Nursery fees - is this normal?

[NobodyKnowsIAmACat]

I'm doing a phased return to work when I finish my maternity leave - 3 days a week for a couple of months and then up to 4 days each week. The nursery rate seems to indicate that we will have to pay for 4 days even when DS is only going there for 3 days for some weeks. Is this standard practice, in order to reserve his place on the 4th day for when we need it? Thanks!

Hmm. That does sound odd. At our nursery you pay for however many days your DC attends. Any changes to that need a month's notice, but you certainly don't pay for more days than the child attends in the meantime.

if you are asking them to keep the place aside for 4 days for your son from the time you return to work then they are perfectly justified to charge you for it. They then cannot offer this day to another child, it is resevred for you.

If you'd rather pay for just 3 days until you need more then you'll have to take the chance that they may or may not have a space for your son on a 4th day.

It is totally normal

Depends on the nursery and their scehem, but yes it can be, because it'd be almost impossible to find another child for that spare 1 day each week till he goes to 4 days.

Because I pay via salary sacrifice my employer has to match (eg) a child who wants mon-weds with one who wants thurs-fri only as the nursery will only deal in 'whole' (ie full time) places not odd days here and there.

depends on how popular the nursery is I guess, as to whether you should take that chance.

At my dd's nursery my frined had to pay for a full time place even though she was doing a phased return to work. This is becasue it is a popular nursery and places get full up. If you don't pay to reserve the place they cannot guarantee it will still be there. Ours has a waiting list and we are offered discounts for giving up days we don't need so that they can offer full time places to new children.

crikey thats complicated stuff mRs Badger!

yes - am glad I;m not the one who has to do the matching!

Ah, thank you all, I thought that it probably was normal, but hoped that it wasn't! Ah well, it's all part of the expensive business of DCs