Childcare Vouchers and Maternity Leave

freebiequennie

Rpc that doesn't surprise me nhs will take what they can when they can

hufc2002

Please let me give you some background.

I work for NHS and my vouchers are provided by Cooperative Flexible Benefits and I have stopped and started my deductions numerous times as our 2 year old attends nursery term time only therefore don't need the full amount all year long.

My wife is a teacher therefore is employed by the local council who's vouchers are provided by Computershare. My wife has never varied her deductions since joining the scheme, only myself.

My wife's salary is circa £36k, not too sure if this is relevant to this thread.

As stated previously my plan is to stop my wife's voucher deductions for 2 months only (Aug/Sep salary) for the purpose of OMP and SMP calculations. We would then like to reinstate them back to the full amount for the time being at least.

I hope this helps.

Takeaway_Addict

freebiequennie wrote: »

Rpc that doesn't surprise me nhs will take what they can when they can

You mean the NHS plays the system like every employee in the OP's position tries to....shocking

Crabapple

OP - you need to find out how the enhanced benefits are worked out then, whether it is pre or post salary sacrifice.

It's not going to be an issue for SMP based on that kind of salary, she will get the maximum either way.

I love that there's a debate about how mean it is working out all these enhanced benefits. A lot of employers only pay SMP. Some don't give childcare vouchers either. I appreciate it doesn't seem very fair working things out so you get hit twice for the vouchers, but it would be a nice problem to have for a lot of people!

rpc

hufc2002 wrote: »

My wife's salary is circa £36k, not too sure if this is relevant to this thread.

As stated previously my plan is to stop my wife's voucher deductions for 2 months only (Aug/Sep salary) for the purpose of OMP and SMP calculations. We would then like to reinstate them back to the full amount for the time being at least.

So before doing this you need to find out how the OMP is calculated. Even where you are on 90% pay (which could be SMP), it all depends on how pay is calculated. Where I work, all OMP is worked out based on what we call the reference salary so if you do sal sac, you get paid more than SMP at these points. The fact you call it 90% pay and not SMP suggests that the calculation might be different.

The SMP for the 12 week blocks will be the capped rate of £138 and vouchers won't affect this.

You need to read your maternity policy (or similar) to find out what the calculation actually is. You might end up losing more money by stopping vouchers for two months than you save.

Bluebell1000

hufc2002 wrote: »

My wife is a teacher therefore is employed by the local council who's vouchers are provided by Computershare. My wife has never varied her deductions since joining the scheme, only myself.


As stated previously my plan is to stop my wife's voucher deductions for 2 months only (Aug/Sep salary) for the purpose of OMP and SMP calculations. We would then like to reinstate them back to the full amount for the time being at least.

I hope this helps.

My vouchers are also through Computershare, and stopping then re-starting the contributions has been fine. I didn't do the overall calculations about stopping then re-starting vs. continuing getting vouchers then getting lower maternity pay (up until the SMP only rate starts anyway), but as our HR department suggested it I decided that they probably know what they're talking about.

My maternity pay allocation is pretty much the same as your wife's as well. I'm not entirely sure what you were asking rpc, but our mat pay at 90% is 90% including SMP, if that helps?

hufc2002

Bluebell1000 wrote: »

My vouchers are also through Computershare, and stopping then re-starting the contributions has been fine. I didn't do the overall calculations about stopping then re-starting vs. continuing getting vouchers then getting lower maternity pay (up until the SMP only rate starts anyway), but as our HR department suggested it I decided that they probably know what they're talking about.

My maternity pay allocation is pretty much the same as your wife's as well. I'm not entirely sure what you were asking rpc, but our mat pay at 90% is 90% including SMP, if that helps?

Yes my wifes is also 90% including SMP.

Our comined vouchers cover our current nursery fee's and we never have needed to add any additional cash to make up any difference.

I have calculated that if my wife stops her vouchers for 2 months (in order for her OMP to be calculated on her FULL pay with no sacrifice) then we will only need to add in an additional £40 in cash to pay for nursery fees. With effect from Septembers salary, we will start her vouchers again.

RPC - Surely we won't end up losing more money by stopping vouchers for two months than we would save??

rpc

Bluebell1000 wrote: »

My maternity pay allocation is pretty much the same as your wife's as well. I'm not entirely sure what you were asking rpc, but our mat pay at 90% is 90% including SMP, if that helps?

SMP for the first 6 weeks is 90% of AWE. This, among other things, is the income AFTER childcare vouchers. SMP after that is a fixed rate at the income you are talking about - it isn't affected by taking salary sacrifice in the relevant period.

90% of pay for OMP could be a larger number than it is for SMP, depending on how your employer does the calculation. In our case, they use reference salary which is the pre-sacrifice number. You haven't said which salary your employer uses to calculate OMP so nobody can tell you what method leaves you better off. Some employers do it pre-sacrifice, some do it post-sacrifice, some include OT, others exclude it.

Stopping the vouchers for two months will cost you the tax and NI relief. That's 32% for a basic rate taxpayer or £77 per month. So an extra cost to you of £154.

Now you take the calculation for OMP (which you haven't told us, you have just said that you assume it is the same method as SMP) and see how it compares. If you don't know how your OMP is calculated, you can't work out the best option.

freebiequennie

I am 17wks pregnant n have emailed hr the question s today of is omp worked out on pre or post salary sacrifice, are childcare vouchers deducted from omp or paid in addition n can I stop my vouchers for July n Aug (I know this will be wk 19-26) and restart in September n continue throughout mat leave receiving them.

I fear the answer is worked out on post salary sacrifice yes vouchers taken from omp (so pay twice) n no I can't stop n rejoin but hopeful I can as I get 8wks full pay and 18wks half pay+smp then 12wks smp

Thanks for raising this OP as I had thought about it but not in any detail n thought u couldn't opt out then back in so thought would have to just go with whatever happened.

freebiequennie

My vouchers are through kiddicare n if hr haven't answered by tomorrow I may ring them as they should have my employers terms n conditions available n I won't be first to ask surely.