Benefits of a Workplace Nursery

Setting up a workplace nursery – Key Points

• Setting up a workplace nursery does not mean having a nursery on site. Instead, it is simply establishing a link between your business and a high quality, local nursery.
• Employees benefit by having places at a nursery with payments coming out from their wage packet. This leads to huge savings on tax, and so they get the same high quality provision only at greatly reduced cost. Examples below.
• For many employees, this enables them to either increase the hours their children are in nursery – thus working more – or even return to work when it otherwise would be of little value financially.
• Surveys have found that many working mums want to work more hours if only childcare in the UK wasn’t so expensive. The workplace nursery scheme tackles this.
• Employers find that skilled employees who would otherwise limit their hours are able to work more should they so wish
• Employers can demonstrate a benefit that effectively gives parents a huge wage boost -saving thousands on their childcare costs. This at no expense to the employer.
• Any new recruit might be attracted by the workplace nursery scheme as they plan for the future. As part of a range of benefits (gym membership, cycle to work schemes, car leasing for example) this can make for an attractive package
• The nursery receives additional funds through offset National insurance contributions from the employer. As an added benefit, parents get a say on how these funds are spent – potentially on learning resources, or making a wonderful outside space.

To make the link with a local nursery and set up a workplace nursery scheme it is advisable to speak to experts in offering workplace benefits. At Enjoy Benefits for example we can get the scheme up and running, take care of the administration and all the while ensuring it is saving both employees and the business money.

By working with us, you would have a named account manager on hand to answer queries, while a web based system means that it is always possible to see the state of their account and also have queries answered, usually within an hour.

A smartphone app also means that parents can easily manage their childcare, for example adding extra hours on an ad-hoc basis.

The Simplicity Of Setting Up A Workplace Nursery

Why, though, set up a scheme?

The key reason has to be those savings. With the Childcare Voucher scheme no longer available, workplace nursery schemes are set to rise in popularity but, in truth, they were always the better option for many. While the savings from the vouchers were strictly limited, there is no upper limit to how much can be saved via workplace nursery schemes.

With childcare costs often well in excess of £1,500 per month, many thousands can be saved.

For a parent who is a basic rate tax payer with nursery costs of £1,000 per month, the savings would come to £2,942 per year. If this parent were a higher rate tax payer, the savings would increase to £4,274.

However, in some cities it is rare to find nursery provision for £1,000 per month, in London £1,500 is more common.

A basic rate tax payer would save £4,414 per annum against £1,500 monthly fees, a higher rate tax payer would save £6,412 and an additional rate payer would save £7,411.

And, any parent with two children in nursery and paying, for instance, £2,400 per month would save £10,259 per annum if they are a higher rate tax payer!

As a business, there are savings too – it is a relief for many to simply learn that the scheme won’t cost them money.

A business with 10 employees using the scheme and average nursery fees of £1,250 per month would save close to £11,000 per annum.

A large company with 200 parents using the scheme at average nursery costs of £1,500 per month would save more than £300,000 per year. This a saving while also attracting quality recruits and seeing staff retention boosted.

The question perhaps is not so much how to set up a workplace nursery but why wouldn’t any company? Almost no ongoing admin, savings for employer and employee alike and a benefit that shows a commitment to helping employees.

To find out more, please contact us at Enjoy Benefits by calling 0800 088 7315 or using our Contact Form.