Feeling letdown - 2 months notice!

[Lolaesque]

Hi Everyone,

I've not gone through the thread on here, so apologies if this post is repetitive.

Bit of background. My DH has continued to work throughout lockdown - his place of work is 60 miles away. I'm a key worker. We have a DD who is just coming up for 2.

When the Government announced nurseries would be closing to all except for key workers, our nursery (it's a chain of 6) made a big song and dance on social media about keeping all 6 of their nurseries open for key worker children. They even put an ad out on social media promoting themselves for other key workers who had no childcare.

Fast forward a week into lock down and on the Friday I received a telephone call to say that they were closing the nursery DD goes to from the Tuesday of the following week. The only one they were keeping open was their head office nursery. I wasn't able to send DD to this one as it was 1 hour in the wrong direction from my place of work.

I took annual leave initially to provide childcare. By chance I then stumbled on a local independent nursery Facebook page who had posted about sending gloves to a local hospice and they were still open for key workers. I contacted them and they were agreeable for DD to attend on a pay as you go basis.

This new nursery is completely different to her regular one. The child do so much more outside and DD seems so much happier here. They also seem so much better at communication and each day on Tapestry they are posting interactive stories and music time videos for those children who are not currently attending. We've had absolutely nothing from DD's regular nursery.

I've been so impressed with this new nursery and DD can't wait to get there in the mornings.

I feel completely letdown by her regular one and can't understand how a small independent one with less staff can stay open, yet a massive chain can only keep 1 open and not consider those key worker parents over an hour from their head office one! I can't help but feel it's about their overheads and money.

Yesterday I telephoned the regular place and asked if the 2 notice period still applied given they had only provided us with 2 days. I was told it was 2 months!

I'd really like to keep DD where she is, but can't afford to pay for 2 (we're not currently paying her regular one). My concern is that her regular one re-opens and we have a second surge and they close again and I have to move DD again.

Is anybody else in this predicament? Feeling letdown. Is it going to be really disruptive moving her back and then potentially back again?

Both are outstanding nurseries, although the new one works out at approx £60 more a month, which we can just about do.

Give them 2 months notice but backdate it to when they closed
Don’t pay them any money
And yes, nurseries are about money and profits, they are businesses after all
It always amazes me when people think otherwise, it’s very expensive to run a nursery

As a childminder we have been told all our contacts are invalid for families unable to attend if they are not a key worker etc. So if they give notice we can not hold them to notice period or change a notice fee.

Keyworkers contracts are still valid even if they are not sending the child to us.

I would think as your nursery shut to you this means there contracts are invalid too, they may try and get around it saying they offered care at over an hour away. Personally I would give notice and not pay as they are not offering you a service, are they still charging you?

Take look into competition and marketing authority they are challenging
business over contracts and not offering a service

Interesting, thank you. We will look into it.

Can't you just give notice now, considering you aren't paying her old nursery at the moment? Who knows whether they'll be open again in two months...

I'd also give notice backdated to the day they chose to stop providing childcare.

I can't imagine they will try to take you to court?

There is an investigation into nurseries who are still charging yet not open. There may be legal implications for them if they are charging full price yet not offering a service. They might argue they have given you the opportunity to attend a different setting. In which case you may have to refer to your contract.

Your mistake was to even ask about the notice period! They stopped providing the service, making them in breach of contract and the notice period in the contract no longer applies to you.

Have they not broken their commitment to provide childcare by not providing it in the location you need? How can they keep you to a contract when they have closed down the nursery you use. They are not providing a service to you because of their decision. I would seek legal advice.