Jessica O'ConnorHalo Benefits has launched an AI-driven compliance platform, designed to help employers support staff childcare through an existing workplace nursery tax exemption.
The platform aims to address longstanding barriers to uptake of the exemption by creating auditable records of employers’ financing and governance involvement in childcare provision, reducing compliance risks that have discouraged participation.
Under UK tax rules, employers can provide childcare tax-free if they demonstrate genuine involvement in funding and managing provision, including through partnerships with commercial nurseries.
However, uptake has remained low due to complex guidance, subjective tests and the absence of consistent compliance infrastructure.
Halo said its system creates structured, tamper-evident records of governance activity and financial commitments, enabling arrangements to be audit-ready from the outset.
The launch comes amid growing focus on childcare availability as a factor affecting workforce participation, particularly among parents returning from leave, and increasing demand from employers for compliance systems capable of withstanding regulatory scrutiny.
Anna Semple, CEO of Halo Benefits, said: “Workplace-childcare schemes often fall down not because governance didn’t happen, but because it was never properly evidenced. Halo changes that.
“Governance is structured, participation is recorded, and the decisions that matter for compliance are captured in a secure, tamper-evident way – making arrangements audit-ready from day one.”
