A new Government-run scheme, Tax-Free Childcare (TFC), has been launched and is available to all eligible Imperial employees. You can get up to £500 every 3 months (£2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare.

TFC can be used to pay for approved childcare, such as childminders, nurseries, nannies, after-school clubs, play schemes, and home care agencies.

Useful links

• Check eligibility (link to Gov.uk)
• Apply for Tax-Free Childcare (link to Gov.uk)
• The Government’s childcare calculator (link to Gov.uk)
• HMRC’s Childcare Choices (link to Gov.uk)
• Approved Childcare

Merchant Square Day Nursery

Imperial has secured a 20% discount on fees at the Merchant Square Day Nursery, which is close to the St Mary's campus in Paddington. 

Nature's Nursery

Imperial has secured a 10% discount on fees at Nature's Nursery, which is close to the Silwood Park campus in Sunninghill.

For more information on these nurseries and Imperial's affiliated nursery for the Hammersmith and White City campuses, Old Oak Early Years Centre, please see the EYEC affiliated nurseries page.

What is the Childcare Support Scheme?

A monthly allowance taking the form of free childcare vouchers is available to eligible employees who are currently in Imperial’s childcare vouchers scheme. Please note that this scheme is now closed to new entrants – see the relevant tab for more information about its replacement, Tax-Free Childcare.

The vouchers are provided by Imperial's childcare voucher provider, Computershare, and may be used to cover the cost of childcare at Imperial or independent nurseries. The allowance is not available as a cash supplement to employees’ salaries.

Who is eligible?

Every Imperial parent currently in the childcare vouchers scheme with a child under five years of age*, other than those paying for a child in the Imperial Early Years Education Centre (EYEC). Consequently, a parent paying for a child at EYEC would be ineligible for free childcare vouchers for a second child. If both parents are employed by Imperial and are currently in the childcare vouchers scheme, they can both apply for free vouchers*. An exception to this is where the parents have a child at EYEC, in which case only the parent not paying the nursery fees will be eligible for the free vouchers.

* Effective from September 2024, the free voucher will continue for parents who have a child under 5 who is currently in receipt of it. However, once their child reaches their fifth birthday, their enrolment in the free voucher scheme will end completely, and no further children will be eligible to enrol.

How much is available?

The value of vouchers per Imperial parent currently in the childcare vouchers scheme (and with a child under 5 in receipt of them) is up to £124 per month. The final payment will be made in the month of the child’s fifth birthday (the child currently in receipt of it), provided you are still employed by Imperial. The free vouchers will be withdrawn as soon as your child takes up a place at EYEC and/or reaches their fifth birthday.

If you are a higher-rate taxpayer, the maximum amount that can be claimed is £ 124. However, if you are a basic rate taxpayer, you can apply for up to £243 in total, in which case the first £124 is provided free by Imperial, and the remainder (up to £119) will appear on your payslip as a salary sacrifice.

It is important to provide Computershare with your child’s date of birth, as this is how we determine whether you are eligible to continue receiving the free vouchers. By registering with Computershare, you have accepted their terms and conditions, which include giving consent that the College can be supplied with your child’s date of birth and age.

How do I receive my free vouchers?

Vouchers will be credited to your Computershare account.

Do I receive the sum for each child I have?

No. Each enrolled parent is eligible for £124 per month (so two Imperial parents can both claim an allowance as long as the children are still under five). It is an allowance per parent rather than per child, so that Imperial operates within the tax concessions available under the Government childcare voucher scheme.

The Government’s new Tax-Free childcare scheme operates on a per-child rather than per-parent basis.

I have a child in EYEC – am I eligible?

No. However, if you have applied but have not yet been offered a place at EYEC, you can participate in the Childcare Support Scheme. You will be able to use your vouchers at a later date if you are offered a place (or at any independent nursery registered with Computershare).

Do I have to use the allowance on childcare vouchers?

Yes. Imperial's scheme is designed to offset the cost of tax-approved childcare. By using the workplace nurseries or childcare voucher scheme, we can provide the sum completely tax-free. Childcare vouchers can be used for a whole range of private childcare. 

I am not yet incurring childcare costs. Can I still claim the free vouchers?

No new claims can be submitted, and the Childcare Voucher scheme through Computershare is only available to those already registered.

My childcare costs exceed £124 per month; can I purchase more childcare vouchers?

Any amount up to £124 per month will be funded by Imperial (until your child, who is already currently in receipt of them, reaches their fifth birthday), but parents already registered on the childcare vouchers scheme can purchase more vouchers, up to their personal tax-free limit, if they wish to do so. In practice, this will apply only to basic rate taxpayers and to those who had already registered with Computershare before April 2011 (when the law changed). In such cases, the excess over £124 will be treated as a salary sacrifice through payroll. Details of the current maximum tax-free allowances are available on the Childcare Vouchers tab. It is not advisable to exceed these allowances as any excess would incur Computershare’s handling charge (which you will need to pay) and carries no tax benefit. It is simpler and cheaper to pay excess childcare costs directly to your childcare provider.

Does this allowance form part of my contract of employment?

The allowance is a discretionary scheme offered by Imperial that we review every August; it is therefore not contractual. The allowance may be used on childcare vouchers or workplace nurseries and is tax-free, so it does not have to be declared as additional income on a tax return. The arrangement, however, is part of a salary sacrifice arrangement, so please read the guidance provided by Computershare carefully to understand the scheme's parameters.

What are childcare vouchers?

The term “voucher” is misleading. Paper vouchers are a thing of the past; the transactions are now entirely electronic. 

Parents have an online account with Computershare, into which Imperial deposits credits. The nursery which your child is attending also needs to register with them, and you can then direct funds from your account to the chosen nursery.

Why Computershare?

There are several childcare voucher providers operating in the UK. We chose Computershare because they are one of the biggest, with thousands of nurseries already signed up to their system, and have a good reputation for customer service.

For administrative efficiency, Imperial is unable to provide support through other voucher providers.

How do I contact Computershare?

• Website: Child Care Vouchers
• Freephone: 0345 002 1111
• Imperial’s Employer Scheme Reference Number: 0000436867 

Where does the funding come from?

1. From Imperial’s Childcare Support Scheme, which provides free vouchers to eligible parents who:

• are already registered with the childcare vouchers scheme and;
• are already claiming the free vouchers for their child under 5

2. By sacrificing part of your salary from Imperial, an explanation of the principles of salary sacrifice is available from Finance's Knowledge Bank. 

Limit on the maximum amount of childcare vouchers

In addition to the general limitations applying to all salary sacrifice schemes (see FAQ No 3 on the salary sacrifice page), childcare vouchers are limited to an annual amount which is dependent upon the employee’s highest tax rate: 

1. For basic rate (20%) taxpayers: £2,916 per annum (£243 per month)
2. For higher rate (40%) taxpayers: £1,488 per annum (£124 per month)
3. For additional rate (45%) taxpayers: £1,164 per annum (£97 per month)

The amount of savings you receive will depend on your current salary, tax bracket, and NI contributions, but can be significant over time. The Salary Sacrifice page explains how you can work out roughly how much you will save.

There are no administrative costs for you to participate in the scheme, and there is no cost to your carer to register.

If you would like to leave the scheme

To cancel your vouchers, please give notice to Computershare through their website or by phone before the end of the current calendar month. Your payslip deductions will then stop from the following calendar month after you have cancelled. 

Refunds of childcare vouchers

HM Revenue and Customs has introduced additional flexibility into the tax-free childcare voucher regime. Previously, a salary sacrifice, once made, could not be revoked retroactively, and it followed that it was impossible to reimburse unused childcare vouchers. 

However, a recent HMRC publication indicates (in the middle of page 4) that retroactive amendments to a childcare salary sacrifice are lawful if mutually agreed between the employer and the employee. 

Imperial will normally agree to an employee’s request to make such a retroactive change. Since the original sacrifice relieved the employee of tax and NICs, any refund will need to be processed through payroll to collect the tax and NIC due. If you wish to claim a refund for childcare vouchers, please email payroll@imperial.ac.uk stating the value of the vouchers you wish to be refunded.

If vouchers which have been provided free of charge under the Childcare Support Scheme (i.e. at Imperial’s cost) or during a period of SMP are no longer required, they should be returned to Imperial. No reimbursement will be made.

Expiry of vouchers

Vouchers don't expire until 1 September after your youngest child's 15th birthday (or 16th birthday if your child is registered disabled).