Nursery fees over christmas

Edinburgh_2

My boy's nursery is shut on Chrismas Day and Boxing Day, then again on New Year's Day, and that's all. The fees are worked out over the space of a year which take these days off into account, I think. I'm quite happy with that arrangement, I must say.

emma_b_4

hi im an ex nursery nurse and all places i haveworked you have paid for fees when its closed, unless the fees are slightly higher to cover for holidays etc
nursery nurses are entitled to bank holidays apid and they will be using their annual leave for the other days. the only way not to pay for nursery when its closed would be to pay more during the rest of the year.
everyone i know, excluding self empliyed friends, get paid when they arent at work, thats the point of having a perm job surely?

i understand its a bit annoying having to pay when your not actually there, but as some1 said its the sameas a gym member ship really.

maybe have a word with the manager/owner and explain how you were not aware you had to pay then they can male it clearer to others in the future

xx

lottee

Well I think it is like handing over money for nothing in return. Not sure how you compare it to a gym membership really. Surely it is your choice if you go to the gym or not. The OP probably feels she is paying for a service over those days that she is not actually receiving & was wondering what was 'normal' for other nurseries.

But like I stated above, if it is a good nursery and her son is happy, perhaps it is worth it.

nikiyoung

Jacksons mum
Why dont you speak to the manager / owner and i am sure that they will explain the fees to you.
HTH
Niki

black-saturn

Why dont you have the time off and look after your own child at christmas?

Spendless

I never paid for BH or when nursery was closed but my sister did at a different nursery but her nursery fees were lower than mine. It's not standardised, so some will charge and some won't. It should have been set out in the ts & cs though.

apples1

black-saturn wrote:

Why dont you have the time off and look after your own child at christmas?

The Op IS having the time off, that's why he/she is not getting paid and is struggling to afford the nursery fees - hence the original post!

MissBehaving

My DD goes to nursery full time. The nursery is closing on the 22nd and only opening again on the 4th Jan.
We pay for it whilst it is closed as the staff have to be paid.
Personally, I wouldnt begrudge paying. After all, after the age of 3 a child gets a certain amount of free placements from the government so I do feel that I get my 'savings' from that.

Could the OP not organise someone else to look after her child for at least the three official working days? I know it is not easy though, because my only babysitter is my mum, and she lives in Wales.

tee_pee_2

not all nurseries are upfront with their fees, I don't know what how my nursery will work it but I will be checking it tomorrow.

Incidentally if you do have to pay does it not work like a reiainer that you only pay 1/2 when they are closed. What do you do during holiday time?

Hope you manange to sort something it is difficult struggling to pay for a service that in effect you are not using at that time.

jacksons_mum

Nicki wrote:

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?

how will i earn more money when i cant work because i have no one to look after my son?

thanks everyone for your replies. i know there is nothing i can do about the fees and understand they still have to pay staff, bills etc, just have to accept i will have no money this month!