Advice from nannies and nanny employers- childcare vouchers

[MightyMoosh]

At a recent interview I was asked if I would accept childcare vouchers. I've never looked into this, does anyone know anything about it. Its more for curiosity, as Im not taking the job (if they get back to me!) but if it comes up in another interview it'd be nice to have something to say other than erm... dont know.

We've used Childcare vouchers towards nanny's pay. The nanny had to be 'registered' (have a childcare qualification, up-to-date first aid cert and a CRB) - I think the registration process may have changed since our nanny went through it (think it's run by Ofsted now - but I'm sure a nanny will be along in a minute with the info)
In our case we had paper vouchers from Accor and from Busy Bees. We gave the vouchers to our nanny and she sent them by post (accor) or rang up a freephone line (busybees) and the voucher company put the money into her bank account.
Some companies run schemes where the transfer is all electronic (so no paper vouchers just transfer into bank account).

If you fulfill the criteria for the registration (we paid our nanny's fees for the registration and paid for her first aid cert etc) and you are happy to accept them it will make you more 'employable' as using the vouchers will save your employer money (they won't have to pay income tax/NI on the amount which they 'sacrifice' to get the vouchers).

Yes she did mention vouchers were pre-tax so if it helps them, I'd do it unless it put me out. I did assume the fee, but interviewer admitted she'd never looked into it before, first time parents, so dont know if she would pay the fee. All accademic as I dont want the job, but good to know. And if she does offer the job, I could turn it down and offer a bit of info to soften the harsh, harsh blow! (perhaps slight over-ego!)

I get part-paid via Childcare Vouchers. It makes no difference to me - in fact the voucher money comes through from the voucher provider faster (usually around middle of the month) than my actual monthly pay (end of month).
Vouchers my employer uses are electronic, so I didn't have to do anything other than fill out a form with bank details.
My employer paid the Ofsted registration fee (£99 this year), as the scheme saves my employer over £1000 a year.

my bosses use Busybees (thats the scheme that the NHS use)

they bosses go into my bosses account and she logs in and within a few days the £ goes into my account...

instead of paying me £243 of busybees + salary, my bosses saves her vouchers for several months then they 'save' a whole month of my salary and they put lots of vouchers into my account as one transaction

It all seems pretty straightforward, and has beeen (Once my boss FINALLY got her password to work )

I used to get paid with busy bees and accor vouchers and was never a problem. My employers paid the yearly registration fee between them ( was employed by 2 families)

It's nothing more than paperwork and admin, but if a childcarer isn't already approved there can be significant delay before it's up and running. That's the crucial thing to tell the family who interviewed you - though in the meantime they can just accrue their stash in their voucher account, so it's just a timing thing.

As jura mentions, the registration process can take a long time - we had one (English, so the delay wasn't CRB) nanny with 15 years of experience but no recognised formal childcare qualification - finding her a course to do, plus booking ahead to ensure there were places, waiting for her "results" (ie half a sheet of paper) and lodging those with the agency - took months; and we're in London which is far better stocked with options than other bits of the country. Then once you (as a nanny) are registered with the approval body - which is now Ofsted - you then have to separately register with whatever entity (BusyBees & Accor the commonest) provides the voucher system for your employers.

You say you'll consider it if it doesn't "put you out" - it may well do if you don't have a childcare qualification, as (at least under the pre-Ofsted system) you would have to do one. Depends if you think that's being put out though.

Ask this qu. on nannyjob - they know all about it there.

Am qualified (CACHE diploma) but SRB out of date. Thanks all for good thinking points, although this job isnt for me, its good to know for the future!

Oops CRB

CRB would need to be redone by OFSTED anyway, so no worries if out of date.

OFSTED required:

• qualification (which you have)
• 12 hour paediatric 1st aid
• CRB done by them in last 3 years, or they will do one
• nanny insurance (Morton Michel, NCMA or similar)

NJ will be able to help, there are tons of threads.

Definitely get your employer to pay the 99 registration fee though. Personally I think you should cover 1st aid and insurance because you should have them anyway, although the number of nannies working without insurance never ceases to amaze me. Some nannies say it's for the employers benefit so they won't pay insurance, but I don't see why your employers should indemnify you against your mistakes.

I dont have insurance, never met a nanny who has! I do have 12 hour 1st aid, this year, and CRB was done jan 2006 so in last 3 years. Have now accepted another job, but vouchers issue was raised by them so looks like I could be doing all this!

Seriously, get some now. If a child has an accident in your care you're open to MASSIVE liability. And it's not just the parents who can sue you when the accident happens - a child has the right to sue up to the age of 21 years.

And are you sure you've never met a nanny who has? Any college worth its salt should have told you to get insurance, and most agencies I've registered with have asked to see my insurance certificate.

www.mortonmichel.co.uk - about 60 quid a year for peace of mind.

Was CRB done by OFSTED (ie were you working as a CM or living in a house with a CM)? If not, it'll need to be redone anyway.

CRB was I think OFSTED, was working in an OFSTED nursery at the time. My college never once mentioned insurance! Maternity nurse with us at the mo has been live-in nanny for over ten years and has never had insurance, she's never met anyone who has it either! No agencies have ever mentioned it, I'm with loads... had no idea of liability, has never come up before.

breathes

I can't believe the MN doesn't have insurance! Is she qualified? When I did the MNT they mentioned it so many times I wondered whether they got commission from Morton Michel!

All nannies (and nanny employers tell your nannies) get insurance!!!!!!

Insurance has been a big thing, certainly in the circles I've worked in, ever since the Louise Woodward case. Even if it's an accident, like a mug of coffee getting spilt on a toddler, it's still your fault and you could be sued. And there have been claims where hot drinks have been spilt and it was the nanny's fault because s/he should have made the drink slightly cooler, or put it out of reach of the child. And that's before we get onto plain negligence where the nanny allows the baby to roll of the changing table because she wasn't paying attention.

Tis sad but necessary given the culture we live in.

Thanfully I've never been sued touching wood but I like to know that my insurance is there if I need it!