Up to 680,000 working parents on Universal Credit missing out on £13,000 free childcare – how to claim

WORKING parents can claim £13,000 a year worth of free childcare under Universal Credit - and more than half a million may be missing out.

Just 38 per cent of the 1million households with children on Universal Credit are claiming childcare support, which means up to 680,000 may be missing out.

But there is a catch - you have to pay for the childcare upfront yourself, after which you can claim back up to 85 per cent of costs up to a maximum of £646 a month for one child, or up to £1,108 a month for two or more children.

The Sun has been calling for childcare costs to be handed to parents upfront as part of our Make Universal Credit Work campaign.

It comes as one mum told us how she was forced to take out payday loans to fund childcare, while another says she can only afford £1 pizza and chips due to sky-high childcare costs.

Minister for welfare delivery, Will Quince, said: “Any working parent can appreciate the difficulties of having to balance a job with looking after the kids, and I want to make it easier for parents who want to go back to work after having children."

If you can afford upfront childcare payments, and you use a registered childcare provider (more on this below), here's how to claim costs back.

Who can claim childcare support under Universal Credit?

Working families in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales could be eligible for help if their kids are under the age of 17.

Children aged between 16 and 19 may even be eligible for support if they are enrolled in full-time, non-advance education or training.

You may also get extra money if your child is disabled.

To claim, you need to be in work, and if a parent is claiming with a partner you both normally need to be in work.

There are exceptions though, for example you may be able to get childcare support if one of you is not working and is unable to provide childcare themselves because they:

• have limited capability for work
• have caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person
• are temporarily absent from the household.

Those claiming the following support will also be eligible for childcare help:

• statutory sick pay
• statutory maternity pay
• Statutory Paternity Pay
• statutory shared parental pay
• statutory adoption pay
• maternity allowance

You can even claim for childcare costs for the month before you start work if you have accepted a job offer, and for at least a month after your employment ends.

Childcare can include services from a child minder, play-scheme, nursery or club - but the childcare provider must be registered or approved.

This typically means OFSTED-registered in England, The Care Inspectorate-registered in Scotland, and the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales-registered.

How to claim childcare costs under Universal Credit

To start your claim, you just need to speak to your Jobcentre work coach.

Give them the name, address and registration number of your childcare provider and the full costs of your childcare.

If you’re struggling to afford the upfront costs you can get help from the flexible support fund.

Unlike an advance payment, the money you receive is a grant rather than a loan, so you don't have to pay it back.

Ask your work coach how to apply.

Am I entitled to more childcare help?

You may be entitled to more childcare help.

For example, all three- and four-year-old children in England are entitled to 570 hours of free childcare per year.

And if you are claiming Universal Credit you may be able to get up to 30 hours free childcare if your child is three- to four-years-old.

If you're in England and on Universal Credit, you can also get free childcare for two-year-olds (there are different schemes in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

You can't claim tax-free childcare if you're claiming Universal Credit.

From tax-free childcare to free nursery hours, we've rounded-up the childcare help worth £25,000-plus parents may be missing out on.