Managing childcare at the CPS

Childcare vouchers are helping the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recruit and retain valuable staff in a profession where competition for talent is intense.

The CPS is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by police in England and Wales. The organisation has over 9,000 people on its payroll, ranging from administrative officers to crown prosecutors. Staff are spread across a network of around 100 offices across the country.

The organisation has been offering childcare vouchers for over 10 years – and has an impressive take-up rate.

According to Colin Short, head of pay and benefits at the CPS, flexibility is one of the keys to the success of the scheme: childcare vouchers are available to all employees, regardless of their status or working hours, and are delivered in a variety of ways.

Employees receive the vouchers as a ‘gift’ from the CPS, up to a maximum value of £60 per month. The amount on offer to each individual employee – male or female – is on a sliding scale, depending on grade and the number of hours worked.

Employees who are eligible for the full amount can also choose to ‘top up’ their entitlement through salary sacrifice up to a maximum of £243 per month (this is tax and National Insurance ‘free’). The employees who do not qualify to receive vouchers as a ‘gift’ can choose to access childcare vouchers solely through salary sacrifice, ensuring that they too can source significant savings.

The childcare vouchers can be spent on a range of approved childcare or after school care for children up to the age of 15 years.

A comprehensive and creative communications programme underpins the success of the scheme. Staff receive regular mailshots and can also access information about childcare vouchers through an employee newsletter and a dedicated benefits page on the intranet.

There are also posters displayed in all CPS offices across the country – and information is included routinely in letters that go out to those about to go on maternity leave.

“Accor Services support our childcare vouchers communications mainly through the provision of free literature and advice on the most effective communication mechanisms,” says Colin Short.

"We face a tough communication challenge because we have a very dislocated workforce and have to work hard to make sure we reach every employee. Crown prosecutors and lawyers, for example, are based at the court house or police station, so we need to make sure they are fully aware of the benefits on offer and know how to access them," he says.

The childcare vouchers, which are part of a wider flexible working policy, have played a significant role in helping the CPS attract and retain sought after legal staff. As a public sector organisation, the CPS cannot offer the level of pay and benefits available in the commercial world.

Employees tend to be attracted to the organisation for the security and job satisfaction it can offer – and the availability of a valuable benefit such as childcare vouchers may well help to tip the balance when a potential employee is making a career decision.

"Childcare vouchers are one of a range of benefits we offer which help to make the CPS an attractive option for employees and help to encourage high levels of engagement among our people," says Short.