vouchers and holiday club

[fleetfootkid]

My employer has contracted with a voucher provider which seems to have a very inflexible approach to payment schedules. Not only is the salary deduction a fixed monthly amount but so is the payment to the carer - it can only be varied under "life changing" circumstances. This was fine for nursery but with holiday club it is very inconvenient.

Has anyone else found a way round this? Are there any comparisons of the different voucher companies? I have asked my employer if I can use a different voucher company, they say no (I guess they have a long-term contract). But if I can show they made a poor choice of company at least they might consider that when they renew their contract.

The rules are strict due to the HMRC not the scheme provider. In my experience they all have the "life changing" rule due to this.

Some providers offer paper vouchers or allow you to 'bank' them, which is particularly useful if you're waiting for your provider to become OFSTED registered.

Do the holiday club have any kind of way around this? It must be a common problem.

The HMRC rules state that the voucher scheme provider has to ensure themselves that the childcare provider is ofsted registered. DH's company runs their own scheme and they take the ofsted number of the provider and check it on the ofsted website, then pay the provider. I would suspect the outside company has this rule to keep costs down so they can make the maximum profit.
Ask the holiday club whose vouchers they currently accept. DH's tiny company is now a registered childcare voucher scheme with two of the major holiday club companies so it is easy of payment that determines acceptability not size of voucher company.

Dh and I have used 4 schemes between us.
In all cases our contributions to the scheme have been fixed month-to-month, but our payments to CMs, nurseries etc have been completely flexible.

the fixed monthly deduction is to comply with HMRC but the fixed payment to the childcare provider seems a bit odd - the voucher company i use allows for the parent to 'print off' vouchers if required and use them as payment so they can save them or use them as required (Kiddyvouchers)

It is the employer not the voucher provider that make the "rules" regarding life style changes. These should be with regards to the deduction from salary not how much you pay your carer. The voucher provider liases with the employer with regards to payroll deduction and how and when the vouchers are supplied to the parent/employee.

If you have paper vouchers these can usually be split into various denominations. If you have on-line vouchers these are paid into your voucher account and you should be able to pay any amount over to your carer and bank the rest - like an on-line bank account.

If you have a set up a "direct payment" to your carer from your on-line account you could try to cancel this and pay the carer what is required each month.

Some employers like their employees to have the same amount deducted each month for a set period as it makes the administration easier ,apart from the life style changes which can be quite strict with some employers.

Which voucher provider does your company use?