Kinsail is now live on Kota

Today Kinsail goes live on Kota. Any employer using Kota can now offer the workplace nursery benefit to their people, straight from their Kota benefits, with one login and very little work for HR.

For working parents, that means a simple way to pay nursery fees from gross salary, before tax and National Insurance. For HR teams, it means a benefit that is typically live within 7 to 10 days and largely runs itself.

Why nursery fees matter so much

For most young families, nursery fees are the single biggest monthly bill. For many, they are bigger than the mortgage. And almost everyone pays them from income that has already been taxed.

The workplace nursery benefit changes that. Under Section 318 ITEPA 2003, employees can exchange part of their salary for nursery fees through payroll. The fees come out before tax and National Insurance, so parents can save up to 47% on their nursery costs, depending on their tax band and circumstances.

As an illustration, a parent paying £1,200 a month in nursery fees could keep around £5,000 a year. That is a family holiday, a healthy ISA contribution, or a real dent in the mortgage. Every family's number is different, which is why we always recommend checking a personal estimate first.

The benefit has existed for years, but very few employers offer it. Historically it has been fiddly to set up and easy to get wrong. That is exactly the problem Kinsail was built to solve, and Kota now puts it within reach of every employer on its platform.

What changes for Kota employers

• Live in 7 to 10 days. Your Kota contact adds your company to Kinsail. There are no forms for your HR team to fill in.
• One login. HR and employees open Kinsail from Kota with single sign-on. No new accounts or passwords.
• Where your people already look. Kinsail sits in your Kota benefits, next to pension, electric vehicle and cycle to work.
• Kota can see progress. Your Kota account manager can see where each employee is up to. Approvals stay with you.
• Reports and payroll. Monthly payroll figures and savings reports, in Kinsail and through Kota.

What HR does, and what Kinsail does

Once you are live, the HR workload is deliberately small: approve each new request, then send one payroll file before your monthly cut-off.

Kinsail handles the rest. We pay the nurseries, run the compliance calls with each nursery, handle fee changes and contract amendments, and send the reminders.

What it costs

Kinsail charges employers a management fee of 15% of the salary sacrifice amount.

Employees pay no fee at all. Kinsail is the only established provider that does not charge employees, so the saving stays with the family.

Your contribution, guided by OFSTED evidence

Kinsail's custom-built OFSTED Analysis Tools read each nursery's published OFSTED inspection report and turn it into clear, evidence-based investment priorities. That means your contribution goes where an independent inspector identified the greatest opportunity to improve children's educational outcomes.

It also gives employees specific, informed points to raise in their nursery meeting, and gives nurseries a credible improvement plan tied to their own inspection.

For parents: quick to set up, simple to start saving

If your employer offers Kinsail through Kota, joining takes about five minutes:

• Open Kinsail in Kota. Find it in your Kota benefits and sign in with your Kota account. No new password.
• Find your nursery. Search by postcode or name. If your nursery is not in the network yet, add it in about a minute and we will invite them to join.
• See your saving estimate. Your estimate appears in minutes, before you commit to anything.
• Confirm and sign. We confirm your fees with your nursery, then you sign your agreement online.
• Start saving. Your salary sacrifice starts from your agreed payslip, and Kinsail pays your nursery.

Nothing changes for your child: same nursery, same room, same hours, same key person.

Built properly

Kinsail is built in accordance with HMRC's published guidance for the Workplace Nursery Benefit. Each employee has a twelve-month agreement, two short compliance calls a year with their nursery, and nothing changes on their payslip without them being told first.

Getting started

If your company uses Kota, speak to your Kota account manager and you could be live within days.

If you are a parent, check whether your employer offers Kinsail in your Kota benefits, and see what you could save with our savings calculator or learn more about the partnerhsip here.

Savings depend on your tax band and individual circumstances and are not guaranteed.