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Original poster

IF private nurseries shut down?

141 replies

Undecided91 · 08/03/2020 19:28

So yet another Q about Corona! What IF private nurseries start closing? Are we supposed to still pay upftont fees? My son goes to nursery and if he cant go I cant work so potentially I wont be paid but then would I pay the nursery regardless? How would this supposed to work? i.e. it cost around 70% of my wage to pay the nursery but if we dont pay - we lose our place. I am so confused and scared tbh...

OP posts:
mylittlewoodenword · 08/03/2020 19:35

I back your question. I have my for one day a week, but this is worrying for so many parents. She was originally 2 days a week but cancelled to one day a week due to the worry of paying for nursery and keeping DC at home. I kept one day a week to not loose the place.

eeyore228 · 08/03/2020 19:38

I would ask the nursery.

forrestgreen · 08/03/2020 19:40

I would say if they close then there's no fee to pay. Have a look at your contract. So it's doubtful they'll be wanting to close.
As a childminder, if I didn't open I didn't charge.

Jobseeker19 · 08/03/2020 19:43

I would also like to know if I would still get paid as a nursery worker.

scrivette · 08/03/2020 19:47

I am pretty sure you would still have to pay unfortunately, assuming they would be told to close by PHE, as they still have to pay their staff.

Original poster
Undecided91 · 08/03/2020 19:49

I dont think theres anything in the contract about corona virus or any similar potential long term shut down. We do pay for bank holidays etc even though they are closed. And we do pay for when my child is sick and cant go (where I stay home with him and dont get paid because I cant go to work) but it is usually just a few days. Now wer are talking about weeks...months...? I wonder what are other parenta thoughts on this x

OP posts:
Kawahara · 08/03/2020 19:52

It's a shit situation because if you dint pay there may be no nursery to go back to. Insurance may cover it, but often business go under waiting for a pay out.

On the other hand....how do you afford to pay when you cant go to work.

Original poster
Undecided91 · 08/03/2020 19:55

Exactly that... if I dont work I dont get paid. How can I pay the closed nursery then? Take a loan? Because we are not talking about a couple of hundred pounds. We are talking thousands here :( I hope we wont come to this

OP posts:
DressingGownofDoom · 08/03/2020 20:00

I have wondered about this too. If the nurseries close and don't get paid it could mean they have to close permanently. But if we have to pay for weeks/months and can't work then that would be a disaster! I should like to think the government would create a fund for day nurseries to cover this exceptional circumstance but I think that might be a bit optimistic.

Rhayader · 08/03/2020 20:04

I think you would have to look at the T&Cs of the nursery.

LouQoo · 08/03/2020 20:04

A friend of mine works in a nursery. They had been told on Friday that if they have to close then the staff would be paid SSP but the customers / parents would still have to pay full fees. Terrible for her as she is looking at less than half her pay but has a daughter at the nursery she works at, so will still have to pay the fees to keep her place.

Borderscotch · 08/03/2020 20:06

All the major nursery insurers have said they will not pay out for coronavirus closures.

rosie1959 · 08/03/2020 20:11

Dont see how they can charge for a service they cannot offer

TW2013 · 08/03/2020 20:17

Wonder whether maybe nurseries should stay open but also take older children and be just for essential workers.

mummabubs · 08/03/2020 20:19

I feel like one of the 'lucky' ones in that my DS's nursery doesn't charge for Bank Holidays/ days when they close so I'm hoping they wouldn't charge. However they are also one of the most expensive nurseries for miles about so we don't feel like we save much even with the bank holidays. They've published a preliminary Coronavirus policy which states all parents will have to antibac upon entering and leaving. (We live in an area that has had 2 confirmed cases so far).

WinterCat · 08/03/2020 20:19

I would expect the nursery to have some form of insurance to cover them and their outgoings for this sort of thing. Perhaps that’s very optimistic of me though!

MrsBooks · 08/03/2020 20:23

@Borderscotch where have you got that information from? I work at a nursery and have been trying to get ahold of our insurance company all week to ask this very question.

EYProvider · 08/03/2020 20:25

I’m a nursery owner.

Insurance companies are not paying out for coronavirus, and this is ALL insurance companies. I was told this categorically last week by my insurance provider, which is the biggest insurer of nurseries - Morton Michel.

This means that if parents don’t pay in the event of forced closures, staff won’t get paid, rent won’t get paid and all nurseries will be forced to close.

That’s stating facts by the way, not being dramatic. Money does not grow on trees and you can’t pay out what doesn’t come in.

In a nutshell, the childcare industry will collapse.

WinterCat · 08/03/2020 20:30

@EYProvider could you work with parents to offer a reduced rate, one that literally covers the basics as there will surely be some savings (no food, arts/crafts etc no used) so that it would be a slightly smaller bill? I appreciate rent and staff salaries won’t change, but I would have hoped other things might not be quite so much.

Babytigerrr · 08/03/2020 20:33

@EYProvider

Will you have to close when schools close though?

Surely if theres a choice you wont?

Ilove · 08/03/2020 20:37

You need a nanny. I’ve taken advice and have measures in place to protect all my families - I have 6 different families a week.

We work through most things.

PlugholePencil · 08/03/2020 20:40

If this happens I’d pull my child’s place and then put them on a list again when places start to reopen.
No way am I paying full fees if the nursery shuts.

Babytigerrr · 08/03/2020 20:41

Many people (myself included!) Cant afford a nanny so am not sure thats a helpful suggestion!

EYProvider · 08/03/2020 20:45

@Babytigerrr - I’ll do anything I can to stay open, but if the government orders the nursery to close, there won’t be any choice.

@WinterCat - The basics cost nothing. Parents don’t understand how expensive nurseries are to run, and it’s because staff costs and rent are astronomical.

You need so many staff to meet the minimum ratios, and £8.21 an hour plus Employer’s NI plus pension payments for unqualified staff alone is actually crippling in comparison to what actually comes in. And that £8.21 rises to £15 an hour plus for a Level 3 or 4.

Then there is rent, which in London, can be in excess of £4000 per month.

Most nurseries are barely scraping by - no way could they pay wages and rent if no money was coming in.