84 per cent thought their firm should be more “family friendly”.

However, Julian Foster, Managing Director of Computershare Voucher Services believes that the take-up of such provisions is far higher than this survey suggests.
He commented: “More than 50,000 companies currently offer CCVs in the UK and this number is still growing.”

He added that this benefit is popular because it can be utilised by any business of any size. It also has the added incentive of saving employers up to £402 a year, per employee in National Insurance payments.

Families now have different choices to make given that 40 per cent of women earn more than their partners. With the introduction of shared leave, companies may have to adapt to new types of family situations, highlighting the growing importance of providing family friendly benefits and policies.

Foster believes that firms can also make savings in recruitment and training through this type of employee benefit.

“Companies that assist employees with childcare, through benefits like CCVs, will experience better staff retention and a lower impact on their business,” he concluded.