Advice and mediation of care solutions
The search for suitable childcare as well as weighing up and organizing the right childcare solutions is very time-consuming and often nerve-wracking for parents. Good advice and finding suitable childcare solutions can be a great relief for working parents.
Companies have the opportunity to support their employees in these matters without a great deal of organizational effort on their part. This is because there are numerous service providers who offer advice and arrange support to varying degrees. Companies can commission such a service provider to provide this service for their own employees. This gives families in the workforce the opportunity to find individual solutions for themselves.
A childcare advice and placement service usually includes the following services:
- Advice and written information material on all childcare issues: forms of childcare, local offers and address lists of childcare facilities, databases of caregivers, checklists as well as legal and contractual information (templates for contracts, guidelines, e.g. on the deductibility of childcare costs, forms of employment for domestic staff), background information (e.g. pedagogical topics).
- Placement of childminders, nannies, au pairs, emergency care, babysitters and research of suitable facilities and vacancies.
- Events, lectures and courses on childcare topics, vacation programs or parent meetings.
The company covers the cost of the service, so employees can use the counseling and placement services free of charge. Under Section 3, No. 34a of the Income Tax Act (EStG), placement services for child care arrangements provided to employees are tax-exempt. This is contingent on the service being provided in addition to the wages already owed and being granted by the employer to an appropriate service provider. Section 3, No. 34a of the Income Tax Act (EStG) does not impose a general obligation to offer the service to all employees of the company.
Parents generally pay the fees and charges for the arranged childcare themselves. If you would also like to help cover these costs, you can do so under certain conditions by providing a childcare cost subsidy to the parents (link to the relevant MuF page) or by directly covering the costs for the caregiver (e.g., for in-house childcare, workplace daycare, or care at a backup facility).
What are the advantages and benefits of such a service?
- This program reaches a large number of employees. Depending on the scope of the contract, a counseling and placement service is available to all employees. It has fewer restrictions than childcare center spots, which are usually available to only a few families—and only for children within a specific age range.
- Individual solutions can be implemented close to home. An advice and placement service can search for and arrange individually suitable solutions. Special needs can also be met, e.g. care for just a few hours a week or bilingual care. Companies whose employees come from a large catchment area can use this service to help their employees find care solutions in their place of residence.
- A wide range of services is available. Service providers that operate on a national scale, in particular, often offer a broad range of services for children of all ages and to meet the diverse needs of parents.
- The financial costs for companies are lower than for on-site childcare facilities. A consulting and placement service is significantly more cost-effective than operating a company-owned daycare center or preschool. No investment is required, and the company is not committed to a long-term arrangement.
- Reduced absenteeism and increased employee focus. When childcare is taken care of, employees can concentrate better and perform more effectively. A counseling and referral service can also arrange childcare on short notice—for example, a babysitter when a child is sick and has to stay home. This helps reduce absenteeism.
- Returning to work early after parental leave is made easier. Good support in finding suitable child care and counseling services specifically for working mothers encourage women to return to work sooner after the birth of their child.
What are the costs?
The prices for using a consulting and placement service are very individual. Among other things, they are influenced by the respective range of services, the number of components of the service that are used, the size of the company and the type of consulting and placement contract concluded. The price can often also be controlled by the scope of the service that is to be made available to employees.
The following factors influence the price:
- Organizational form of the provider (commercial providers vs. publicly funded providers)
- Presence of the provider (national vs. local provider; national providers are worthwhile if your company has several locations or the employees come from a large catchment area)
- Range of services offered by the provider ( Do they “only” place child care providers, nannies, and babysitters, or do they also offer emergency care, au pairs, and housekeepers? Do they offer assistance in finding a spot at a child care facility?)
- Guarantee services of the provider (more expensive providers often offer a new search if parents are not satisfied with the care).
- Quality and scope of the services offered ( e.g., How many potential counselors are suggested? Is there only a brief phone consultation, or are there other communication channels as well, such as in-depth in-person consultations, chat, email, webinars, and a 24-hour hotline?)
- Special Services and Offerings ( e.g., websites / downloadable resources with additional information and materials, free events for parents, such as first-aid courses and workshops on parenting topics)
The type of contract between the service provider and your company can also have an important influence on the pricing. It can range from billing for each individual request to an annual lump sum for all employee requests.
It is important to review the specific terms of the offer and the tax treatment of the employer benefit. In particular, the requirement of additionality must be taken into account for tax-exempt status under Section 3 No. 34a of the Income Tax Act (EStG).
Communication and evaluation of the offer
If you hire a counseling and placement service, you must make sure the entire workforce is well aware of it. Employees should be kept informed on an ongoing basis about this option so that, if the need arises, they are aware of the service and can make use of it. As long as there is no immediate need, many employees do not take advantage of such a service. If they eventually find themselves looking for childcare for their own child, they may no longer be aware that the company offers this service. Providing regular updates also ensures that new employees become familiar with the counseling and placement service.
You should therefore repeatedly draw attention to this through various communication channels. In addition to the classic information channels, such as newsletters and notice boards, there are, for example, the options of mentioning it on the payslip, distributing hotline business cards when taking parental leave or an info slot for managers, team leaders and works councils. The brochure in the info box also offers tips for communicating family-friendly benefits in the company.
From time to time, it should be checked to what extent advice and mediation are accepted. As a rule, the selected provider documents how often the service is used and how satisfied the users are. You can also use a short questionnaire to find out what your employees think about the advice and placement service. You can find an example of a questionnaire that you can use for such a survey in the info box.