Childcare and working?

[emjaylu]

Hi everyone, i am due beginning of October 2015, i wanted to ask if anyone had any advice/experience they could advise me with?

I currently work, however i am not entitled to any maternity pay as i haven't been here long enough, i wanted to go back to work a ear after baby is born.

My only concern is childcare.

I work 4 days on and 4 days off on rotation but i work 8am-8pm over those 4 days so getting someone to look after the baby for that long is impossible.

I could change my hours to 9am-2pm or 9am-4pm but im not sure where i would send the baby, would i have to pay? Would i get help paying?

I will be 20 when i give birth.

I currently earn £270 a week after tax for a 48 hour week (42 hours paid, rest is breaks)

My boyfriend earns the same and he will still work here when baby is born so this will be our only income....

Help? Advice?

There are a variety of options for childcare and it pays to get personal recommendations. Childminders are popular and tend to be reasonably priced and flexible. Nurseries are more expensive. Check out local options because the good ones will be have waiting lists.

Some of the costs can be recovered through tax credits if you qualify.

Start now looking around. Childcare costs vary across areas. Typically £35-40 a day outside London for CM and £40-60 a day for nursery. Typical day 8-6

Have you checked if you are eligible for maternity allowance (if not for materity pay)? You will be probably eligible for tax credits once the baby is here.

for childcare costs - check with tax credits for the childcare element and how muvh it would be.

Hi,

From someone who works for the NHS and does 8-8 shifts I will tell you that you will struggle to get childcare for those hours. Most childminders and nurseries finish at 6pm. I have never come across anyone that has children after 6pm. My childminder and school breakfast club open at 8am so, if like me, you have a commute (mine is up to an hour in rush hour grrr) you will struggle to start then.

I would, if you can, take the 9am-2pm when you go back as it will be ideal once little one is school age and you can get away with not needing childcare in term time. Do you plan on staying in this job long-term?
You will probably get help with tax credits and childcare. Have a play on the HMRC tax credits calculator on the web. Also, you will get child benefit.

You will probably qualify for free nursery for when the little one turns 2. I think it is only 15 hours a week though (someone may be able to help with that). If you take a year off then you would only pay maximum childcare for one year.

Hello,

We pay £36 a day for nursery which opens 7.30am til 6pm. That includes everything - milk, nappies, food etc, we don't have to provide a thing, it's fantastic value considering what some of my friends pay. I live in a town in the North West, and it seems we're fortunate to have found somewhere at such a reasonable price (excellent Ofsted report too before anyone worries what kind of place it must be) - and DS has thrived!

OP, would an option be perhaps to take the 9-2 shift and pay a CM to pick up at lunchtime and keep the baby for an hour or so?

Or alternatively, our nursery is flexible and will calculate a rate for families whose child attends non-standard hours, so if you could find something similar, you may be able to get one that will charge you just from say 8.30 -2.30 or whatever you need, rather than the full day rate.

Also a new childcare vouchers system is being introduced later this year, through which you are entitled to government funding for 20% of childcare costs, up to a maximum of £2000 per year per child, so this will help you.

www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-of-parents-to-get-help-with-childcare-costs

I think there are also tax credits available to help with childcare, but it's not something I've ever been eligible for so there will be people much better placed than I to advise!

www.gov.uk/childcare-tax-credits