To think it’s actually really unfair to be charged for bank holidays at nursery?

[bouncinround]

And no, I’m not going to complain about it because I don’t want anyone to think I begrudge the staff a day off. I don’t. But I do resent paying for a service I’m not receiving.

Oh hun. It's OK.

Annoyed me too when mine were young. I think the cost for paying staff for bank holidays (and annual leave) should be spread across all users of the service proportionally.

Resorting to insults because you have misunderstood what the op was saying. Great. Tells me all I need to know know about you.

Maybe if you read the full text and didn't just cherry pick the parts that suit your motive, you would have been able to comprehend that.

Well if they are sent on Mondays, which is a bank hold at then yes, you should pay

They are not sent in though. The full post was about the fact that the Monday children are not allowed to attend nursery on a BH Monday however, the parents are still expected to pay even though the nursery is closed.

And it's ONLY the Monday parents that are expected to pay for a day when they are not getting to put their children in childcare as it's closed for the BH.

This essentially means that Monday children loose out on 5-8 days of paid childcare compared to their peers that don't usually attend on Mondays, as they are closed for a BH.

I only read the original thread which did not state this.

Do all nursery’s do this? I mean are they all shut on a BH? My nieces attend a nursery that is open BH. They pay extra for that day

I know what you mean, but it's your choice. Your choice to have kids, you choice to send them to nursery and your choice to send them on a Monday.

When you put it like that it does seem unfair. In that case they'd need to invoice all the parents an extra cost to cover this, they probably don't because it's to complicated to administer and process. You'd think it woukd be built into their operating costs.

I hate it.

i can’t work bank holidays as everything is closed and therefore I don’t get paid for bank holidays.

But I have to pay for the nursery those days even though I cannot use the nursery.

I share your frustrations Op.

It is strange. They should just build the cost into the fees so all clients absorb a little bit of the cost over the year. That's how most businesses pay their staff holidays. Mondays and Fridays are the most avoided days for enrolling kids in childcare for this reason.

The OP has said several times that she doesn't think the staff should be unpaid for their bank holiday..
Her point is that nurseries are a business; and can choose how they bill. If her nursery increased their general day rate a tiny bit, they would have enough extra revenue to not charge for public holidays when the nursery is shut, AND pay staff, in the same way that the fees have to be set high enough to cover their rent and business rates 7 days a week instead of just the 5 that they're open.

I don’t agree with the way it’s organised. Everyone should pay a bit towards bank holidays not just the people who work Mondays. They are getting the raw end of the deal. They should charge just a little bit more per day to cover the cost of bank holidays. But they won’t do that as they want to be able to advertise the lowest possible day rate.

THIS.^

Going against the grain here and HRTFT but I don’t think it’s reasonable to charge service users for a day they’re not getting. Staff holiday pay needs to be factored in to the price setting overall, not paid from the takings on the specific day they’re working.

I’m also willing to bet that at least some staff are on zero hours contracts and they certainly won’t be paid for bank holidays, or indeed any hours they’re not actually at work. And any part time staff will get BH pro rata anyway and may find themselves short paid this month as a result (ask me how I know) so again, the nursery is not using this money to pay staff for their day of rest. They’re using it as a way to get free money from their clients.

Parents whose children attend 5 days a week will still be paying the same.
Parents with children who usually attend Tuesday and Wednesday will pay a bit more but that's fair because they are rarely affected by bank holidays.
The OP would pay a bit less as most bank holidays are on Mondays or Fridays.

Of course it is ridiculous. It's a service, a business nowhere else would you pay for a service you don't get. How to pay the staff or give them adequate holidays is for the employer to work out, not the users of the service surely! It should be factored in the price overall in order for them to pay their team. For someone like the OP to have to pay for a service she doesn't get 8 days in the year is ridiculous. Especially as she is using about 90 days in the year (if that) so that's a 10% (calcs maybe different depending on when Xmas and boxing day fall). My nursery never did that. Pretty sure we paid half or nothing for a couple of weeks too to reflect the fact that we were away. Things have gone bonkers lately. Yes it's a tough business to run but it's still a business. It needs to make sense. And it never makes sense to pay someone for a service that is not delivered unless of course it's an employment relationship (or worker status) and as the employer there are obligations around holiday pay. Outside of that it is crazy.

Agree with this

Does seem unfair that Monday parents carry the whole cost of Monday bank holidays

I don't see why you should pay for a day you are not getting. If they are not open, you should not pay.

Maybe but you have to pay 22 full time staff where I work,plus running costs.

Why?

So the staff get paid time off

The nursery DGD has just been enrolled in stipulates that three day attendance ( the minimum) must include Monday or Friday.

Being charged for bank holidays was a source of frustration for me to, OP, I agree with you!

It’s poor financial planning on the nursery’s part. They should work out the cost to them for bank holidays and factor it in to every paying customer. Every customer should be paying a tiny amount between them to cover the cost of the BHs.

Take Royal Mail as an example. A stamp costs the same wherever you live in the UK. But the price of collecting and delivering post is much higher in very remote places compared to cities. But every customer who buys a stamp pays a tiny bit towards this expense irrespective of where they live, so the costs are spread evenly. This is the approach that nurseries should take.

How do you think businesses like banks pay their staff on bank holidays? They build it into their business structure, staff pay isn’t paid for by the day’s income that they worked!

Yes it is. Your nursery fees pay the wages of the staff, fund the rent/mortgage of the facility etc and none of those costs go away on a bank holiday. If that’s much of a big deal plan the nursery days so they’re not on a Monday.