Employer attempting to reclaim childcare vouchers paid while on Mat Leave

[ReluctantCamper]

we have a new payroll manager at my employer, who has sent me a cheerful email explaining that they've noticed that they have been paying my childcare vouchers while I was on maternity leave, this is incompatible with the T&Cs of the scheme, and can they have their money back?

Some googling indicates to me that this isn't clear cut. Are there any HR professionals out there who feel like offering any advice?

When I went on mat leave, I queried the childcare voucher situation with the payroll manager at the time, who said that because my SMP took into account the deduction for my vouchers, they would be paid. obviously that was under the old regime, and I didnt get it in writing (bugger).

They can't have them. It's a salary sacrifice scheme, meaning HMRC class them as a non-cash benefit and they must continue to be paid while on mat leave and cannot be deducted from SMP. They may be deducted from any occupational pay over and above SMP.

Been through this twice. They definitely can't have them.

If you are in receipt of childcare vouchers before you go off on maternity leave, you are entitled to keep receiving them for the (up to) 52 weeks you are on maternity leave, even if you have no salary to sacrifice.

Your new payroll manager doesn't know her job.

Many thanks for the replies. I also did what I should have done and looked through the other posts on this board. it looks like someone has taken this issue to a tribunal and won, (Donaldson vs Peninsula Business Services), so there is a full on precident for me to keep the vouchers. Let's see how it goes on Tuesday......

It's not incompatible with the terms of the scheme. If they want to stop them during ML then it isn't a true salary sacrifice scheme.

They can't have it both ways -they've paid you less salary and therefore less SMP because of them.