Power company E.On views the provision of childcare vouchers through its flexible benefits plan almost as a moral obligation.
Ant Donaldson, senior specialist in employee benefits, says: “I think it would be remiss of us as a major employer not to help people access savings available under the childcare voucher scheme.”
By making it easier for parents to return to work, the childcare vouchers help E.On maximise the diversity of its workforce. “This helps our business by increasing the range of views our colleagues bring to their work and enabling us to empathise with our customers more fully.”
Almost 800 of E.On’s 17,500 staff have taken up the vouchers, provided by Accor Services. This is almost double the number using the benefit two or three years ago, thanks to word-of-mouth and promotion by the company. But Donaldson says more work is needed to promote the vouchers, particularly to fathers and parents of school-age children. “The savings can be substantial, especially if both partners can access salary sacrificed vouchers,” he explains.
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