Never a Better Time to Introduce a Childcare Voucher Scheme

Family finances are under more pressure now than in the last nine years. Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that people had less disposable income after tax in the first quarter of 2012 than at any other time since 2003. Due to the recession, many businesses have had to take steps such as freezing pay and families have suffered from rising prices, particularly for expenses such as childcare.

At the same time the Department for Education has released figures showing that due to rises in the birth rate since 2010, numbers of children in maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools started increasing in 2010 and are projected to continue to rise. By 2020, numbers are forecast to be 18% higher than in 2012, reaching levels last seen in the 1970s. The total headcount of pupils aged under 5 in maintained nursery and state-funded schools is projected to reach a peak of 1.08 million in 2019, a 13% change on 2012. This rise does not take into account the numbers in privately run childcare.

With disposable income falling and the birth rate rising, businesses need to look at ways of rewarding staff whose incomes have effectively dropped and ensure they encourage skilled workers who have become parents back into work.

Childcare vouchers are the perfect way to achieve this. Parents can join a childcare voucher scheme, offered through their employer, to exchange part of their salary for childcare vouchers.  Savings are made as vouchers are non-taxable and National Insurance exempt. Childcare voucher users can currently save up to £933 per year. As well as helping parents to return to work by making childcare more affordable, working parents feel more valued and are able to make work pay. Businesses retain and attract trained staff and also benefit financially. If an employee takes the full amount of vouchers (currently £55 per week or £243 per month), a business can save over £400 per year per employee in employer National Insurance contributions.

What’s more, a campaign is underway which will help to address the issues of decreasing income and increasing numbers of parents in the workforce. The amount a parent can sacrifice from their salary in exchange for childcare vouchers has not changed since 2006 and so childcare vouchers have effectively been devalued.  Busy Bees Benefits’ ‘Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap’ campaign aims to persuade the Government to increase the weekly limit from £55 to £75. Raising the cap will increase the annual savings a parent can make by more than £300. The benefits for businesses will rise to a maximum saving of almost £550 per employee per year. At the centre of the campaign is an e-petition which has already attracted nearly 13,000 signatures. The aim is to get the cap increased in line with the 2013 Budget.

John Woodward, MD of Busy Bees Benefits said: “There are so many reasons for businesses to offer a childcare voucher scheme, it’s hard to believe there are so many businesses that still don’t have one. It’s quick and easy to set up, improves the morale and the pockets of working parents and saves employers money both directly and indirectly - from tax on salaries and by improving staff morale and retention. Our campaign aims to preserve the value of this benefit to help make childcare more affordable for working parents.” 

Win Sports Equipment Worth £250

The Olympics has us all interested in sports and getting fit.  Children will want to copy athletes and re-create Olympic sports with their friends at home and at school.  Encouraging children to participate in sports will not only keep them fit and healthy, it will also help to use up some of their energy, whilst helping to stimulate their brains and improve their concentration.

To celebrate the 2012 Olympics, Busy Bees Benefits are giving parents the opportunity to win £250 worth of sports equipment for their child’s school, nursery or childcare setting. 

Simply ‘like’ us on Facebook and ‘like’/’comment’ any post about the competition

or ‘follow’ and ‘retweet’ us on Twitter to be entered into a prize draw. 

Details

The competition will close on the 31^st August 2012 and the winner will be drawn at random on Monday the 3^rd September and notified via Facebook, on this page and on Twitter.

Busy Bees Benefits will send the winners sports equipment to their child’s school, nursery or other childcare setting within 2 weeks of being announced.  Arrangements to be made with the school, nursery or setting for delivery.

Terms and Conditions

Entrants can enter on both Facebook and Twitter.  The winner will be notified directly on Facebook and/or Twitter and will have 4 weeks to respond.  If the winner does not respond within this time another winner will be selected at random.

About Us

Busy Bees Benefits are a childcare voucher and other benefits provider. 

Childcare Vouchers are a government-initiated employee benefit scheme for working parents to save money on the cost of childcare.  Childcare vouchers can be used to pay for any registered childcare for children up to the age of 16. They operate as a salary sacrifice scheme which is available via employers allowing parents to sacrifice up to £55 per week for childcare vouchers.  Childcare vouchers are tax free and national insurance exempt, saving working parents up to £933 per year on the cost of their childcare.

For more information visit www.busybeesbenefits.com or click here to go to our childcare voucher guide.

Do you want to save more?

We are currently campaigning to increase the cap allowance from £55 to £75 per week which would increase savings to more than £1200 per parent, per year.

Help us to help you save more by signing our e-petition.

For more information visit our campaign page on our website.

Childcare Vouchers Pay For Summer Holiday Schemes

The summer holidays are fast approaching; many parents find the forthcoming six weeks a stressful and expensive time.  Parents need to consider how much time they can have off work, what childcare is available and how much childcare and holiday activities will cost.

There are a wide range of childcare options available for the summer holidays, for children of all ages.  There are summer camps, holiday schemes, play groups, child minders, nurseries and out of school clubs. 

All of these are fun and exciting; children can experience activities they would not usually experience.  Sending children to summer camps and holiday schemes will help to encourage children to engage and experience working in groups with new children, take part in events and shows and encourage them to explore and discover new skills.

Knowing there is suitable childcare options will give parents the peace of mind they need when considering summer holiday childcare. However, the cost of sending children to camps and holiday schemes is an important factor.  Did you know you can use your childcare vouchers, taken as a salary sacrifice via your employer, to pay for the cost of most summer childcare options?  Parents can exchange up to £243 per month, which is non-taxable and national insurance exempt, from their salary.  They will then receive childcare vouchers to use to pay for their chosen childcare.

Using childcare vouchers can save working parents up to £933 per year from the cost of their childcare.  Both parents can join a childcare voucher scheme, increasing potential savings to over £1800 per year.  Be money savvy; if you intend to send your child to a camp or holiday scheme in the following year, you can save up childcare vouchers to pay for the costs.

Do you want to save more?

Busy Bees are campaigning to raise the weekly childcare voucher cap from £55 to £75 per week to help parents save more on the cost of their childcare.  Raising the cap will increase savings per parent to over £1200 per year.  If you want to save more sign the Busy Bees e-petition to help persuade the government to increase the cap.

For more information please visit www.busybeesbenefits.com. 

Take Advantage of Tax Breaks on Cost of Independent Schools

It is a common perception that childcare vouchers are only used by middle income families to pay for nursery fees. In fact, childcare vouchers are available to almost all working parents* and can be used for older children to pay for a wide range of needs which are classed as “childcare”. Independent schools** may accept vouchers to pay fees for children aged 0 up to and including reception year. Beyond reception level, childcare vouchers can be used to pay for non-educational care and activities such as day trips and summer camps.

Childcare vouchers can provide significant savings no matter what rate of income tax a parent pays. Whilst a basic rate taxpayer can currently save up to £933 per year, a working parent paying 40% tax can save £624 per year and an additional rate taxpayer (50%), £605. If both parents work and take advantage of the maximum amount of childcare vouchers, these savings can be doubled.

Childcare vouchers are a simple, government-backed scheme offered via the employer. Parents can join a scheme to exchange part of their salary for childcare vouchers.  Savings are made as vouchers are non-taxable and National Insurance exempt.

Another benefit of childcare vouchers is that they are flexible. You do not have to use childcare vouchers in the week or month they are provided and you can save them up to use later. So, for example, you can start saving at the start of the tax year to pay for activities at the school your child will be attending in the autumn, or to pay for activities and care provided over the summer months. You will need to approach your child’s school to ask whether they accept payment with childcare vouchers and for which activities.

Childcare Voucher provider, Busy Bees Benefits is actively campaigning to increase thevalue of childcare vouchers for parents. The savings available have not changed since 2006, although fees for all forms of childcare have continued to rise.  Busy Bees’ ‘Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap’ campaign aims to persuade the government to increase the maximum weekly limit on how much salary a parent can sacrifice in exchange for childcare vouchers to a maximum of £75 per week to keep pace with rising costs.

The e-petition at the centre of the campaign already has over 12,000 signatures. The aim is to achieve an increase in the cap as part of the 2013 Budget.

For more information about the campaign visit www.busybeesbenefits.com.  

Government Urged To Make Changes To Childcare Voucher System

Recent news headlines have been focusing heavily on childcare costs as they are currently one of the top burdens on UK families.  Childcare costs can take up to half of a parent’s salary and fees have continued to rise, with an increase of 6% in the last year alone¹.  With the announcement from Prime Minister, David Cameron on the creation of a new government commission to look into childcare, the childcare sector are calling for changes to be made to the current system.

Childcare voucher provider, Busy Bees Benefits and the CVPA (Childcare Voucher Providers Association), with the support of other childcare organisations, are running campaigns to persuade the government to change the way the childcare voucher system works to make childcare costs more affordable for all working parents.  The current system is only available to those working parents employed by an organisation and the maximum an employee can choose to exchange, via salary sacrifice, is £55 per week.

Busy Bees Benefits ‘Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap’ campaign aims to increase the current childcare voucher cap from £55 to £75* to make childcare more affordable for working parents.  The current cap allowance has not changed since 2006 even though childcare costs have continued to rise.  Raising the cap to £75 will increase savings parents can make from £933 per year to over £1200 per parent.  As part of the Busy Bees Group, the UK’s largest childcare provider, Busy Bees Benefits understand the need for parents to provide affordable, quality childcare for their children.  A recent report² has found that 20% of its respondents have turned down jobs and 38% have considered quitting their current job because they couldn’t afford to pay for childcare.  The campaign aims to bridge the gap between current voucher values and the increasing cost of childcare to help parents continue to work and afford childcare.

At the centre of the ‘Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap’ campaign is an e-petition which requires 100,000 signatures for the issue to be eligible for debate in the House of Commons.  This can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31669.  Political backing for the campaign is important to make the government aware of the issue, Busy Bees have produced a downloadable letter on the campaign page on their website which can be simply amended and printed off for supporters to send to their local MP which will help to raising the awareness that working parents need more support.  Busy Bees Group CEO, John Woodward said:

“It is imperative that parents are able to work and still afford the childcare they need.  We want to make a difference to families, raising the childcare voucher cap will provide parents with additional savings giving them more to spend on their childcare costs.  If both parents in a household join a childcare voucher scheme they could potentially save over £2400 per year on the cost of their childcare if the campaign is successful.”

Together with other childcare organisations the CVPA are calling for the government to extend the availability of childcare vouchers to the self-employed.  The campaign which has the backing of CVPA members including Busy Bees Benefits, wants the government to provide an equal level of support to all working parents, regardless of whether they are employed or self-employed. 

As the government wants 2012 to be “the year of Enterprise” the CVPA campaign feels to achieve this they need to encourage more female entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurship among women is low as only 26% of self-employed people are women³.  If the self-employed were able to use childcare vouchers more women would be able to start a business, giving them both the flexibility of working and family life with the added support of being able to afford childcare.  Visit the CVPA website to register your support for the campaign.

Both the Busy Bees Benefits campaign to raise the childcare voucher cap to increase the savings parents can make and the campaign to extend vouchers to the self-employed complement each other and strive for a fairer, more supportive childcare voucher system.

For more information about childcare vouchers and the Busy Bees campaign visit www.busybeesbenefits.com. 

Notes

1 - Daycare Trust’s Annual Childcare costs survey 2012

*Basic rate tax payers, based on individual circumstances. 

2 - http://www.mumsnet.com/family-friendly/childcare-costs-survey-2012

3 - http://www.cvpa.org.uk/CVPA/Campaigns/CVPA/Campaigns.aspx

Survey Says Employers Should Do More To Help With Childcare Costs

The cost of childcare is currently a hot topic, causing much debate and regularly making the headlines. The Government has now launched a Commission to look at the issue and the latest survey on this topic found that 47% of parents agreed that employers should do more to help meet childcare costs. 20% of parents responding to the survey have turned down jobs because they couldn't afford to pay for childcare.  38% of parents have even considered quitting their current job and 12% have actually left their job because of childcare costs.

Offering childcare vouchers to employees is one way employers can help.  Employees simply exchange part of their salary (up to £55 per week) for childcare vouchers, which are non-taxable and National Insurance exempt. This saves up to £933 per employee, per year on the cost of childcare.

However, the cap has not been changed to meet increasing costs since 2006. Hence BusyBees Benefits is already leading the way to improve life for working parents by actively campaigning to make childcare more affordable.  The ‘Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap’ campaign aims to persuade the government to increase the weekly childcare voucher cap allowance from £55 to £75. 

The e-petition at the centre of the Busy Bees campaign already has almost 9000 signatures. The aim is to get 100,000 signatures to see the cap increased in line with the 2013 Budget.  The e-petition can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31669. 

Increasing the cap could save each parent in the scheme over £300 extra per year.  Not only will offering childcare vouchers attract and retain skilled staff, employers will also make savings as childcare vouchers do not attract employer National Insurance contributions.  Employers can currently save more than £400** per employee.

John Woodward, Busy Bees Group CEO said:

“It is clear that parents want to work and access affordable childcare without having to compromise on quality. Childcare vouchers are a simple and established scheme which already helps thousands of parents.  The scheme just needs to be improved to close the gap which has opened up between costs and childcare voucher values. It is in the interest of employers to offer a childcare voucher scheme to working parents who have valuable skills.  “Mindthe Gap – Raise the Cap” will help parents to work and pay for the childcare they would like for their children.  Employers will also benefit: by offering childcare vouchers they will be able to save up to £550 per employee, per year*.”

For more information about the campaign visit www.busybeesbenefits.com. 

Notes

* For basic rate tax payers and before service charge for operating the scheme. Service charges applied by Bees Bees Benefits are always less than employer National Insurance contributions.

·        

Use Childcare Vouchers To Pay For Summer Holiday Schemes

The summer holidays are fast approaching; many parents find the forthcoming six weeks a stressful and expensive time.  Parents need to consider how much time they can have off work, what childcare is available and how much childcare and holiday activities will cost.

There are a wide range of childcare options available for the summer holidays, for children of all ages.  There are summer camps, holiday schemes, play groups, child minders, nurseries and out of school clubs. 

All of these are fun and exciting; children can experience activities they would not usually experience.  Sending children to summer camps and holiday schemes will help to encourage children to engage and experience working in groups with new children, take part in events and shows and encourage them to explore and discover new skills.

Knowing there is suitable childcare options will give parents the peace of mind they need when considering summer holiday childcare. However, the cost of sending children to camps and holiday schemes is an important factor.  Did you know you can use your childcare vouchers, taken as a salary sacrifice via your employer, to pay for the cost of most summer childcare options?  Parents can exchange up to £243 per month, which is non-taxable and national insurance exempt, from their salary.  They will then receive childcare vouchers to use to pay for their chosen childcare.

Using childcare vouchers can save working parents up to £933 per year from the cost of their childcare.  Both parents can join a childcare voucher scheme, increasing potential savings to over £1800 per year.  Be money savvy; if you intend to send your child to a camp or holiday scheme in the following year, you can save up childcare vouchers to pay for the costs.

Do you want to save more?

Busy Bees are campaigning to raise the weekly childcare voucher cap from £55 to £75 per week to help parents save more on the cost of their childcare.  Raising the cap will increase savings per parent to over £1200 per year.  If you want to save more sign the Busy Bees e-petition to help persuade the government to increase the cap.

For more information please visit www.busybeesbenefits.com.

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Mind the Gap - Raise the Cap Campaign Increases Its Supporters

Childcare arrangements and costs are a hot topic at the moment.  On the 30^th May 2012 Nick Clegg joined the Daybreak team to discuss the announcement of changes to the childcare system.

Daybreak, the morning news program on ITV, visited Busy Bees St Matthews Burntwood nursery to interview nursery manager Caroline Cooper about the changes being introduced to the government funding on childcare places.  You can see the interview and full feature here.

During the feature an interviewee on the street was asked how the changed would affect her, she said: “It wouldn’t make any difference because I work full time anyway, so I wouldn’t have been able to use it either side.  What would be a bigger benefit is the childcare voucher allowance being increased.”

Concurrent with the increasing attention on the issue of childcare costs, Busy Bees Benefits recently launched the ‘Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap’ campaign. The campaign aims to raise the weekly childcare voucher cap from £55 to £75 to help make childcare more affordable for working parents.  The £55 cap has not changed since 2006 although childcare costs have continued to rise.  For more information about the campaign please visit our website. 

There is growing pressure for the childcare voucher allowance to be increased; this would mean that working parents can make tax and national insurance savings when taking childcare vouchers to help pay for their childcare.

You can help to support the campaign by signing the e-petition.

For more information about childcare vouchers and how they can help you save money, please visit www.busybeesbenefits.com.

 http://www.facebook.com/busybeesbenefitschildcarevouchers

 https://twitter.com/#!/BusyBeesBens

KiddiVouchers Backs "Mind the Gap - Raise the Cap" Campaign

Busy Bees Benefits launched its “Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap” campaign in May and is pleased to announce that childcare voucher provider KiddiVouchers is now supporting the campaign.

“Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap” aims to persuade the government to raise the amount of salary a working parent can sacrifice in exchange for childcare vouchers from £55 to £75 per week. The current maximum of £55 has not changed since 2006. A rise will help close the gap which has opened up between the increasing cost of childcare and the value of childcare vouchers and help working parents save more on the cost of childcare.

Alison Chalmers, Director at KiddiVouchers, said:

“The cost of childcare remains a hot topic, with childcare often costing parents as much as their mortgage.  Childcare vouchers provide a powerful economic stimulus, by encouraging parents to return to work, by helping to fund high quality early education and by assisting employers who are striving to be family-friendly.  The childcare voucher system includes careful controls to ensure funds can only be spent on regulated childcare, meaning that this scheme is more accurately targeted than other types of support.  With every penny spent on childcare vouchers going straight back into the economy, we believe this proposal fits well with the Government’s austerity plus growth agenda. ”

At the centre of the campaign is an e-petition by Busy Bees Group Managing Director, John Woodward. This can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31669 and is open until March 2013. The aim is to achieve 100,000 signatures, to make the issue eligible for debate in the House of Commons, leading to a policy change in the 2013 Budget.

John Woodward said:

“We are delighted that KiddiVouchers have joined the Busy Bees campaign. There is always a healthy competition between childcare voucher providers, but it is nice to see that supporting the interests of working parents is actually the reason we are in business”.

The campaign has initially been rolled out via Busy Bees nurseries and Busy Bees Benefits customers and has attracted significant attention in the press and on social media. The e-petition has already attracted support from over 3000 signatories.

Busy Bees Campaigns to Make Childcare More Affordable

During these difficult economic times, working families are finding the management of their finances even more of a challenge. Childcare costs can take up to half of a parent’s salary and fees have continued to rise, with an increase of 6% in the last year alone.¹  Parents obviously want the best standard of childcare for their children, but with finances being squeezed, many are finding that the choice they make is based on affordability rather than quality.

In the context of these financial pressures, Busy Bees Benefits has launched a national campaign to help working parents save more on the cost of childcare. The “Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap” campaign aims to persuade the government to raise the weekly childcare voucher cap allowance from £55 to £75.

Childcare vouchers are an employee benefit used to pay for any registered childcare for children up to the age of 16.  Any working parent can use childcare vouchers if their employer provides a scheme. At the centre of the campaign is an e-petition by Busy Bees Group Managing Director, John Woodward. This can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31669. The aim is to achieve 100,000 signatures, to make the issue eligible for debate in the House of Commons, leading to a policy change in the 2013 Budget.

The campaign has initially been rolled out via Busy Bees nurseries and has already created a buzz amongst staff and parents whose children attend one of the 146 sites across the UK. Clients of Busy Bees Benefits – employers with a Busy Bees childcare voucher scheme, carers who accept Busy Bees childcare vouchers and parents who use them to help meet their childcare costs - have also been told about the campaign and asked to sign the petition.

John Woodward said:

“The cap allowance was set by the government at £55 per week and this has not changed since 2006.  As the UK’s largest provider of childcare, serving more than 15,000 children, we understand the pressures on working parents. We would like to help parents as much as possible, however we must be realistic. We want the campaign to receive the attention it deserves from the government and achieve its aim. Therefore, we think that £75 is an achievable target, which will make a real difference to working parents. With the cap at £75, basic rate taxpayers taking the maximum amount in childcare vouchers could save over £300 extra per year, with total savings amounting to over £1200 per parent, per year.”

The Daycare Trust’s survey revealed that average childcare costs are now over £100 for a part-time place (25 hours) in many areas of the country. The average yearly spend on childcare for a child under two is £5,103.

Business benefit

In addition to helping parents, childcare vouchers help businesses to attract and retain experienced staff, which is particularly important in the current tough economic climate.

By providing a childcare voucher scheme, businesses also benefit by saving on employer National Insurance contributions. Under current rates, if a working parent sacrifices the maximum amount of £243 per month in return for childcare vouchers, a business can save over £400 per year for a basic rate taxpayer² taking childcare vouchers.  If the cap were to rise to £75 per week, savings per scheme user, per year, paying basic rate tax would rise to almost £550.

For more information about the campaign visit www.busybeesbenefits.com.

·         ¹ Daycare Trust’s Annual Childcare costs survey 2012

·         ² before service charge for operating the scheme. Service charges applied by Bees Bees Benefits are always less than employer National Insurance contributions.

Busy Bees Ensures Employers Don't Fall Foul of Minimum Wage Legislation

Offering Childcare Vouchers as an employee benefit is a great way to help working parents meet their childcare costs and aid recruitment and retention of experienced staff. Workers near the minimum wage are often those most in need of this benefit to help them pay for childcare. If Childcare Vouchers are operated as a salary sacrifice scheme, it is the responsibility of employers to ensure that once deductions have been made, no employee’s salary falls below the National Minimum Wage levels. If this check is not made, the employer could fall foul of the law.

A recent case cost a major company £35k after an investigation by the HMRC for just this situation. Whilst an employee agrees that their wages are effectively cut in exchange for benefits, it is up to the employer to check they are not paid less than the current minimum wage rate of £6.08 per hour (for staff aged over 21).

Busy Bees Benefits has always prided itself on excellent customer service in terms of the operation of the scheme, ease of registration, support and service standards. When signing up to its Childcare Voucher scheme, employees complete a basic earnings assessment electronically which asks them to declare their gross earnings and any pre-tax outgoings – including any other salary sacrifice schemes such as cycle to work, some pension schemes and some car schemes. The system then automatically calculates whether or not they would fall below the minimum wage threshold. If the amount of vouchers they request takes them past the lower limit, the system automatically tells them the maximum amount of vouchers they can claim, or lets them know if they cannot request Childcare Vouchers at all. Busy Bees Benefits is also ensuring that existing scheme users are not breaching legislation by requesting that the employee re-enters their salary details annually.

John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees Benefits, said: “It is important that as a Childcare Voucher provider, we help our customers – both employers operating our scheme and parents requesting our vouchers – to remain compliant with legislation. Our system is easy to understand, will take customers just a matter of moments to complete and ultimately protects vulnerable employees whilst helping busy employers meet their legal obligations. ”

 

Busy Bees Benefits Wins Major Public Sector Clients

Busy Bees Benefits is continuing to expand in the Childcare Voucher market and has had a great start to 2012. Amongst its successes, the company has recently won four major public sector tenders.

Busy Bees Benefits is now providing Childcare Voucher schemes for Derbyshire County Council, Calderdale Council, Orkney Islands Council and Warwickshire College.

Busy Bees Benefits re-entered the Childcare Voucher market in 2010 and is delighted with the continued growth of the current business.

The company has always prided itself on excellent customer service and in competing to run the childcare voucher scheme for Calderdale Council, it scored top marks on the operation of the scheme, the transition onto the scheme for working parents, ease of registration, support and service standards.

John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees Benefits, said: “It is fantastic to be working with these major public sector employers and helping so many working parents to pay their childcare costs. As part of the Busy Bees group we are in a unique position to understand the needs of working parents. Parents using our scheme have access to Emergency Childcare through our 146 nurseries. They also receive an additional discount if they use a Busy Bees Childcare Voucher at a Busy Bees Nursery. Any public sector client is obviously looking for value for money, as well as a great service, and our innovative online service meets the needs of the employer and staff, making the scheme really easy to use.”

Any parent can use childcare vouchers if their workplace is part of the scheme. There is no set up cost for parents or businesses. For further information visit www.busybeesbenefits.com or call 0330 333 9100.

Busy Bees Benefits Adds More Retailers to Discount Scheme

Busy Bees Benefits has added further retailers to its Discount Retail Voucher Scheme.

The retail discounts are available to those using the online account for Busy Bees Childcare Vouchers, including the scheme administrator, childcare providers and of course parents using the vouchers.

Vouchers are now available for Bella Italia, Strada and Café Rouge, so you could enjoy a meal out, followed by a trip to see the latest film at Cineworld, enjoying a 10% discount at each venue.

If you prefer to spend time at home with the family, you might like to buy some new outdoor toys for the kids and save 8% at Toys R Us. British weather permitting, you can sit back in the sunshine and take some memorable snaps for the family album - there’s now 12% off at Sunglass Hut and 8% at Jessops.

If the weather is less favourable, plan a holiday to sunnier climes and use the 5% discount at Thomsons and First Choice Holidays.

Gentlemen – if you love to hit the road on two wheels, there is now a 15% discount at Hein Gericke, whilst ladies may prefer to take advantage of 10% off at Schuh or 12% at Crabtree and Evelyn.

Gift cards can be purchased via the user’s personal online account at a discounted cost. New users just need to set up an account with our partner, SVM Cards. This only requires their name, email address and a password, so it only takes a minute. They will then gain a discount on the value of the retail gift card they buy.

For further information about the Busy Bees Childcare Voucher scheme, visit www.busybeesbenefits.com.

Use Childcare Vouchers to Offset the Loss of Child Benefit

In this year’s budget, Chancellor George Osborne cut child benefit for higher rate taxpayers. Child Benefit will be reduced gradually by 1% for every £100 earned over £50,000. Anyone earning over £60,000 will lose the benefit completely from January 2013.

In households where one parent earns over £60,000, the loss of child benefit can be offset by ensuring that working parents take advantage of childcare vouchers. For the eldest or only child, child benefit amounts to over £1,000 a year. Higher rate taxpayers taking childcare vouchers can save up to £624 per year on childcare costs by using childcare vouchers to pay for their registered childcare. If the other parent works and is a basic rate taxpayer, they can also save up to £933 per year.

John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees Benefits, said “The announcement about cuts to Child Benefit is naturally a blow to some families, but childcare vouchers are the obvious way to offset this financial loss. As part of the Busy Bees Group, the largest childcare provider in the UK, Busy Bees Benefits understands the financial pressures experienced by all working families and welcomes the opportunity to help more parents to save money on the cost of childcare”.

Local College Helps Parents Save on Childcare Costs

There’s no doubt that working families are finding money tighter in the face of current economic pressures, but one major local employer is helping parents with the cost of childcare. Bury College teamed up with Busy Bees Benefits a year ago to provide childcare vouchers to its employees and 30 parents who work at the college have signed up to the scheme in that time.

Childcare vouchers are a simple way that working parents can save on the cost of childcare. It’s just a matter of swapping a part of their salary for childcare vouchers, which are non-taxable and exempt from National Insurance contributions. This can save  working parents over £900 each year, depending on their individual circumstances. And although the majority of parents use vouchers for childcare for pre school children, be it a nursery, nanny, au pair, or childminder, vouchers can also be used for older children to pay for things like out of school clubs and activity camps.

David Aspa, HR & Payroll Advisor at Bury College says: “As a family friendly employer we are always looking at ways to improve the benefits we provide to our employees.  For working parents, childcare vouchers are an excellent way of doing this.  The Busy Bees Benefits scheme was easy to set up and provides the College and our employees with an efficient yet simple to use system.”

Sally McCullagh, Curriculum Director at Bury College says: “Signing up with Busy Bees Benefits was straight forward and your individual account is easy to manage.  In addition to helping lower the cost of childcare, the system also reduces the time spent arranging payments to your childcare provider as this is all done automatically.”

John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees Benefits, added: “It is fantastic to be working with Bury College. In these current difficult economic times, any assistance we can provide for working parents towards their childcare costs is very welcome.”

Any parent can use childcare vouchers if their workplace is part of the scheme, so it’s definitely worth checking if your local employer offers childcare vouchers or asking them to join the scheme. There is no set up cost for businesses and they will save on employer National Insurance contributions too. For further information, parents and businesses can

Busy Bees Benefits is part of the Busy Bees Group, the UK’s largest childcare provider. Its Childcare Voucher scheme helps working parents to save money on childcare and their employers can offer this valuable benefit at no cost to the organisation. Parents can also receive an additional discount if they use a Busy Bees Voucher at a Busy Bees nursery. The company also offers Employment Law Support, Car Care, Cycle to Work schemes, and services including ticketing and hospitality and will writing.

For further information, please visit www.busybeesbenefits.com.

Childcare Voucher Provider Joins Industry Body

Business and Employee benefits provider Busy Bees Benefits has become the latest member of the Childcare Voucher Providers Association (CVPA).

The CVPA represents the Childcare Vouchers market, develops best practice guidelines for those operating within it and protects those who have involvement with a provider. Founded in March 2011, it also promotes Childcare Vouchers Schemes to employers, employees and carers as well as evaluating unresolved complaints made against their members.

John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees Benefits, said: “We are proud of the manner in which we operate and want our customers, and indeed any prospective customers, to know that we are serious about providing a quality, transparent service, which includes, in particular, keeping voucher funds safe and managing personal data appropriately.

“Our membership of the CVPA allows us to show the employers who operate our scheme, the employees who request our Childcare Vouchers and the carers who accept them that we are proud of what we do and that we are committed to a Code of Practice. We also want to play a key role in developing the market further, as Busy Bees Group was part of the initial discussions when our first Childcare Voucher scheme was established in 1998.”

Busy Bees Benefits was established to provide a quality Childcare Voucher scheme which helps working parents to save money on childcare and offers their employers a valuable benefit that has no cost to their organisation.

Alongside its Childcare Voucher scheme, Busy Bees Benefits offers other employee and business benefits. These include Cycle to Work, Car Care and Employment Law Support schemes, with a ticketing and hospitality service coming soon. Busy Bees Group is the largest private childcare provider in the UK, operating more than 130 nurseries, with the brand well known for the quality of service it provides.

For further information on Busy Bees Benefits, please visit http://www.busybeesbenefits.com/ or like us at www.facebook.com/busybeesbenefits. For more details on CVPA, please visit www.cvpa.org.uk.