The pandemic exacerbated a problem many working parents knew all too well prior to 2020. That access to affordable, quality childcare for their young children was tough. When care facilities and preschools around the nation shut down due to COVID-19, many parents were left to be both caregivers and full-time employees.
Employers adapted to remote work and zoom calls, while parents still had their young children at home without the support of childcare. A recent report shows that only 6% of employers offer childcare benefits in the States, where 63% of families have both parents working.
When we compare early childhood education to that of higher education, we can see the discrepancy clearly. There are a lot of subsidies, scholarships, and equitable ways for folks to pay for higher education degrees, while the cost of early childhood education falls completely on the American family. It’s an unbalanced system that needs to change.
There’s no better place for this change to happen than in the private sector. Offering your employees care stipends and benefits could set you apart from competitors, not to mention make the lives of your workforce better.
Here are some ways in which you can advertise your care benefit to future employees and new hires.
Level The Playing Field and Make it Fair
In some cases, it may be the way your care benefits are advertised - employees who don’t need the benefit may think it is a form of discrimination because there is a benefit that they aren’t able to access.
Addressing this can happen in a number of different ways. Some employers choose to add benefits that offset the added care benefit for parents that include elderly care and other forms of care for adults outside of childcare needs. Others have opted into offering tuition reimbursement benefits for all employees.
Detailing the need for childcare benefits in an empathetic and understanding way can help educate employees on the need for such benefits and the role your organization plays in building a better, more equitable future for everyone at work, not just parents.
Detail All the Care Services You Can Offer
Technology and tools like Helpr can help employers offer more specific services for their childcare subsidies. Childcare stipends are important and according to working moms, say it’s an important benefit that will keep them in the workforce. However, offering services that align with the stipend and subsidies are added ways in which it’s clear you support your employees and their families.
For example, Helpr can connect your employees to backup care options if their childcare falls through on a given day. They can also pay their chosen providers through the app, which means that even grandma and their favorite babysitter can get paid with the childcare subsidies you offer.
Allowing employees to understand the full picture of the benefits you offer will help them in choosing you as their future or current workplace. People want to work for companies that care about their livelihoods, not just their productivity.
Benefits for Employers
The IRS also offers an annual tax credit of up to $150,000 for employers who offer childcare benefits. It states "the credit is 25 percent of the qualified child-care facility expenditures, plus 10 percent of the qualified child-care resource and referral expenditures paid or incurred during the tax year." To receive the tax credit, employers must complete Form 8882.”
It’s important to know that childcare benefits should not be advertised to women only. Men can take advantage of care benefits as well, and speaking directly to men about their options for care is important in shifting the cultural conversation that women take the brunt of care responsibilities.
Advertising your care stipends and benefits will set you apart from other employers. Men, women, and nonbinary folks need to know their care needs are both understood and supported.
Employers hold a lot of power in changing the landscape of childcare in America, and we at Helpr are here to help make that a reality.
