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August 2011: Preparing for the new school term

The summer holidays have flown by and families across the country are preparing for the new school year.

As part of our ongoing marketing support, we've provided clients with seasonal marketing material to help promote their schemes to parents of school-age children. We're also contacting any parents who opted out of the scheme during the holidays, to remind them to order their childcare vouchers in time for the new school year.

Childcare vouchers can be used for a wide range of care for school-age children, but some parents find they can work around school hours and no longer need childcare once their kids are at school. To avoid parents ordering vouchers which they don't need, and to make sure they are aware of how childcare vouchers can be used for out-of-school care, we are contacting any parents whose children are about to start school.

For more information about our ongoing support for clients and parents, please call us on 0800 612 4395.

July 2011: New VAT guidance for salary sacrifice schemes

Following a ruling by the European Courts, HMRC has issued new guidance on the way in which employers should treat VAT for salary sacrifice arrangements. Although the court ruling was in respect of high-street vouchers rather than childcare vouchers, there may still be implications for employers who run a childcare voucher scheme.

The new guidance suggests that employers who operate a salary sacrifice arrangement are now deemed to be "selling" childcare vouchers to their staff. As childcare is VAT exempt, the VAT on our administration fee will be considered as relating to a VAT exempt sale. This means that some employers will no longer be able to reclaim the VAT on our administration fee. There may also be secondary implications on other parts of their VAT calculations.

However, a number of questions remain unanswered, including whether employers can use the rules surrounding agency relationships to invoke an exemption. The argument in this case would be that the employer is not actually providing a VAT exempt service, but is merely acting as an agent of the employee by paying a childcare provider in accordance with the employee's instructions. We are currently seeking clarification on this and will be providing clients with guidance in due course.

The new rules are due to take effect from 1st January 2012 and HMRC's guidance can be found here.

June 2011: It's tax credit season again

It's that time of year when parents are filling in their tax credit renewal forms. Childcare vouchers can affect the amount of tax credits which parents receive, so as an ethical company we take care to ensure parents only sign up for childcare vouchers if the scheme is in their best interest.

All parents are offered free tax credit advice when they register for childcare vouchers and we also send out regular reminders to encourage parents to contact us if their financial circumstances change.

Tax credit renewal forms are not always easy to complete, but it's crucial that parents don't claim tax credits for any childcare which is paid for with childcare vouchers. Parents who fail to declare their childcare vouchers can face a large repayment bill as well as a potential fine.

We email all scheme members during the tax credit renewal season, to help them avoid the pitfalls. If you'd like to know more or if you need help with tax credits, call us free on 0800 612 4395.

May 2011: BIS publishes guidance on new regulations for agency workers

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published guidance on the proposed changes to agency workers' rights. The new regulations, which take effect from 1st October 2011, can be found here.

Where employers provide childcare vouchers in addition to salary, agency workers will be entitled to receive the same benefits. Where childcare vouchers are provided through salary sacrifice, employers are not required to open their scheme to agency workers.

Some employment agencies already offer childcare voucher schemes, helping to make childcare more affordable for their staff. If you would like to talk to us about setting up a scheme for agency staff, please call us on 0800 612 4395. Our schemes are easy to administer and we can easily cater for temporary workers, variable hours of work and a fast-changing workforce.

April 2011: KiddiVouchers launches new facilities to help employers with earnings assessments

From 6th April 2011, employers need to conduct an earnings assessment for all new childcare voucher scheme members. Employees who are assessed as higher-rate taxpayers will have their voucher order restricted to £28 (£124 a month).

Although HMRC requires employers to have ultimate responsibility for their earnings assessments, we are helping employers by performing preliminary screening when employees sign up. We're also offering an easy online calculator and record-keeping facilities to help our clients comply with HMRC requirements.

April 2011 Guide for Employers
April 2011 Guide for Parents
Guidance from HMRC

February 2011: KiddiVouchers becomes part of the Wider Plan

We're expanding our services to include a wider range of employee benefits, so to reflect this our company name has changed from KiddiVouchers Ltd to Wider Plan Ltd.

We will still be running our childcare voucher schemes under the trading name of KiddiVouchers, but we hope all our clients will enjoy the benefits of being part of the Wider Plan.

For a taste of our new products, click here to visit our Wider Wallet employee discount platform.

December 2010: Finance Bill 2011 confirms proposed changes to childcare vouchers

All working parents can currently receive up to £55 a week (£243 a month) of childcare vouchers, free of tax and National Insurance. However, higher-rate taxpayers who sign up for childcare vouchers after 5th April 2011 will only be eligible to receive up to £28 a week (£124 a month) in childcare vouchers. This proposal has now been formalised in the draft Finance Bill, which can be viewed here.

November 2010: A good day for Pudsey!

Every year KiddiVouchers runs a parent satisfaction survey in aid of BBC Children In Need. We love to hear what parents think of our service, so we pledge to donate £1 to Children In Need for every response.

In our 2009 satisfaction survey we received over 1,300 responses, with 99.4% of respondents saying they would recommend KiddiVouchers to other parents.

The 2010 survey has received over 1,500 responses, and we're delighted that once again 99.4% of parents would recommend KiddiVouchers.

We've combined the parent satisfaction survey with other fundraising for Children In Need, resulting in a total donation of £2,250. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

October 2010: Government announces reduction in tax credits for childcare

The Government has announced further changes to the tax credits system as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

At the moment, parents can claim tax credits for up to 80% of eligible childcare costs, but from April 2011 they will only be able to reclaim up to 70% of childcare costs.

The "baby element" of tax credits, worth up to £545 a year for families who have a child under one, is also being withdrawn from April 2011. The Government also plans to increase the rate at which tax credits are withdrawn as household income rises.

These changes are likely to have a significant impact on tax credits for some working families. They also affect the way in which childcare vouchers interact with tax credits, so some parents who are currently better off without childcare vouchers will soon be better off opting into the scheme.

KiddiVouchers provides free guidance to help parents understand how childcare vouchers affect tax credits. To find out more, call us free on 0800 612 4395.

October 2010: National Minimum Wage change affects childcare vouchers

The National Minimum Wage has increased from £5.80 an hour to £5.93 an hour with effect from 1st October 2010. Parents who order childcare vouchers through salary sacrifice may be affected by this change, as legislation requires post-sacrifice salary to remain at or above the National Minimum Wage.

The change is most likely to affect low earners and part-time workers, and in some cases will lead to a reduction in the parent's childcare voucher order.

KiddiVouchers offers clients the opportunity to opt in to free National Minimum Wage screening, helping them to comply with legislation. A new calculation has been conducted for all participating scheme members and affected parents have been provided with information about the change.

To find out about our free NMW screening programme or other ways in which we reduce administration for clients, call us free on 0800 612 4395.

September 2010: Winner of the 2010 Nectar Business Awards

KiddiVouchers continues its winning streak with success in the 2010 Nectar Business Awards.

The judging panel, which included TV "Dragon" James Caan, chose KiddiVouchers as national Small Business of the Year.

Charles Humphreys from Nectar said "KiddiVouchers has continued to grow year on year. This is down to their ability to adapt their business model, enthusiasm and sheer determination to succeed and this is what the Nectar Business Small Business Awards are all about. KiddiVouchers is an inspiration to all those looking to set up and run a highly successful business."

August 2010: Voucher sales exceed £50 million

Childcare vouchers are widely regarded as a win-win benefit, saving money for employees while also improving the bottom line for employers. In the current economic climate, savings are even more important ... so our commitment to offering great service for tiny fees is proving increasingly popular.

With clients ranging from small businesses through to high-street stores, financial institutions and Government departments, our 5th year of trading is producing voucher sales in excess of £50 million.

Director Alison Chalmers says "We're delighted with the continued growth of KiddiVouchers and we're particularly proud that we've managed to retain the friendly feel of a small family business, with personal service remaining key for all our clients."

April 2010: KiddiVouchers wins more public sector tenders than all other providers

KiddiVouchers is celebrating two years of tremendous tendering success. Between April 2008 and April 2010, KiddiVouchers has been awarded more public sector tenders than all other childcare voucher providers combined.

Our determination to offer the highest standards of service at an affordable price is attractive to employers across both the public and private sectors. To find out just what makes KiddiVouchers stand out from the crowd, call us on 0800 612 4395.

June 2009: KiddiVouchers wins the Government Opportunities Awards

We're delighted that KiddiVouchers has been declared a winner in the Government OpportunitiesNational Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2009, in recognition of our commitment to offering both quality and value to our clients.

As well as being the only childcare voucher provider to reach the final of the Government Opportunities National Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2009, KiddiVouchers was declared the Best Small Business supplier to the public sector.

Our award entry was supported by Worcestershire County Council, which appointed KiddiVouchers in December 2008. Our thanks go to the Council for their ongoing support.