Heavy childcare costs leave families £4 a week better off A second earner from a middle income household who is paid £12 an hour will add £4,500 to the family income while working 13 hours a week. However, if he or she increases the hours above that level, the family income falls off as the combination of childcare costs and withdrawn support through the tax credit system bites into earnings. Vidhya Alakeson, deputy chief executive of the Resolution Foundation and joint author of the report, said: "Despite progress over the last decade, the cost of childcare in the UK still eats up a very large slice of family incomes. It's hardly worth a typical second earner going out to work more than a couple of days a week, because the family will be barely better off. This is a serious concern because increasing the level of female employment is one of the key routes through which family living standards have increased. We need major change in our childcare system to ensure that work is always worthwhile - and that working more hours or a pay rise results in higher take-home pay. The Conservative Party and Labour have both set up commissions on childcare, which is seen as a key political battleground that could attract - or lose - parties many female voters. A Government spokesman said: "For too many families, the high costs of childcare mean it is not worth going back to work. TWe are looking at best practice in France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, where high-quality affordable childcare is available for parents, and will be setting out proposals in due course.