Nursery fees over christmas

jacksons_mum

hi,

my sons nursery is closed from the 22nd dec to the 2nd of jan and we still have to pay full fees. i work in a restaurant so if i dont work, i dont get paid therefore i cant afford the nursery fees.
i was just wondering if all nurseries are shut for all of christmas and if its normal to pay full fees. i know they still have to pay the staff for some of the days but not all surely?

BernadetteN

At my children's nursery, they have never charged over Christmas or any other time when the nursery is closed. The fees are worked out so you pay for the days your child attends and within those daily fees there will be elements to cover 52 weeks of business rates, electricity, water, staff etc.

I don't think there is a nursery in Dover that operates differently - well there are only 5 nurseries for a population of aroud 30000 anyway so not much competition and not much variation in fees. My children's nursery charges £22 a day or £10 a half day ONLY for days attended. The nursery is open for 47 weeks in a year, or 235 days, so a full time child pays 235 *22 = £5170 per year, or £99.42 per week. BARGAIN and it has a consistent GOOD rating from OfSTEd.

carol_a_3

My daughter works in a nursery on just above minimum wage despite two years at college. They are shut from 22nd december to 2nd Jan. I think the parents are still charged and she is still paid but she has to use 3 days of her 16 days a year holiday allowance.

Older_but_not_wiser_2

Our kids nursery is open 51 weeks a year, and our fees are worked out monthly for a 51 week year. I guess it's all set out in the contract you signed when you got your placement.

It's not as if the nurseries are not upfront with their charges and policies, so to complain about it doesn't seem to be fair on the nursery.

jacksons_mum

im not going to complain but there is nothing at all in the contract about things like this

Nicki

I don't have a child in nursery and never have done, but why would you think they didn't have to pay their staff for all of the days over Christmas? Working in a nursery isn't really like working in a bar or shop, I don't think - its a permanent full time job not a casual one. I would guess the employment contracts say their hours are x per week for which they get paid £y, and overtime if they work more, but that when the nursery is closed they still get their £y. Otherwise, you would find that when the nursery is closed for 10 days, when it re-opens it will have lost some of its staff, who can't afford to be paid only half their normal wages over the expensive Christmas period. Presumably, you would not then be happy if your child had to get used to a lot of new faces at once, or if the nursery had to unexpectedly close for longer or restrict the number of children who could come back while it recruited new staff.

I'm not sure the way in which some of the other posters have descibed their set-ups in practical terms makes much difference, as at the end of the day you pay for the whole year. It's simply a question of paying more for the weeks when your child is there to cover the costs when it is closed, against paying less, but the same amount each month whether the nursery is open or not.

If you do restaurant work, will you not earn more over this period anyway with extra shifts and better tips, as presumably this is your busiest time of year?

lottee

My sons nursery is closed for the same dates as yours. As we book monthly in advance, I haven't had to pay. (I pick & choose what days I want him to attend, usually the same hours each month, due to working anyway) I would of been extremely annoyed if I had to of paid. They did say that if the demand was there, they would open for the few days in between Xmas & new year though, which I thought was good.
I understand what a lot of the others are saying, but I know how you feel. It's like your handing over money for nothing in return. Could you not have a word with someone & explain your situation? Still if your son is happy there, and it is a good nursery, perhaps it is worth it?

liney

The staff will need to be paid as they are entitled to holiday pay, and like most other places of employment have the 3 days between christmas and new year deducted from their yearly total. This does seem to be the norm, with most people being on holiday this time of year. I appreciate you are not.... but the majority are.

You are not handing over your money for nothing. You are paying for a service - if you had gym membership and didnt go, you would still have to pay for that month iyswim.

BernadetteN

IN defence of the OP, I think she is annoyed because the fees have not been explained to her upfront. Not all nurseries are forthcoming with their fee structure. MY children's nursery makes it quite obvious you pay for hours attended and have to book up the hours in advance termly, then any extra hours are discretionary. You only pay when your child attends and within the fees are costs for 52 weeks a year. Perhaps the OP's nursery was not unpfront about requiring fees during a period the nursery is closed. In future, she will now know that she will have to look at fees over a term or a year to claculate the true cost and will have to look into what contract exists between parent and nursery. At my children's nursery, there are NO written contracts, just a simple fee structure and no obligation to do a minimum number of sessions - it's £10 per half day, £3.50 per lunch, or £22 for a whole day and lunch. It is not surprising then that this nursery always has a waiting list as it caters for parents who wish their children to attend full time and those who attend just 1 or 2 sessions a week. It is also not surprising that some of the staff that looked after my 10 year old over 8 years' ago are about to look after my 1 year old in a few months from now. The owner of the nursery places her number one priority as the care of the children and her staff and the money comes secondary - well the nursery has been open over 30 years so it must still be in profit and it is a model for how a private nursery should be run.

dadrock

Ours closes over xmas. We are not charged for that week. They do not charge for it as they know that xmas week will be closed way in advance and plan their charges to consume the cost of staff holidays. Just liek every other well-run business.

We are charged for sick days, as these cannot be planned for - fair enough. We pay a retainer for planned holidays, as these can only be partially planned for - fair enough.

I would be annoyed too if I paid for a week that wasn't to be open. Especially as it is their choice to close. Its not like they are opening with most kids being at home - and still needs paying for. They planned to shut - and planned to charge everyone who is currently booked in that week for the privilege.

apples1

liney wrote:

You are not handing over your money for nothing. You are paying for a service - if you had gym membership and didnt go, you would still have to pay for that month iyswim.

Yes but you can't go if they are closed can you? If they are open and you choose not to go (to nursery or the gym!) then it's only fair you pay anyway as that's your choice not to go however if they are closed you don't have the choice to go if you wish so why should you pay? A gym would give its closed days (usually just Xmas day & Boxing Day) in the terms & conditions when you sign up for membership.

If the nursery charges per session the child attends then they shouldn't charge if they are not opening and therefore not allowing the child to attend. If they charge a monthly/termly etc fee then I would feel it only right that they say upfront that it is worked out over a whole year and divided up so that you pay the same in the month they close over Xmas as the other months (i.e as you would with Gym membership).