Can you claim childcare vouchers when preggers?

[Lindalove]

Anyone know? My employer doesn't offer them but probably would if I asked. My husbands place definitely does.
I understand both parents can claim, my question is when can you start (as the sooner you do the better I guess as savings start earlier).
Can anyone advise?
I'm 10.5 weeks and thinking about finances. I'll only get SMP from day 1 as my employer is a small start- up so need to max out other options.

I believe that for most childcare voucher schemes you can't register until you are already a parent. Your DH should check with his employer's particular scheme rules but the answer is likely to be no.

It would be unwise for your own employer to let you start having vouchers while you are pg even if it was allowed, as whatever benefits you are receiving from work during your "qualifying week" (week 25 of pregnancy) have to be continues throughout your whole maternity leave in addition to SMP so it would be massively expensive for them to allow this now (though they will have to for any subsequent pregnancies - but hopefully the savings they will have made by then on National Insurance will soften the blow)

Fairly sure you have to actually have the baby already.
However if you were on maternity leave with a second child, you could continue to claim vouchers for the first child.
Ask your employer to join a scheme. However if you think you might claim tax credits, check out carefully whether you're better off with them or not.

DH claimed them as soon as DS1 was born and banked them; I waited till I went back.

They need to be for an actual child though!

I've got a cat already...? :)

Thanks that makes sense. Will get hub to ask his employers.

You have to have a child, but I started claiming mine when I was on maternity leave and they were also paid while I was on smp, even though I hadn't been getting them in the qualifying week.

Not sure if it's just my scheme/employer, but that's worth checking out, as I got nearly £750 free!

I think from the moment they are born, eg claim CV and get less may pay. Probably regarded as tax avoidance if child is still in utero, alas !

Childcare vouchers (currently) come from salary sacrifice. You can't sacrifice your salary below SMP so you'd be unable to get vouchers before returning to work unless you get a top up to SMP.

This is the same mechanism which means companies can't take vouchers off SMP for subsequent mat leaves.