Advice on childcare re going back to work

[Jadey121]

Im a bit confussed as to what to do regarding going back to work.

Last year me and my oh earned around 20k and we had 2 children in childcare which cost 207 per week. Tax creds gave us 70 a week to help towards the childcare costs from what i remember. We didnt get any help with housing as they said we earnes too much.

Ive now had my 3rd child and i want to go back to work next year but we are trying to work out if we could afford the childcare.

Childcare is 34.50 a day per child so if i go back part time it would work out around £310 a week if i go back full time it would be £517.

My wage is only £485 per month working part time and my oh brings home around about £1000 so i cant see how we are going to be able to afford it. I know tax credits would help but we struggled with just the two in childcare.

I really want to go back i just dont know what the best thing to do! Go back part time or full time or not to go back at all!

Is anyone in a similar situation its just all a bit confussing to me as if i go back to work it seems that all of my wage is going to be spent on childcare

 

[aimee-lou]

try the entitled to calculator https://entitledto.co.uk/

- That should tell you what your can get with some degree of accuracy. I'm in a similar position (about to have 3rd - looking at going back to work when LO is 3 months due to circumstances) and the childcare is one thing that I'm dreading trying to arrange. I'm hoping for evenings/weekends mostly as then we could cut down the hours needed....is there anyway you could change/condense hours. Is your eldest at pre-school/school now that may help with the bill for childcare too.

 

[Jadey121]

Its a nightmare! My eldest will be in school but he will still need a wrap around in the morning and afternoon because of my job. I cant condense anymore as im only working 3 days a week. Even with my eldest in school the childcare provider will still charge me and it doesnt make much difference price wise for a full day. Guess its stressing me out thinking how are we going to afford it.

Ill have to have a look at an online calculator and work out what is the best option for us.

 

[aimee-lou]

Its a nightmare! My eldest will be in school but he will still need a wrap around in the morning and afternoon because of my job. I cant condense anymore as im only working 3 days a week. Even with my eldest in school the childcare provider will still charge me and it doesnt make much difference price wise for a full day. Guess its stressing me out thinking how are we going to afford it.

Ill have to have a look at an online calculator and work out what is the best option for us.

That seems a bit off to me! I don't think I'd stand for that - most CM's and after school clubs are just a matter of paying for the before and after school bits. Could you look into these instead? It's the idea of having to try to find a CM who has space for 3 children that's giving me nightmares. My eldest attends pre-school mornings in term time, but the other 2 need full time care whenever I'm at work, and I can see already that's going to be a struggle.

 

[LDC]

Could you look at whether your job offers child care vouchers! Also do your husbands job offer these? I know you'd have to work out whether you'd get more with tax credits or the vouchers via salary sacrifice but it might be another option?

I always said that I wouldn't return to work to cover the costs of child care, I genuinely don't see the point in just going to work to pay for someone else to have my child. That being said though, the thing that worries me (although I'm now going back to work full time) is that having long periods of time off can ptut employers off when you do return to work once children are at school etc and you can go back to work, if that makes sense?

It's really difficult x

 

[Abz1982]

I am in the same boat but with 2. I have all these spread sheets of senarios! We currently both get childcare vouchers, but we are going to have to claim CTC as well. The only plus point to the vouchers is that they lower your income before tax - the income you have to tell HMRC about for tax credits so they help that way, but then you have to tell them about getting vouchrs it seems!
Also the limit is £300 a week for childcare - which is why we can never just do CTC.

If I go back PT I will have £87 a month for food..........full time I will have £100..........not sure its worth it! But if I dont go to work we are -£300 a month!
I can only hope that OH does go offshore.........