Kiddivouchers Refund

tiswatitis

We've currently got over £1k in a Kiddivouchers account and due to the pandemic, I was advised by my GP to work from home last march due to an underlying health condition. As such, working from home, we no longer need the vouchers we planned on using but Kiddivouchers won't refund the money as the pandemic is classed as "exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances"
We're more than happy to pay the tax and NI on the monies but how can a company legally withold funds you'd budgeted for childcare and then say a global pandemic isn't a good enough reason.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Malthusian

I think you need to talk to your employer. If the money is to be refunded, Kiddivouchers would presumably have to return the money to them who would then pay you the sacrificed salary in lieu. Kiddivouchers won't be set up to deduct income tax and NI.

According to childcarevouchers.co.uk the possibility of a refund will depend on what was agreed with your employer.

Can I get a refund for unused Childcare Vouchers?

Whether you can receive a salary alternative to vouchers you have accrued will depend on the conditions of the scheme determined by your employer in the agreement you signed up to. Please consult those conditions and discuss them with your employer if necessary. It is quite common that employers’ schemes do not allow for this.

However, as Childcare Vouchers can be used for out of school and holiday clubs for children up to the age of 15, you may well be able to get further use of any vouchers you have built up.

Is there definitely no prospect of using the vouchers when you return to the office rather than paying extra tax on them?

*edit*

We're more than happy to pay the tax and NI on the monies but how can a company legally withold funds you'd budgeted for childcare and then say a global pandemic isn't a good enough reason.

If your employer has agreed with Kiddivouchers that unused vouchers can be refunded then they can't.

If your employer agreed with Kiddivouchers that the vouchers are non-refundable, and you signed up to that agreement in turn when you sacrificed salary for tax-advantaged vouchers, then it's for the same reason that if I buy someone a £10 John Lewis gift card and they don't want anything from John Lewis, they can't get John Lewis to refund my £10. (Except for the bit on the card that says "Cash value of card 0.01p.")

There is no requirement in law for vouchers to be fully refundable.

tiswatitis

Thanks Malthusian. We would have used the vouchers had I still been working in the office, however, as I was advised by my GP to work from home, childcare was no longer needed. Come September, we will no longer require Kiddivouchers at all. We merely planned to buy the vouchers for use during primary education only.

Malthusian

Assuming your employer hasn't agreed a refund policy, it is worth Googling "unused care vouchers". There were some other suggestions on the likes of Mumsnet such as Stagecoach tickets.