News: Most parents miss out on Childcare Vouchers (Nursery World Magazine - 26th July 2007)
Published: 11 Oct 07
Only 7 per cent of working parents paying for childcare correctly estimated they could save over £1,000 a year through childcare vouchers, a survey has discovered.
Childcare Choice, a specialist childcare voucher company, commissioned market research agency Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) to survey over 1,000 working parents. It found that 21 per cent were paying for some kind of childcare, but only 2 per cent were using childcare vouchers.
Of 233 parents paying for childcare, over two-thirds were aware of childcare vouchers yet only 12 per cent used them. The survey found there were misconceptions about the cost and practicalities of vouchers.
Most parents were uninformed about potential savings. Almost a third did not know what savings they could make, while 55 per cent under estimated the savings. Over a quarter believed the annual saving to be under £500.
The survey found that most parents were unable to use childcare vouchers because employers had not set up a scheme. Only 18 per cent of working parents had a voucher scheme at work. This fell to 5 per cent among small and medium sized businesses.
Parents with voucher schemes at work who did not take them up said the main reason was that they believed it would be too much hassle.
Iain McMath, managing director of Childcare Choice, said, “It takes just 15 minutes to apply for childcare vouchers online – time well spent when you could be saving a significant amount of money.”
With most working parents unaware of the savings available, it’s no wonder they don’t make time to sign up,” he said.
