15 hours of free childcare for working parents

As of 1^st September, hundreds of thousands of working people are now able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week for nine-month olds.

If you are already receiving 15 free hours for children aged three to four these hours will be combined to give you 30 free hours!

Applications are now open for eligible working parents who will have children nine months or over, on or before 31^st December 2024. It is important to remember that the free hours kick in the term after your child turns nine months.

As an example, for those turning nine months between 1^st September and 31^st December, your free hours will apply for the term starting on 1^st January.

Don’t worry you can still apply while you’re on parental leave!

You will need to set up a childcare account to apply. A link to apply can be found below:

Apply for free childcare if you’re working – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Before you click on the link you will need the below information to apply:

• National Insurance number or UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) if you are self employed (and your partner’s, if you have one)
• UK birth certificate reference number for the children you are applying for
• The date you started or are due to start back at work.

The eligibility criteria

Free childcare is available for working parents (and your partner if you have one) if you are:

• In work or starting a new job
• On sick leave or annual leave
• On shared parental leave, maternity, paternity or adoption leave

If you are not currently working, you may still be entitled to the hours if you are on carer’s leave or if you get any of the following:

• Incapacity benefit
• Severe disablement allowance
• Carer’s allowance
• Limited capability for work benefit
• Contribution-based employment and support allowance.

You and your partner must be expected to earn National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average.

If you or your partner expect to have adjusted net income over £100,000 in the current tax year, you will not be eligible.

Additional facts about the new offer

• The 15 hours per week can be used for 38 weeks of the year (term time) or some providers may allow you to use the hours spread over 52 weeks of the year, but this would mean a reduced number of hours per week in line with the additional weeks used.
• Hours not used can be “banked” and used as “top-up” hours on weeks where you require additional care. Please note that this will be at the discretion of the provider you opt to use.
• The 15 or 30 free hours can be used alongside Tax-Free Childcare (see below) or Universal Credit Childcare.
• It is important to remember that there may be supplementary charges from some childcare settings that provide extra services such as lunch, nappies or days out.

By September 2025, eligible working parents of children aged between nine months and five years old will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.

Tax free childcare

This is an existing initiative that you can use alongside the new hours. You can get up to £500 every thee months for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. This equates to up to £2,000 per year or £4,000 per year if a child is disabled.

For every £8 you pay in to your online childcare account, the government will put in £2 to use to pay the provider. It can be used to pay for any approved childcare:

• Childminders, nurseries and nannies
• After school clubs and play schemes

*please check that your provider is signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and benefit from Tax-Free Childcare.

Your child must be under 11 and usually live with you. It is important to remember that they stop being eligible on 1^st September after their 11^th birthday.

If you receive Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit (not child benefit), Universal Credit or Childcare Vouchers you will not be able to use Tax Free Childcare alongside.

As above, you must be working and earning the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for at least an average of 16 hours per week.

You can read more about this in our previous blog post.

Click the link below to apply:

Apply for Tax-Free Childcare: GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)