If a nursery closes or closes early due to the weather should we get a refund?

[Iwasthefourthwiseman]

Dd1's nursery is still open but due to the weather closing early so the staff can get home safely. Should we be refunded for this?

Personally I say no. I dont expect to be refunded when the nursery is shut due to adverse weather.

But why should I take the hit and not the business? Just playing devils advocate really. Dd isn't even in nursery as we can't get there, but I'm taking the hit on that.

Depends of whether they would charge you extra if you are late picking up due to being stuck in a snowdrift.

No
do think the staff should be paid less because of the snow?

Put yourself in the place of the staff at the nursery. How would you like it if your workplace closed due to weather and subsequently you weren't paid. That's what would happen if nurseries had to reimburse you.

If DS is sick and doesnt go in, I still expect to pay. Similarly today, have taken an AL day. Could walk DS to nursery and to work, but I cleared all the important stuff yesterday so wont risk it. I still expect to be paid/pay the nursery. I budget for 51 weeks of the year, and unless they are long term closed (e.g. 2 weeks or more due to heating etc) I keep enough AL days and work at home up my sleeve just in case.

I know not everyone thinks the same though.

I'm not suggesting the staff shouldn't be paid but wondering why I have to take the hit and not the business. If I was off work my company would take the hit not me, so shouldn't the nursery company take it too, why does the customer have to pay for a service they aren't getting.

If I'd booked a meal at a restaurant but the restaurant closed I wouldn't be expected to pay for a meal I didn't have.

Sainsbo's delivered my food order half hour late yesterday due to snow and they gave me a £10 even though it wasn't their fault.

I'm just saying aren't this the sort of loss a company should absorb. Why should I lose out?

I don't understand why you are 'losing out'. It's money you've already accounted for and spent, and it's not like having your DCs with you for a couple of extra hours is costing anything extra.

My DS's nursery is a small, privately run nursery with a high staff:child ratio. It's not a large corporation that can 'absorb' the staff salaries if they are not getting paid by parents.

I wouldn't expect a refund. They've still got staff and overheads to pay.

I think you should be refunded. If they have made the decision to close then they should make that as a business decision; if they can't afford to shut, stay open. And by afford I mean able to cover the costs of that decision.

Potential costs of staying open: overtime for stranded staff, accommodation costs, legal proceedings/compensation if sued for health & safety breech if something happens if stayed open vs potential costs of staying shut: cost of refunding half day nursery fees.

They are a business, not a charity. You don't need to feel obligated to pay for a service you've not received.

But so would a restaurant but they wouldn't expect customers to pay. If I worked freelance & I couldn't work because the nursery was shut I would lose out.

Just so you know these are all hypotheticals, I'm on mat leave and can't get dd in anyway!

I just would have though if I choose not to take dd in fair enough but if they can't open because they can't provide staff that should be their problem not mine.

Fwiw when it snowed last year staff got one or two days paid leave but after that it was annual leave or unpaid.

Our nursery closed early yesterday to esnure staff, parents & children could all get home safely. They also decided to open later today so that there would be time to call round should theree be any problems (normally open at 6.30 and opened at 8.00 instead). I think this approach has been sensible and I don't expect a refund.

If the nursery decided not to open at all I would expect my money to be refunded. I get paid if I get to work even if I am late. If I don't try it's AL or unpaid. If the nursery try and provide a service I will expect to pay.

IMO the nursery should take the hit. They are making the decision to close, if there were no consequences for them for doing so, then where's the incentive for anyone at the nursery to make the effort?

Staff getting home safely is important but it's not exactly guaranteed that staff leaving early will get home safely and those who stay until the usual closing time will not!

I think it depends. If it is just a bit early and not a regular thing I would just go with it. But if closed all day or they close early a lot then I would ask what their policy is

at my nursery we did not make our parents pay for the days we were closed for the snow and we havent before but its a huge hit for us to take and i think if it went on for a week we would have to charge as the over heads would be too much

think of it this way would you rather not pay and save a small ammount and the nursery closed because it couldnt afford to keep it open and you have to settle your child into a new setting

I want my nursery to make these sorts of decisions on the basis of health and safety of staff and children and not on the basis of money.

dd2's nursery was closed for half a day due the weather - burst pipe when it was really cold which meant the heating wasn't working

I had to take half a day off work, and as I had no annual leave left (holiday year ends in December) I will have to work the time back. That means that dd2 will have to go to nursery for half a day at my additional expense.

ie I am out of pocket. Not the nursery's fault but certainly not mine either and I am fairly pissed off about it tbh.

I don't want a refund, I just want them to have dd for half a day, on a day that suits them (ie when numbers mean that her being there won't incur additional staff costs) but they won't countenance it on the basis of being fair to everyone

Hey ho, such is life I suppose