Women MPs revolt over scraping childcare tax breaks

Women MPs in revolt over plans to scrap childcare tax breaks according to Personnel Today.

Female Labour MPs are threatening to revolt over Gordon Brown's plans to scrap childcare tax breaks.
Senior backbenchers, including Patricia Hewitt, the former health secretary, and Caroline Flint, the former Europe minister, have protested against the government's plans to stop tax exemptions on childcare vouchers which save parents up to £2,400 a year.
Gordon Brown announced his plans to remove the tax incentive - which currently saves employers £373 for every employee on the scheme - at the Labour Party Conference in September.
More than 74,000 people, mostly women, have already signed a petition on the Downing Street website against the plans, while almost 40 Labour MPs have signed a parliamentary motion protesting about the move.
The Labour MPs are said to be drawing up a letter to the prime minister urging him to reconsider, the Times reported.
Caroline Flint said: "This sends the wrong message to working mums. I am very worried about us taking a benefit away from a group of working women.
"We are in danger of not being seen to support working mothers, some of whom could find they are no longer able to afford to work. We need to be very clear about what we are trying to achieve here."
Patricia Hewitt publicly labelled Brown's proposals "the wrong thing to do socially and the wrong thing to do politically".
She said: "We all welcome an extension of nursery education for two-year-olds, but I hope the government will think again on childcare vouchers."
About 340,000 families claim childcare vouchers through about 35,000 employers.
The vouchers can be used to offset the cost of childcare from Ofsted-registered providers, saving higher rate taxpayers £1,195 a year, and basic rate taxpayers £962 a year. Both parents can use the vouchers, saving couples up to £2,390 a year.
Under government plans the tax relief on childcare vouchers would be stopped by 2015, with the money saved being used to fund free nursery care for 250,000 two-year olds.
A Downing Street source added: "It is not being as well targeted as it should. We believe it is right to redirect the money at nursery places for two-year-olds."

Sixteen council workers have won the right to pursue claims of age discrimination against the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.The employees argued that the criteria set out in the council's long-service award scheme was an unlawful breach of age discrimination regulations. Their appeal was upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

The scheme, which provided financial payouts to those who had worked for 25 continuous years and were aged over 55, paid out additional benefits over five stages to those who met both criteria.All of the claimants in the Loraine Pulham v London Borough of Barking and Dagenham case had worked for the council in excess of 25 years, but were under the age of 55 by the time the scheme was withdrawn.

The first hearing, by Stratford Employment Tribunal, took place in March 2008 and saw the claim unanimously dismissed. Local government union Unison took the case to the EAT, and the appeal was upheld. The case has now been sent back to the tribunal for a revised hearing.
Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: "It was not fair that [the employees] put in decades of service at the council and were then told that they are too young to receive a reward. This is a victory for any worker who is told that long service is rewarded by age, as this case has shown that it is a breach against regulations."

*Source Personnel Today

The perils of taking work home

There have been some well publicised cases in recent years which illustrate the importance of safeguarding personal data when it is used or transferred outside of the office. A recent investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) highlights the importance of ensuring that proper safeguards are in place.

The ICO found that Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust breached the Data Protection Act when sensitive personal data relating to an employee was transferred to a member of the HR department's home computer. The Trust were further criticised because they, 'failed to demonstrate appropriate urgency' in dealing with the breach when it came to light.Mick Gorrill, Assistant Information Commissioner said, "I strongly advise organisations to avoid instances where employees can download and transfer personal information to home computers". Employees who forward work containing personal data to a private email address are likely to be in breach of the act.