To find nurseries charging on bank holidays unfair?

Do the staff get the day off? Some parents have to work bank holidays.

Change your working days if it annoys you so much work Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Staffing is a big cost for nurseries but they are also paying rent, rates, insurance, utilities, maintenance etc. It's not like those costs don't exist just because it's a bank holiday. I also think swapping days would be tricky becuase of the staff to children ratio. If you want to avoid paying for bank holidays then you should probably swap days permanently and do a Tuesday and Wednesday for example or find a child minder who doesn't have the same type of overhead that a nursery does.

I get paid for bank holidays at the small business I work for because the MD factors these essential costs into the general running of the business. He doesn’t get the two or three clients who may happen to have work done on Mondays (or whichever day is a bank holiday) to cover my bank holiday pay.

But then why should Monday parents be paying towards a day they would not have used anyway?

I never understood why the cost of bank holidays wasn’t worked out in the fees so everyone paid towards them. YANBU!

My cleaners come on Monday. I don't pay my cleaning company on Bank Holidays because I don't receive a service. I find it frustrating that nurseries do this.

It gives them a lower "day rate" overall but it's just a few parents that pay the extra, not everyone, which makes it unfair IMO.

My dc did Weds - Fri at nursery partly for this reason.

Our nursery charged 50% for bank holidays, which I felt was fair.

That said, we pay our employees on bank holidays and they don’t work. That money has to come from somewhere despite lost productivity.

Well the nursery I work at,we don’t get paid the bank holiday,the way the manager works out holidays out we don’t accrue enough hours to get paid them,last year out of 28 days holiday,baring in mind we have to use 8 at Christmas,I got paid for 9 of them!

I always thought this, it seems like a raw deal for people who do Mondays. It’s the main reason I put mine in mid week. There should be some kind of discounted rate as it’s the reason Mondays and Fridays are the most unpopular days.

It is unfair to be paying for a service you aren’t receiving but nurseries hold the cards. It’s a matter of like it or lump it.

my son’s nursery allowed me to swap a day when he did 4 days but once he moved up to 5 days it was frustrating.

I agree, i'm a childminder and I dont charge for BH. I factor this, and my own unpaid annual leave, in to my prices that I charge for the days I am open and working.

To be fair, when Christmas and Boxing Day fall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays you get the benefit of other people still having to pay for those days.

What days does you DC attend nursery ? Our nursery used to allow us to swap to a different day when there was a bank holiday but it was first come first serve.

Most businesses cover operating costs that don't generate income (like holiday pay, admin, stationery etc.) by adding a margin to the direct costs when they charge, which then spreads those costs across their customers according to use. Nurseries for some reason don't include public holidays in that margin.
Since public holidays in the UK disproportionately fall on Mondays, this impacts some customers more than others, and it's not unreasonable for them to be annoyed about being charged for services they don't receive when other families aren't.
After all, busy nurseries often offer places only for particular days when you join, depending on when which days they have space, so sometimes it's not even the parents' choice to use Monday!

Presumably you work Monday and Friday. Will you get holiday pay for Easter Monday and Good Friday?

Yes, it’s annoying. Our son used to do Mondays and Fridays and we felt the same. But it’s just how it works, they still have to pay staff for bank holidays.

If they didn’t do it this way, they’d be putting up fees for everyone to cover the expenses. Which would be fairer, but would impact more people (Mondays and Fridays are the least busy days at most nurseries as anyone working part time tends to avoid one or both).

It's disgusting

we don't charge closed days

nurseries make staff use holidays so they don't have wages to pay on those days, it's really unfair in my opinion!

no other business charges for a service that isn't available!

One reason monday and Friday were my days off when I had little kids

I can see what you mean but it’s been this way for a very long time and you knew it’d be the case when you picked your days, no point being annoyed by it.

I know what you’re saying and agree with you.

This is always weird to me as our nursery doesn’t close for bank holidays in the first place. They are open every weekday bar two weeks at Christmas (we don’t pay for those weeks although obviously it’s covered by the fees generally). Both mine have done Mondays and Fridays so this would be very annoying! And I don’t ‘get’ bank holidays either, those days are added to my holiday allowance for me to take when I choose, same as for the nursery staff.

It would make more sense IMO for the fees for all kids to cover the costs of bank holidays and then not charge individuals for days the nursery isn’t open.