Day nursery employees in Milton Keynes get £3,000 tax-free bonus to meet soaring bills

Staff at Meadow View Day Nursery in Newport Pagnell, Hampstead Gate and Woodlands Day Nursery in Milton Keynes are to receive a tax-free bonus of up to £3,000.

They are also in line for another salary increase averaging 8% and access to discounted shopping at major supermarkets, clothing retailers and entertainment outlets thanks to a profit sharing scheme by employer Childbase Partnership.

The employee-owned company – a UK best workplace award-winner for 13 years – says full time staff who have contributed to the company’s success during the last financial year will get six, tax-free monthly payments of up to £500 each (maximum of £3,000 from December 1 to May 1, 2023), with pro-rata payments for others.

The support has been extended to new nursery recruits on contracted hours who will also get additional cash – up to a maximum £100 a month based on hours worked – to help them meet soaring cost of living bills.

Apprentice, Emily Spires, who has been at Meadow View for nearly three years, said: “I have been desperately saving for a car amid the rising cost of everything, so this is the best news in helping me get there. We have all been delighted with the support being offered, there really is something for everyone and it’s such a reassurance.”

Woodlands Day Nursery Practitioner, Anna Zawadzka, who has been at the nursery for three years, added: “The sense of relief is amazing for all of us. We have all been looking at our bills coming in and imagining a very difficult winter. The fact that this plan gives everyone a boost in different ways is just brilliant.”

The pay rises – which include a new starting rate of £11.50 per hour for qualified Level 3 practitioners, the third increase in less than 18months - follow a record tax-free, profit-sharing ‘Partnership Dividend’ payment of £1,500 for qualifying full-timers in January 2022.

Childbase Partnership chief executive officer, Emma Rooney said: “Every employee is a partner in our business, and we stand together during tough times. Ensuring the security and wellbeing of colleagues is not only vital to our mission to achieve the best possible outcomes for every child in our care it is also, quite simply, the right thing to do.”