Nursery Fees & Coronavirus

mcooke999

Our nursery has emailed us today to say they are being forced to close by the government for all except children of key workers. They have said they don't know how long for but said they think it will be after Easter (complete guess imo)... My issue is they have asked us to keep paying our fees during this time!

My wife is actually at the start of her maternity leave for our second child so we are in the fortunate position that we could take our first child out of nursery altogether for the rest of her leave. We've asked if we can do this but the nursery have said we need to give them 4 weeks written notice in order to take him out. This is what is stated in our original contract, however, I don't think it's fair that they are enforcing it given that they are not actually open during the 4 week notice period and that we have made it clear we will be bringing our child back in the new year.

Does anyone have any advice? We are very happy with the nursery in general so would definitely like for our child to go back again so I am a bit conscious of burning my bridges so to speak, however, I do need to put my family first financially as I am self employed in the construction industry and the main earner and fear what the coming months will entail.

Any replies greatly appreciated as long as they are constructive, thank you.

unholyangel

If they're not providing the service then they can't expect payment. It being outwith their control just means they wouldn't be liable for additional losses - like any additional cost in funding additional care for the children. 

However, one thing parents usually want to keep in mind with nurseries is whether they want to continue using that nursery in the future. If there are plenty of other nurseries of the same standard, same price, availability etc then you may want to be more rigid than if its the only good nursery for miles or really cheap for a really good standard etc. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Are they saying you have to pay regardless or do they only want payment because you are giving notice? 

mcooke999

Thanks. Yes that's my issue really, it's not the only nursery around but it is definitely the best one and our son likes it there. 

I might see if they will accept a compromise where we pay the final payment despite it being shut in exchange for a free month or something when he does go back. Hopefully will work for them cashflow wise.

mcooke999

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Are they saying you have to pay regardless or do they only want payment because you are giving notice? 

They are asking everyone to carry on paying regardless so they can keep going until the closure is lifted. Obviously some parents might stick with them but I suspect if it carries on for more than a few months there will be a lot of angry parents wanting to do the same as us. 

Asking for 4 weeks paid notice to me is taking the biscuit!

Personally I do feel sorry for the nursery because they have over 30 fantastic staff members but ultimately we're not a charity or bottomless pit of money!

Maniak

You should check the contract and see if it mentions a force majeure clause and if it does, what does it say exactly?

If there isn't any mention of it then you might be able to rely on the frustration of contract as a get out to not pay the 4 weeks as the contract automatically terminates and obligations are discharged. Relying on frustration requires you to satisfy 3 questions:

(1) the event has meant it is impossible to perform the contract or that it has radically changed what was originally agreed at the time of entering into the contract.

(2) the event was not the cause of either party to the contract.

(3) There is nothing in the contract that deals with this type of situation i.e. a force majeure.

If all three answers are true, then you may be able to rely on frustration as a means of not having to pay the 4 weeks.

Undervalued

mcooke999 said:

Personally I do feel sorry for the nursery because they have over 30 fantastic staff members but ultimately we're not a charity or bottomless pit of money!

I saw an excellent comment from a reasonably eminent gentleman in his field of work, which read something like.....

"If you employ someone to clean your house, do your garden or mind your children etc. and they have to self isolate you might like to consider continuing to pay then - as you can almost certainly afford it a lot better than they can"!

Not quite the same situation but it has similarities........

Jaguar_Skills

We also have the same issue.  No idea what we are going to do as this could last indefinitely.

mcooke999

We have written to them saying that we are unable to make any further payments given the current crisis due to my own job security etc.

They have since written to everyone asking them to state what % fees they would be willing to pay whilst they are closed, so it seems a bit of a shambles at the moment! I do feel sorry for them though, it must be very scary for them.

mattyprice4004

Looks like they're just trying to scrape the money together to keep paying the rent on the building - staff will be furloughed so not an issue, and rates etc are suspended. 

I'd be saying no - they're not providing the service, so can't expect to get paid. 0% from me! 

The_Rainmaker

mattyprice4004 said:

I'd be saying no - they're not providing the service, so can't expect to get paid. 0% from me! 

Perfectly fine and reasonable but the OP might need to accept that their may not be a place for her child once this is all over.