Any employment law / HR experts about? Need some advice please.

[Jojay]

I'm manager for a department store chain and a member of staff has just left on maternity leave to have her second baby.

Before finishing work she sent her first child to nursery 2 days per week and had around £250 per month deducted from her gross salary to pay into her Care 4 account, which paid the nursery direct.

I've received an email from HR to say that she hasn't altered her salary deduction since she finished work, and that they are unable to take this money from her statutory maternity pay. They say that is it classed as a cash benefit, and it would be discriminatory of us to stop paying the money, so as a company we are picking up the tab for this £250 a month, even though she is on maternity leave and therefore doesn't need childcare.

I have several issues with this.

1. Surely the cash benefit part of using childcare vouchers is that you don't pay tax on your childcare, and I think basic rate tax payers end up about £80 a month better off by using the vouchers. I don't see why we have to pay the full childcare cost, why not just the £80 that was the benefit of being in the scheme.

1. What irks me even more is that I too have 2 kids and have taken 2 mat leaves. When I finished work to have DC2 I cancelled my Care 4 deductions as I wasn't using childcare. Had I known that my company would have carried on paying them regardless then I certainly wouldn't have cancelled them and would have been £2.5k better off! If they set a precedent by paying out for her, would I have any basis to claim back the money that I wasn't paid???

If you've made it to the end of this, I thank you Hopefully it makes some sense

yes I will keep you all posted

just had a read up and no test cases as yet (although you prob already know this flowery) and the position is as everybody has said

however re-reading the first paragraph above I'm certain this is how they will try to remove me - they will say the pregnancy is a lifestyle event

if they do try to remove me due to pregnancy then that is discriminatory right? even if it states so under the terms?

half tempted to email HR and ask them to confirm whether I will be asked to move but don't know if I want to rock the boat now as such. Having said that would rather fight now than with a six week old baby!

also don't want to rely on the vouchers and reduce DS's sessions as nursery etc and then discover I'm not entitled to the voucehrs!

well I just wanted to update everybody. I had some communication with HR between my last message and this but didn't want to post as I was scared it woudl jeopordise my position!

received confirmation today that employer will be paying childcare vouchers for entire length of maternity leave and of course will not/can not deduct from SMP! YAY!

They are now looking into an occupational pay scheme (as of course vouchers can be deducted from that)

I am the first person to be in this position in the firm (my profession is not really family friendly)

They said the law has only recently changed and has not been tested, and they don't want to be the first to test it!

thanks so much to those who provided this advice I'm now about £3k better off!

Hi, does anyone know how long the vouchers will last for? I currently only pay £18 of salary per month for dd who is at school as this is to cover just a few days of care during the school holidays (trying to get the school to accept vouchers for breakfast club and afterschool club which they currently won't - but thats a different story). I'm pregnant and due in dec 10, planning on returning to work in sept '11, and will then need to increase payments for childcare vouchers for my youngest child. Is it worth increasing my payments shortly before I go on maternity leave and accrueing them throughout my maternity leave for use when I return to work in Sept '11? I will still use some of them for dd in the holidays to give me time alone with a baby and keep dd in her routine.
BUT I don't just get SMP, as I'm in local government I get 90% pay weeks 1-6, and half pay plus SMP weeks 7-18, then SMP weeks 19-39. So would I still benefit? presumably I pay tax on the half pay plus SMP weeks 7-18?
Sorry it so complicated but any advice would be helpful!