Child care costs

[Me and Baby]

Hi I am currently working full time at the moment and im determined to work as long as poss so that i can spend as much time with my baby as i can.
I am hoping to return to work a couple of days a week after maternity leave which means that baby is going to have to go into child care does any1 khow how you find out about receiving some kind of help with childcare costs? i no im entitled to working tak credits but £17 pw is not going to cover the £72pw child care!
Any advice I would be really greatfull.

 

[BEX101]

there's some sort of voucher system that your employer can sign up to. they provide vouchers to cover your child care and the gov reimburses them. Think they get to claim the tax back as well as an incentive.
i cant remember where i read it tho.

 

[Lilypad]

u might b able 2 get child tax credit. i had a look and think i might b able 2 get about 75% towards it. but u have to use registered child care.

 

[laetitia85]

so glad you posted ths, im looking to do exactly what ur going to do - work as much as possible now so i can have more time with baby later. i also heard that now is the best time to apply for childcare as spaces are limited. My friend only just got a place for her son and he is 2 yrs old. i feel weird asking about childcare as i am only 13 weeks pregnant and i don't even know the sex of my baby let alone the name, so it felt a bit funny when i was advised to 'put a name down' at my local nurseries to secure a place for my child. its unbelievable the amount of things we have to worry about during pregnancy

 

[mdsremos]

Me and my husband have had Charlie will a childminder full time since Sept 06. He was 5 months old when I returned to full time work after the 6 months maternity leave. Although we dont qualify for working tax credit as we both work 37-40 hours each and earn over the £25k threshold we do however get help with the £500/month childcare. Currently we get 80% back although we were overpaid last year as my husband was inbetween jobs for a few months so they are taking some back so we come away with £270 towards the cost which is certainly better than nothing! Ring them and ask, you have nothing to lose!!!

 

[Sabrina]

There was a post here before about Busybees. See link

http://www.pregnancyforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=23589

I'm not sure if it will help you but it might be worth a look.

 

[Nicky_Jones]

I knew I needed to return to work after 6months off in total so I booked the nursery place while I was pregnant. It was after the 20week scan but I can't remember exactly how much after. Don't worry nurserys are used to dealing with expectant mums as well. Another cost you will need to factor in is you often need to pay 1 months deposit up front in addition to paying the nursery fee's in advance - where as your are normally paid in arrears. This caught us out but thankfully my company had given me some shares when they floated so I sold them to pay the nursery fee's.

 

[emmajac]

A lot of people just absolutely insist on having these things known as “kids” and one of the huge things a parent has to provide for is child care during infancy and early childhood. It's not exactly cheap either, as child care expenses have been accelerating away for a while.

 

[CARNAT22]

http://www.kiddivouchers.com/

Have a looky at this!

xxxx

 

[LeonaTaylor]

You have to use registered child care.