Teachers not getting childcare vouchers discussion

AlisonChalmers

The Department for Education and Skills has recently completed a consultation exercise, during which the NUT and NASUWT both argued in favour of allowing teachers to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. The outcome of the consultation exercise has not yet been published. In the meantime, teachers can sign a petition at https://www.kiddivouchers.com/infoteachers.php. (Although I am involved in KiddiVouchers, this petition is a free service and not for financial gain.)

ltlmiles5

Medway Council is launching the childcare voucher scheme, starting 1st April. I picked up my info leaflets yesterday. Thus, all who work for the council, teachers included, should be able to get this, via salary sacrifice.

I am a tutor at the adult ed centre, and am hoping to persuade the creche where my son goes, to accept it, and the after school club that my daughter goes to. Both providers hadn't heard of the scheme! More needs to be done to market it to providers. There is very little incentive for them to get involved - more paperwork, for the same amount of money! Yes, it will be the same as sending off for a cheque, but to a different provider!

Medway Council is using ACCOR for this. Unfortunately, the e-voucher scheme is not available to council workers, as that would save on time and administrative time.

So, thanks Martin, for this campaign. A few months ago, I received a letter from my MP, Jonathan Shaw, showing the reply from the ed secretary saying that it was in the pipeline, subject to positive consultative process with the teachers' unions. Looks like it's all go from now!

So many thanks to all of you who helped campaign for this! Let's hope our childcare providers accept the vouchers! My children have been with them for 6 years!

mgardner

FLO wrote:

Not so further North!
Also wondering if we could campaign on behalf of all those grandparents who do such a good job of childminding. They are not allowed to be registered as their grandchildrens childminder- even when all the research shows that they are the next best option after the child's own parents. This means the parents cannot claim any money towards costs as they are not a "recognised childminder". - Very frustrating!!!

Hi

There is nothing to stop a Grandparent registering as a child minder and looking after their own Grandchildren, at least not in my part of the country
(Shropshire) In fact I do know of Grandparents that do this. They must register with the County and take the relevant course but they will be registered Child Minders and then allowed to charge.

Splats_2

Tucked away in the NASUWT mag my wife gets was a small paragraph regarding salary-sacrifice. This said the unions are consulting with the Government, but until they get assurances regarding pension contributions and that the Gov. produce a leaflet explaining the implication on pensions, they will not agree to participating.

This smacks of being pedantic and from what I can see in this board, against what teachers, i.e. the union members, actually want. I don't know, but surely the tax benefit in your pocket today will outweigh the amount lost to your pension (if any) when it matures. As far as I am concerned, I would rather have the extra cash now to help with the expenses of bringing up our child rather than have a few extra quid in my pocket later on.

Just a thought, but if I were to make AVCs to my pension to the sum of the amount saved in tax from the childcare vouchers, would this amount to more than what I would loose on reduced pension contribution from the amount I sacrificed??

My wife has tried to get a response out of NASUWT regarding this, but whoever she talks to seems oblivious to the whole thing and doesn't know who to refer to.

MARTIN: How about using some your your well honed skills to get a response from the Unions?

danielleandcameron

this isnt about teachers but thought you should know this anyway. i recently left work sept 05 as i could not afford the child care then tax credits told me about the child care vouchers (which have been out for a while not just this april) when i approached my employer which was abig company austin reid they refused to issue any child care vouchers as it was too much of a mess on there words not mine. my manager was fantasic he persused HR but we got the same response time and time again. its all well and good saying we can get these vouchers but if your employer gets funny with you what do you do then wait for months arguing the toss with them losing money weekly. i just give up and went back on income support not idea i know but in the end i had more money going out then coming in, and im still paying off my creche fees now. i hope others have better luck and i appreciate this was probly a one off case. good luck to all you teachers if anyone deserves help it you guys coz where would our children be with no teachers and no education as adults probley on income support like me then where would the gouverment be. with you all the way

Splats_2

ltlmiles5 are you sure teachers are allowed to claim the vouchers?

My wife works for a council, and although all other council employees are allowed to claim them, teachers are not. It is the voucher providers who refuse to issue them on instruction from the Government. My wifes employers (i.e. the council) are more than happy to let her have the vouchers, if she were allowed to have them.

ltlmiles5

As I had written to my MP about this, I received a letter from my MP a few months ago,enclosing a letter from the education MP, saying that the teachers unions were going to discuss it, and if there are no objections from anyone, it can go through without formal consultations. Then I received word from my council that it is offering the vouchers starting 1 April, that is they will deduct it from the salary directly.

When did your wife enquire about this? Was it recently?

I am a tutor but I get my pay directly from the council. I would have assumed anyone else who works for the council can get it too, but perhaps I'm wrong if the unions still haven't decided on this! My union is NATFHE.

The man from ACCOR whom my council is obtaining the vouchers from said that according to medway council, none of our pensions will be affected. When I commented that the literature said it would be affected, he replied that it stated 'might' be affected, which is true,and in this instance, he said it wouldn't. I did tell him that I was a tutor with adult learning. He didn't say anything about not being eligible. It's either it's all OK now, or he perhaps did not know any different.

Perhaps if in doubt, it might be worth contacting your union and the council again? Sorry I can't help any more than this.

Splats_2

Thanks ltlmiles5.

As far as I know, things havn't changed since we were told last June we couldn't get them, and no-one else on this board, or Martin himself, seems to have indicated otherwise, but with the new financial year almost upon us, who knows whether it has quietly changed. I shall be on the phone to Busybees on Monday to enquire if things have changed. Note, however, my earlier post re what was in a recent Union magazine.

It is interesting also to note that we were allowed the vouchers for two months until they realised teachers (or at least, my wife) coundn't have them.

Rachel130171

I emailed Busy Bees who used to provide my vouchers until it was forbidden last May. They are still not available to teachers whose pay is governed by the STRB, which is basically all teachers in state schools.
However I had a reply from my MP who had info from DFES minister saying that the matter was under investigation and if agreed by STRB and unions it could be in place for April06, otherwise the consultation would take longer and nothing would change until that had been completed. No timescale for this was given but letter indicated a much longer delay.
Fingers crossed for all us teachers out there shelling out too much of our salaries on childcare!

ltlmiles5

Thanks for clarifying Rachel. Let's hope they get their act together soon!