30 hours childcare and unpaid leave

[LittleMissGiggles1980]

My son is 3 and starts his 15 hrs nursery place in September 17. I am currently on a career break, (where my employer has allowed unpaid leave for childcare responsibilities and held a job open for me) due to return to work 1 October 17 and was expecting to be able to claim some of the additional childcare hours (30 hrs offer) to enable me to return to work 3 days per week.
However I have been told by HMRC that I am not eligible until January 18 as although I am employed, I won't be earning until 1 October.
This is despite the fact that their guidance states that I am eligible if I earn or expect to earn the equivalent of 16 hrs at nat min wage over the coming three months (I will do so.) If I were on a zero hrs contract or self employed they would look at my average earnings over a three month period, I seem to be being treated less favourably than someone in that situation.
I have asked for it to be verbally referred upwards but no one can give me an email address for me to formally appeal. Does anyone have any experience/views/ideas?
If I can't get the additional hours funding I may as well not return to work until after Christmas, which seems against the whole idea of the scheme - its not really helping parents back to work, its only helping parents already in work.

The funding is for working parents so you won't need childcare if you are not working

God this is the epitome of entitled!

Appreciate that, but my son starts his 15 hrs on 7 Sep, he will start at the other nursery for his additional hours the following week and then I start back at work 2 weeks after that, (to allow a couple of weeks setttling in).

Thanks, wondered how long it would be before I got called entitled

Claim when you go back to work. I don't think they mean starting a job when they talk about an expectation of earning a certain amount.

You won't get it overturned. The rule that the funded hours are available from the following term applies to everyone and you're not that special that it will be different for you only.

I do get that, of course and am certainly not claiming to be special. (I even work for the civil service so understand how lots of people fall outside policy and its tough luck. But I also know that policies don't get changed unless challenged) A freelancer or someone on a zero hrs contract might earn nothing for a month from Sep-Oct but as long as they average over £120 a week over Sep-Dec they are eligible. Earnings wise I would be the same, nothing in Sep-Oct but making it up the rest of the month which is the disparity I can see.

Making it up the rest of the 3 month period, not the month I mean.

Go on, flame away, I can take it!

The whole system is a sham
You need to get the code before 31st august or you have to wait until January

Thats kind of my point - it helps parents already at work, which is obviously great, but doesn't really help those who need the extra hours to get back to work, which I thought was the whole point.