Making The Most Out Of Employer Perks

14/04/2010

By Simon Moore, Managing Director, Computershare Voucher Services


Salary sacrifice schemes

For smaller companies, especially in a recession, every saving can help and astute business owners are constantly looking for new ways to cut costs. The easiest way is simply to offer salary sacrifice schemes. Both employers and employees can enjoy the benefits - as neither party pays national insurance on salary sacrificed for benefits.

One of the largest salary sacrifice schemes available is Childcare Vouchers. Recently the government proposed abolishing the tax relief on these vouchers, but withdrew the proposal after an enormous public backlash. Childcare vouchers can provide...

...parents with the equivalent of a 31 per cent saving on the first £243 that they spend on registered childcare costs per month, which means that for parents with children up to the age of 16 the scheme can offer an essential way to maximise their income.

Furthermore, additional support for childcare provision can be an indispensible for employers at a time when small businesses are being asked by government to do more to encourage flexible working, to try to tackle the gender pay gap and encourage mothers back to work. Childcare vouchers can also improve morale, act as a staff retention tool and aid recruitment.


Employer and employee benefits

Simple and easy-to-use childcare vouchers are a tax exempt employee benefit used by parents to pay for registered childcare. Parents exchange a proportion of their gross salary for vouchers which are exempt from income tax and National Insurance (NI) and can provide a saving up to £900 each year (subject to individual circumstances) for a basic rate taxpayer.

Not only can vouchers be used for nursery and pre-school care but they can also be used for a variety of out of school care as well, right up until a... continued on page two >

 

 

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