The Government reckons that absenteeism costs the British economy around Pounds 5bn a year, or 476 per employee per year. Employers cite childcare problems as a significant contributor to this statistic.
'Apart from the obvious financial cost of having continually to fill vacancies, firms can also experience a dip in their productivity and suffer from low staff morale when they lose a skilled and valued member of staff,'
says a DfES spokeswoman, providing the business rationale for employers to help staff with their childcare needs.
From next April employees can receive up to 50 a week of their childcare costs free of tax and national insurance if their employers agree a contract with an approved carer or provide them with childcare vouchers to pay an approved childcarer, so long as the scheme is open to all employees.
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