AIBU re: paying for childcare in arrears

[Sunnyskies111]

Understand that nannies and au pairs are different so if people could answer the poll only if they've used a childminder or nursery please, but SFE seem to think "all childcare providers" accept payment in arrears because "how do you know what hours you'll need every week until you've had them?". Every childcare setting and provider I've used has stipulated you must book for a whole or half day anyway and pay in advance, am I just out of touch?

YABU- childcare provider accepts payment in arrears
YANBU- childcare provider expects advance payment for the month

Always paid in advance. As I understand it, you are booking a place, rather than paying for hours used. Your space stops the CM from looking after another child (due to ratios). If you can't/don't use your space on any particular day/week, tough.

I'm a childminder and ask for advance or on the day, though have done weekly in arrears in holiday time with school age kids because they dont usually have contracted hours, which suits me as I can say yes or no last minute too!

Nurseries are definitely in advance. As you tend to gave you set days you cant pick and choose on a weekly basis.
My dc nursery you pay weekly in arrears, for the most part you can choose your days with a weeks notice often less.

SFE used to pay you in advance for predicted hours, then you would have to confirm actual costs. I can see why they have changed it to not paying the student directly but paying the provider but I have never paid in arrears always in advance (one provider 2 weeks in advance, one provider a month in advance, one provider 2 months in advance).

My nursery is in arrears. We have set days and we have to pay them regardless of if we use them or not, but it is possible to add additional day if we need them at short notice, if space is available, and so our payments could vary each month if this is the case.

We pay in advance and then if we don’t need the childcare (eg because DC is ill), it’s tough shit! It was bad enough when DS was still in preschool and we were paying monthly, but now he’s in school, there’s nothing more frustrating than booking holiday club for him then him being ill, so I have to take a day of leave off anyway, plus I’m paying holiday club for the privilege of NOT sending him in! I understand why - they still have to pay the staff and will have bought the food and craft activities or whatever, but it’s still galling.

We always paid in advance, this was for a nursery. You obviously have to book specific days/hours anyway and if you decide not to come after booking they won't be able to fill that space so you'd still need to pay.

Always paid my nursery and child minder in advance.

My nursery was in advance, my childminder I now use is in arrears and is most unusual for this practice. Even I advised her not to do it - she was setting up and my children were her first 'clients'.

We pay in advance. It's more about keeping the spot than the actual hours. Even if he's not in for the day, we still have to pay them.

always in advance for the nursery we used - and if you hadn't paid for April by 31st March they reserved the right to decline entry to the premises (never tested whether they followed through that threat!)

it's not like the nursery can recruit a different child to care for if you don't need childcare one Tuesday, so if you have a Tuesday place you pay for every Tuesday whether you need it or not.

My cm invoices me in arrears at the end of each month.

@AnotherMurkyDay I do prefer the provider being paid because it stops overpayments which have an often disastrous knock-on effect. Always paid in arrears with the direct to student grant but this system doesn't work with advanced payment, you can't put the future date in, to quote "They can't confirm costs that haven't occurred yet". As it happens, SFE messed up and my childcare provider wasn't paid at all for the first two months, so I had to borrow money to pay for it, and can't recover the amount.

Afterschool club is monthly advance but childminder was in arrears. Now I don't use childminder that much, it's pay as we go, so weekly in the holidays and by the day if it's a one off inset day.

We paid in advance. We had to pay the same for nursery, even if on holiday it cost the same.

YANBU need to pay upfront our hospital nursery takes the fees upfront and then refunds you the free hours

Nursery we pay in advance. They calculate the monthly cost as the day rate x days x 52 weeks divided by 12.

After school club and childminder are in arrears. The amount we pay depends on how much we use them and how many weeks fall into each month.

We've only just started using a childminder, but she's asked for payment monthly in arrears. It surprised me, as I'd expected her to want it in advance.

I’ve worked in quite a few different nurseries, childcare is always paid in advance as you have to pay to keep your child’s place for regular sessions, regardless of holiday or sickness (or else how would the nursery be able to employ the right number of staff for the amount of children they have)

Our nursery uses a similar method to @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz but only takes out for the Christmas closure. It does mean some months we get a bonus cheap month if one of DDs days falls on a bank holiday 😊

As a childminder I got paid in arrears. I work in a nursery now and it’s payable for the sessions you book, not what you use.