Employers For Childcare

What Employers For Childcare does

Employers For Childcare is a Northern Ireland-based dual-entity non-profit organization, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Lisburn, comprising a registered charitable company and a social enterprise trading subsidiary (Employers For Childcare Trading Limited). Its mission is to make it easier for parents with dependent children to get into work and stay in work by reducing the financial friction of childcare costs. The charity delivers the Family Benefits Advice Service — a free, impartial, confidential helpline and outreach service guiding parents across Northern Ireland on Tax-Free Childcare, Universal Credit, the NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS), Childcare Vouchers, free school meals and uniform grants — alongside an online library of information factsheets. The social enterprise operates two commercial activities: a childcare voucher administration service via the e-Vouchers portal (efcvouchers.com), which facilitates salary-sacrifice arrangements between employers, parents and registered providers; and High Rise, an inclusive indoor adventure centre in Lisburn featuring Clip 'n Climb indoor climbing, soft play and sensory rooms accessible to families with additional needs. 100% of social enterprise profits are reinvested into the charity's advisory work.

The underlying technology stack is entirely third-party: the e-Vouchers portal is built and hosted by Scaffold Digital Ltd; IT support and email hosting are provided by Cirrus IT Systems Ltd (a Microsoft Cloud Service Silver Partner); marketing and operations rely on Send in Blue (email), SurveyMonkey (research), Eventbrite (events), Zoom (meetings) and Google Analytics (web analytics). There is no proprietary technology, no mobile app, no public API, and no disclosed AI/ML capability. Distribution is multi-channel and community-led: a direct advice helpline and outreach field service for parents, a self-serve B2B portal for employer voucher schemes, a physical retail/venue channel at High Rise, downloadable factsheets, and engagement events including the annual Family Friendly Employer Awards and the NI Assembly All Party Group on Early Education and Childcare.

The revenue model combines social enterprise trading income (managed services for voucher administration and venue revenue from High Rise) with charitable donations and government grants, including its role as a delivery and stakeholder partner within the £55 million NI Department of Education early learning and childcare package that funds NICSS. The organization reports no publicly disclosed revenue figures. Strategic customers/partners include 1,924 registered childcare providers (1,320 childminders, 312 daycare providers, 141 playgroups, 109 out-of-school providers, 24 approved home childcare, 18 primary schools), Northern Ireland employers offering voucher schemes, and strategic partners such as the Department of Education (NI), the Early Years Organisation (which administers NICSS), NICMA, Daycare Forum, the Education Authority NI, and the NI Assembly All Party Group on Early Education and Childcare.

Name

Employers For Childcare

Legal name

Employers For Childcare

Website

https://employersforchildcare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Employers For Childcare is a Northern Ireland dual-entity non-profit (charity plus social enterprise) that delivers free childcare-cost advice to parents, administers employer childcare voucher schemes via the e-Vouchers portal, and operates the inclusive High Rise adventure centre in Lisburn, with 100% of trading profits reinvested into its family-facing mission.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childcare Advice and Support Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate/Employer-Sponsored Childcare Placement (HSAAALAM)

Keywords

• Childcare advice services
• Childcare voucher administration
• Family benefits support
• Inclusive adventure centre
• Social enterprise childcare

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisburn, Northern Ireland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Social Enterprise Revenue: The organization operates as a dual entity: a registered charity providing free advice services, and a social enterprise business (Employers For Childcare Trading Limited) that includes childcare voucher administration services and High Rise adventure centre. 100% of profits from the social enterprise are reinvested into the charity.
2. Donations and Grants: The charity may receive donations and government grants to support its advisory services for families.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Employers For Childcare is a Northern Ireland-based registered charity and social enterprise that delivers free, impartial advice to parents and carers on financial support for childcare costs through its Family Benefits Advice Service. It also administers a Childcare Voucher Administration Service for employers via a salary-sacrifice scheme (operated through its trading arm, Employers For Childcare Trading Limited), and runs High Rise, an inclusive indoor adventure centre in Lisburn.

Product overview

Employers For Childcare comprises a registered charity and a social enterprise operating as a dual-structure organization. The charity provides a Family Benefits Advice Service offering free, impartial and confidential advice to parents on childcare financial support, along with an advice helpline and outreach service. The social enterprise includes a Childcare Voucher Administration Service (operating the e-Vouchers portal at www.efcvouchers.com) enabling employers to offer salary sacrifice childcare vouchers, and High Rise, an indoor adventure centre in Lisburn featuring Clip 'n Climb, soft play and sensory rooms that is inclusive for those with additional needs. Additionally, the organization provides Information Factsheets covering childcare and work-related topics. A key operational model is that 100% of profits from the social enterprise businesses are invested into the charity's work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Family Benefits Advice Service: Charity service providing free, impartial and confidential advice to parents on financial support available towards childcare costs
• High Rise
• e-Vouchers

Products and services

• Family Benefits Advice Service
• Childcare Voucher Administration Service
• High Rise Adventure Centre
• Information Factsheets

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 17,200 families now saving money on childcare through Tax-Free Childcare in Northern Ireland
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Scaffold Digital LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party technology provider hosting and maintaining the Employers For Childcare e-Vouchers site (efcvouchers.com). Scaffold Digital Ltd is registered with the ICO as a data processor and has undertaken a Data Protection Impact Assessment. All data is held, stored and processed within the UK.
• Cirrus IT Systems LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party service provider providing general IT support and email hosting for employersforchildcare.org. Cirrus IT Systems Ltd is registered with the ICO as a data processor, a Microsoft Cloud Service Silver Partner, and accredited with technical qualifications to fulfil National Cyber Security Centre and GDPR guidelines.
• Department of Education (Northern Ireland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department funding and overseeing the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme. Education Minister Paul Givan announced £55 million package of measures for early learning and childcare including extension of NICSS to primary school age children from September 2025.
• Early Years OrganisationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministers the NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education. Delivered presentation on latest NICSS findings at All Party Group meeting showing over £20 million paid to providers since scheme launch.
• Northern Ireland Childcare Minding Association (NICMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished report 'Understanding the childcare needs of families with children who have disabilities or additional needs' funded by Department of Education in May 2025.
• Daycare ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrancis Loye, Director of Giggles Early Years and Chair of Daycare Forum, provided update on SEN at All Party Group meeting focusing on SEN inequalities in early years sector.
• Early Years (organisation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Community Development Specialist Diarmuid Moore provided update on Review of Governance in the Community and Voluntary Early Years sector in Northern Ireland at All Party Group meeting.
• Education Authority NIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment body administering free school meals and uniform grants. Employers For Childcare directs parents to Education Authority for applications and information on these schemes.
• Northern Ireland Assembly All Party Group on Early Education and ChildcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-party political group focused on early education and childcare policy. Employers For Childcare participates in meetings and provides updates on childcare developments and Family Benefits Advice Service.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Northern Ireland Childminding Association (NICMA): NI-focused membership body representing childminders. Comparable regional focus and stakeholder relationships in the NI early-years sector; co-publishes research and policy contributions alongside Employers For Childcare.
• Early Years (NI): Northern Ireland early-years membership organization representing daycare, nursery, and out-of-school providers. Comparable regional stakeholder positioning, All Party Group participation, and policy-influence activities.

Direct peers

• Working Families: UK charity advocating for working parents and providing advice on childcare, flexible working, and parental rights. Directly comparable mission, advice-service model, and policy-influence approach to Employers For Childcare, though operating UK-wide rather than regionally.
• Gingerbread: UK charity providing advice and support for single-parent families, including financial guidance and benefits advice. Overlaps with the Family Benefits Advice Service in target audience and advice-led delivery model.
• Coram: UK children's charity providing advice, research, and direct services for children and families. Comparable as a long-established charity combining family-facing advice, policy work, and operational services.
• Family and Childcare Trust (formerly Daycare Trust): UK charity focused on childcare policy, affordability, and family support. Highly comparable in advocacy, policy research, and parent-facing advice offerings; Employers For Childcare is in effect a regional NI equivalent of this organization.
• Family Fund: UK charity providing grants and support to families raising disabled or seriously ill children. Comparable charity/government-funded hybrid model with strong policy engagement and family-facing service delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Sodexo Benefits UK: Large employee benefits provider operating childcare voucher administration alongside wider perks and rewards platforms. Comparable in voucher-administration service but operates across the UK and a much broader benefits portfolio.
• Edenred UK: Major employee benefits platform offering childcare voucher schemes among other benefits. Directly comparable technology-and-administration offering to Employers For Childcare's e-Vouchers portal but at much larger UK-wide scale.

Others

• HMRC Childcare Service (Tax-Free Childcare): UK government service delivering Tax-Free Childcare and 30-hours childcare offers. Not a direct competitor but a channel partner and growing substitute for Childcare Vouchers, shaping the demand Employers For Childcare's voucher arm faces.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/employersforchildcare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/employers-for-childcare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Employers For Childcare