Providing childcare can be relatively simple for small businesses

04 March 2010

Childcare charity Daycare Trust has said that it can be easy and cost-effective to provide staff with appealing childcare solutions.

Press and communications officer Sharon Charity said that not enough employers are taking advantage of available childcare vouchers to help them retain their employees because they believe it would be too complicated.

Current laws state that the mother of any child born after April 1st 2007 is entitled to 39 weeks of maternity pay, though if additional maternity leave is taken, the mother is still under contract to receive redundancy pay, but will be forfeiting her right to pensions and paid holidays.

Paternity rules indicate that the father of any newborn child is allowed two weeks off during the first 56 days after the child is born.

Ms Charity emphasised the benefits to offering good childcare at work: "It can be cost-neutral for the employer to offer childcare vouchers and it can be another benefit as it is one of the [things] people looking for a job value the most. For today's employer, one of the key things is attracting the best people and keeping them.

"Every parent in the world would say their children come first but it certainly doesn't mean that you give anything less than 100 per cent to both," she added.