Case studies - Childcare Vouchers in action
We provide paper and electronic childcare vouchers to UK companies of all sizes, including private and public sector organisations.
Below are some examples of how our Childcare Vouchers have helped organisations and their employees:
Sam Royle, HR Advisor at business communications provider Clearswift: “During these difficult and challenging economic times, Clearswift is always keen to enhance the support for its working parents but with minimal cost implications.
When we heard that Accor Services was enhancing its childcare voucher scheme with money saving offers, we were really pleased. Our employees are able to make savings on every day expenditure which is just another bonus to an already superb scheme”.
Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that offering parents financial support via an Accor Services Childcare Voucher scheme was a real incentive for women thinking about whether or not to return to work after maternity leave.
PwC is a knowledge based business and its people really are its best asset. The firm was concerned that only 40 per cent of female staff were rejoining the company after having children and started to look at the various ways it could support them.
Typically for a consultancy, most PwC staff do not work from a central office, so office-based crèche facilities were not the solution. The firm decided to introduce childcare vouchers, as these would give employees the maximum choice and flexibility in how they organise their childcare. Women returning to work after maternity leave are now offered 12 months’ worth of vouchers, equivalent to 20% of their base pay.
Childcare vouchers were introduced in 2000, and by 2006 the return to work rate had shot up to 89 per cent. “The vouchers assist in the retention of talent and employees have complete freedom of choice over what childcare works best for them,” says Sarah Churchman, head of diversity at PwC.
Sixty five per cent of employees at educational standards organisation Ofsted are women, many of whom have childcare responsibilities. Ofsted therefore places high priority on the need to help its employees balance work and family life effectively.
As part of its employee retention strategy, Ofsted started offering all employees Accor Services Childcare Vouchers as soon as the tax exemptions came into effect in April 2005. One of the reasons they chose Accor Services was because of the value-added services – such as access to a free childcare helpline, FamilyLife Solutions, which provides help on everything from finding emergency childcare to advice on returning to work after maternity leave.
“At Ofsted we are always considering potential opportunities to provide further support to our employees and the childcare voucher scheme has been able to provide a positive benefit to a number of parents in our organisation,” says Rachel Street, Head of Human Resources and Corporate Development Division.
Cancer Research UK chose Accor Services as its childcare voucher supplier two years ago, at a time when it was revamping the overall benefits package on offer to employees. The charity was particularly attracted by some of the value-added services on offer – and the facility to conduct business on line.
“The family issues helpline was an attractive part of the package – it’s a great way to provide additional advice and support to employees with wider caring responsibilities,” says Director of Strategic Resourcing and Reward, Tom Russell. “The electronic voucher system was definitely a key deciding factor. I use childcare vouchers myself, and being able to manage everything on line just makes the whole process so quick and easy.”
Cadbury has a long tradition of family-friendly policies and offers Childcare Vouchers as part of its extensive flexible benefits scheme.
Employees are able to purchase up to £75 worth of vouchers per week, with the first £55 tax and NI free. Paper vouchers were first introduced in l999, followed by an on-line accounting system which was activated in 2005, in response to demand from users.
The new system included the ability to set up a ‘standing order’ to process payments as and when required, which made the scheme more convenient for both the employee and the childcare provider.
“Childcare vouchers are a key component of our flexible benefits package, helping to support employees to improve their work life balance, whilst minimising cost,” says Helen Phelps, UK Employee Benefit Manager.
The Royal Marsden NHS Trust worked closely with Accor Services to make sure its staff were aware of its childcare voucher scheme. With Accor Services’ help, they developed a flyer and poster campaign, organised a series of roadshows and made effective use of email and the staff intranet.
“A roadshow at both of the Trust’s sites in London and Surrey was effective in raising awareness as well as providing a platform for workers who were interested or unsure to find out more,” says Barbara Harrington, Carer Co-ordinator at the Trust.
In April 2006, when the Trust moved from paper to e-vouchers, the communications strategy was reviewed and relaunched. Accor Services advised on how best to communicate the change and attended a maternity returnees ‘keep in touch’ session to give information and advice to potential users.
“Since the launch of the scheme in May 2004, the number of staff signing up has more than quadrupled and thanks to our ongoing communications programme, it is growing all the time,” says Barbara.
Find out more
Why Accor Services Childcare Vouchers for your business?
Why Accor Services Childcare Vouchers for your employees?