Childcare

The payment of a childcare allowance (Section 3 No. 33 EstG) is a simple and cost-effective way for companies to support their employees with childcare. It is paid in addition to the salary and must be earmarked for the care and accommodation of children who are not of school age in facilities or child day care. The childcare allowance is attractive for both sides: Employees save on taxes and social security contributions and companies save on their share of social security contributions.

Another way to ease the childcare situation for your own employees is to set up a company daycare center. However, as this involves significantly more effort and higher costs, this option is usually only an option for larger companies. It is therefore a good idea to work with an external service provider who can provide childcare by educational specialists.

Even if regular childcare is guaranteed, it may still be necessary to organize additional childcare for working parents. This applies, for example, in emergency situations, in cases of illness or during vacation periods. Here you can support your employees with occasional childcare services.

One way to provide short-term support is to set up emergency childcare at the company, where children can be looked after by specialist staff for a limited period of time as required. Only larger companies can usually maintain their own emergency facilities. Small and medium-sized companies can instead seek to cooperate with each other or with appropriate service providers to provide emergency care.

You can also reserve a contingent of emergency places at local facilities. Here, you agree certain services with the provider for a childcare scenario (type, duration, number of places, etc.), which can be used by your employees' children if required.

If arranged childcare is unavailable at short notice, for example if the childminder is ill, it helps working parents if they can bring their children into the company temporarily. In such cases, it is helpful if there are play corners available on site or a breastfeeding and nappy-changing room as a place of retreat. Many companies also set up their own parent-child offices.

If the right support option is missing, a good tip can often help. It is worth creating advisory structures within the company for this purpose. Employees who have already gained experience can share it. Employers can also maintain contacts with babysitters, daycare centers and experts and make referrals if necessary. As a rule, it makes sense for permanent contact persons in the company to collect information and be available to answer questions.

One way to provide short-term support is to set up emergency childcare at the company, where children can be looked after by specialist staff for a limited period of time as required. Only larger companies can usually maintain their own emergency facilities. Small and medium-sized companies can instead seek to cooperate with each other or with appropriate service providers to provide emergency care.

You can also reserve a contingent of emergency places at local facilities. Here, you agree certain services with the provider for a childcare scenario (type, duration, number of places, etc.), which can be used by your employees' children if required.

If arranged childcare is unavailable at short notice, for example if the childminder is ill, it helps working parents if they can bring their children into the company temporarily. In such cases, it is helpful if there are play corners available on site or a breastfeeding and nappy-changing room as a place of retreat. Many companies also set up their own parent-child offices.

If the right support is missing, a good tip can often help. It is worth creating advisory structures within the company for this purpose. Employees who have already gained experience can share it. Employers can also maintain contacts with babysitters, daycare centers and experts and make referrals if necessary. As a rule, it makes sense for permanent contact persons in the company to collect information and be available to answer questions.

A company that creates its own program for its employees can cater to their wishes and, above all, their needs. The childcare times can be adapted to working hours and the premises can be selected in such a way that parents do not incur any additional costs. When planning your own vacation program, it is important to determine the needs and scope of childcare in advance - for example by means of a questionnaire. Employers also need to provide premises and staff. The organizational effort and costs are correspondingly high, making this model particularly suitable for larger companies. However, employees can also use child-friendly rooms outside of vacation periods, for example as a parent-child office, if there are acute childcare shortages.

The organizational effort is significantly less if the vacation care of other institutions can be used. Local authorities, associations, clubs and even church organizations offer programs such as excursions or supervised vacation camps. However, this model does not offer the opportunity to help shape the program and adapt it precisely to the parents' working hours and needs. Furthermore, if the program does not take place near the company, a shuttle service may have to be organized.

Cooperation with other companies offers many advantages, whereby the costs and organizational effort of your own vacation programme can be shared. By combining two or more workforces, it is also usually possible to achieve a higher number of participants, which in turn reduces costs. However, working with another company increases the coordination effort.

Professional service providers also offer vacation childcare programs and can cater entirely to the needs of the company. In addition, the service provider also guarantees professional implementation and the expertise of the supervisors. The organizational effort for your own company is therefore very low, but the costs are correspondingly higher.