Social
Five days for working parents to sign up or miss out!
Friday, April 1st, 2011
There are just five short days until the tax treatment on childcare vouchers changes, and we think this necessitates an urgent final call to parents that have not done so, to sign up to a childcare voucher scheme now, or miss out on the higher rate of tax savings. Parents can be accepted onto the [...]
Burden on parents
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
Last Monday (7th March), Sophie Raworth presented a documentary on BBC2 about the burden facing modern parents – and there was certainly enough in there to make working parents feel guilty. In the programme, a number of academics sounded warnings about the downside of nursery care, and also warned that no matter how much parents [...]
Childcare prices are getting higher
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
A recent survey by the Daycare Trust revealed that only 28% of parents believe there is sufficient childcare for primary school age children in their area. The survey also discovered that prices for childcare vary across the country (but never less than £4,600 a year), and that these varied prices are uniformly getting higher. Scotland, [...]
The value of parents
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
What most people forget – whatever age they are – is how much their parents are actually worth. We’re not talking in terms of money, but more about the fact that most children will never fully realise how much their parents have done for them, no matter how appreciative they are. It’s very easy to [...]
Increase in higher-rate taxpayers in April
Monday, February 7th, 2011
An additional 750,000 people are set to become higher-rate taxpayers in April, according to The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). At the same time, the regulations around childcare vouchers will also be changing, meaning that higher-rate tax payers who sign up for a voucher scheme after 5th April will no longer be able to claim the [...]
Britain has the most expensive childcare
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
A piece in the Guardian recently revealed that the British pay more for childcare than anywhere else in the world – and that planned cuts in tax credits will discourage women from returning to work. The Guardian estimates that it costs around £218 per week for a full-time nursery place for a child under two [...]
Flexible working for Parents
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
According to the BBC, the independent think tank Demos has found that inflexible and stressful jobs are leaving parents racked with guilt and increasingly distant from their children. We think it’s great that this issue is finally getting the attention that it deserves, since we have always maintained that flexible working, where possible, can be [...]
Last minute Christmas gifts for staff
Monday, December 20th, 2010
Christmas is a time of festivities, mince pie eating and present giving. But let’s not kid ourselves: it is also a time of manic last-minute shopping as people realise that they’ve left it too late to buy presents for their friends, family and staff. This year, there is also the worry that gifts and online [...]
Guardian’s childcare clinic
Friday, December 10th, 2010
We recently offered some important advice to consumers during the Guardian’s childcare clinic , regarding changes to the amount that consumers will be able to save on their childcare after April 2011. The questions from the public were interesting, some challenging, but many showed that there is a clear lack of understanding of the real [...]
The true cost of motherhood
Monday, November 29th, 2010
New research by Tesco magazine has found the true value of a Mum’s worth – and it’s a staggering £1,425,104 per child from birth to 18. In the course of one child’s life, a mother will spend over 88,000 hours child minding, which equates to more than £600,000. The average wage for a registered childminder [...]
