Going back to work after parental leave involves a cluster of childcare decisions that all interact, and most of them have deadlines. Taken in the wrong order they can cost you a term of funded hours or lock you out of a scheme permanently.
Here they are in the order they actually need answering.
1. Work out which term your funded hours can start
This comes first because it is the one with an immovable deadline and it may change when you go back.
Funded hours begin at a term start — 1 January, 1 April or 1 September — and your child must have reached the qualifying age before that date, not on it. You need a valid eligibility code by 31 December, 31 March or 31 August respectively.
You can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old, and up to 31 days before you start or return to work. That second rule is the one that matters here: it lets a parent still on leave line the code up with the term rather than missing it by a fortnight.
2. Check you are both inside the earnings conditions
For the 30 working-parent hours and for Tax-Free Childcare, each parent must expect to earn at least 16 hours a week at the National Minimum Wage over the coming quarter — roughly £2,644 a quarter for someone aged 21 or over in 2026/27 — and neither parent's adjusted net income may exceed £100,000.
Two things commonly surprise people returning to work:
- Statutory leave counts as qualifying work. Maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, neonatal care, parental bereavement, sick and carer's leave are all treated as meeting the earnings test. You do not have to be back at your desk to qualify.
- Going part-time can take you under the floor. Check the quarterly figure against your new hours before you agree them, not after.
If one partner receives certain carer's or disability benefits, the other partner's earnings alone can satisfy the condition.
3. Decide between Tax-Free Childcare and vouchers — carefully
If you are in a legacy employer voucher scheme, this is the decision to get right, because moving to Tax-Free Childcare ends voucher membership permanently. There is no way back.
Two points specific to parental leave: vouchers continue during statutory maternity and paternity pay, which can be valuable while your income is reduced; and Tax-Free Childcare cannot be combined with Universal Credit at all, so if you are receiving UC this decision looks completely different.
For most families with a child under 11 and real nursery costs, Tax-Free Childcare is worth more — up to £2,000 per child a year against a maximum of around £623 for a higher-rate voucher member. But run your own numbers before serving the notice.
4. If you are on Universal Credit, compare properly
The UC childcare element reimburses 85% of eligible childcare costs, up to about £1,071 a month for one child or £1,836 for two or more in 2026/27. It has no upper income limit, no minimum hours requirement, and statutory leave counts as being in paid work.
It cannot be combined with Tax-Free Childcare. For families with substantial childcare costs and a live UC award, it is usually the larger of the two — but it reimburses in arrears, which creates a cash-flow problem at exactly the moment you are paying a deposit and a first month up front. Ask your work coach about help with upfront costs before you commit.
5. Sort the nursery place and the contract
Nurseries in many areas have waiting lists measured in months, so this often has to start long before the rest. When you do get an offer, check:
- Whether they offer term-time or stretched funded hours, and whether that matches the weeks you work.
- Their notice period and deposit terms.
- Their published prices for chargeable extras — meals, consumables, activities. These are the parts of the bill you will actually pay.
6. Put the reconfirmation dates in your calendar
Both Tax-Free Childcare and the funded hours need reconfirming every three months. Missing it does not usually produce a warning — it produces a larger invoice. Add the dates the moment you receive the code.
If your circumstances change and you become ineligible, a grace period usually lets your child keep the place until the end of a defined window. You cannot start a new place during a grace period, which is worth knowing before moving settings.
Common questions
Can I apply while still on maternity leave?
Yes. Statutory leave counts as qualifying work, and you can apply up to 31 days before returning.
I am going back three days a week. Do I still qualify?
Provided you expect to earn at least the quarterly minimum — about £2,644 for a parent aged 21 or over — yes. Check the figure rather than assuming.
My partner is not working. Do we still get the 30 hours?
Normally both parents must meet the earnings test. The exception is where the non-working partner receives certain carer's or disability benefits, in which case the working partner's earnings alone can be enough.
Does a bonus on my return push me over £100,000?
It might, and the test uses adjusted net income rather than salary. If you are close, a pension contribution before the bonus is paid is the usual lever — and the threshold is a hard cliff, so small differences matter.