petition to stop nursery fees charges during bank holidays

[Laitan]

Please kindly sign below petition. We should not pay for services not recived.

chng.it/TwBF48b5KX

Laitan where exactly do you think that nurseries get their money from?

I presume you are aware that the funding they are given to cover the 30 'free' hours doesn't actually cover their costs? Many nurseries are closing down. Those that are still open either don't offer funded places, or require top-up payments from parents in order to keep their doors open.

Why don't you direct your petition and outrage at the fact that private business owners are being asked to fund a government policy which should be coming out of general taxation?

A petitioon won't do any good. A private business cn set its own terms and its up to customers as to whether they accept those terms.

When I ran kids drama classes I didn't get paid bank holidays as I could not charge parents for a class that wasn't happening. I allowed for it in setting the weekly rate. A nursery should do the same.

The nursery my children attended did not charge for days they were closed. I would not have chosen one that did as it would have disproportionately affected me as my children attended part time including Mondays.

"But on reflection I don't think it's fair that parents that use Monday nursery end up shouldering the whole of that cost."

The problem with spreading the cost is that parents who don't use Mondays (or Fridays) are then charged for something they don't benefit from: a day off work.

That particularly annoys term-time only parents since most bank holidays fall during the holidays: they may already be paying a higher rate, or a retainer to keep their place.

May I say how heartened I am to see so many parents sticking up for the childcare workers? Up to now, it really has felt that few care we're being shafted. It's good to see that so many do understand.

where have I said nursery workers should not be paid for Bank holidays?

How do you propose the nursery pays them then?

WTF

Hi folks

As others have said up thread, it looks like this one should be moved on over to the petitions and activism board - we'll be pinging it across shortly.

Why not consider going 5 days over 4 (or similar) and have Monday as your non working day OP? Then you get paid the same wage and don't have to pay for bank hol Monday childcare...

How do you propose the nursery pays them then?

By doing what every other business does. Set client rates that covers all overheads including staff holidays.

I’d rather sign my house away for a £1 than sign that nonsense

By doing what every other business does. Set client rates that covers all overheads including staff holidays.

Then wait for all the threads complaining that the nursery fees have gone up to an ridiculous £X an hour, 'just for looking after and educating the most precious thing in my life' how dare they?
Those damm nursery staff wanting decent wages for a very demanding job, what a cheek.

Sorry op, but I actually laughed out loud at the stupidity of your post. Yabu.

If you want good quality care for children you need to be prepared to pay for it. Nursery staff are highly trained and do a difficult job - I don't see why it should be cheap. It reminds me of threads on MN about food being too expensive; in fact food is cheaper than it has ever been. Constant pressure to provide things more cheaply just drives down quality. I don't say this as someone who is well off - quite the opposite.

By doing what every other business does. Set client rates that covers all overheads including staff holidays.

They have. The terms and conditions of the contract say clients pay for bank holidays. If you don't like it, go elsewhere.

As others have said up thread, it looks like this one should be moved on over to the petitions and activism board - we'll be pinging it across shortly

It’s a shame there’s not a thicker than mince board to move it to.

Jesus OP. WHERE do you think the ‘business money’ comes from?

A petition may not be the best way to get a discussion happening but the OP does have a point that if a nursery charges but closes on a bank holiday then some parents are being charged more than others for their actual hours over the year. It is fairer to charge an hourly rate to all that covers the bank holiday costs over the course of the year.

Given the funding crisis that nurseries are facing it probably doesn't seem like a big deal to them but to parents whose children attend just Mondays and Fridays it feels like they are being ripped off.

I did. My two went to an excellent nursery that charged only for the days they provided care.

Back then it cost about £28 per day. I see from their website that current fees are £43 per day or it works out at £38.50 per day if you book full time.

Haha @AmelieTaylor that board would get filled up pretty quickly!

No, staff get paid for bank holidays, staff are the main cost of nurseries.

Huh?
The income comes from fees.You can calculate the fees however you like, they still have to cover costs and provide a return on investment for the owners.
Fwiw the nursery dd3 Went to closed bank hols and a week at Xmas. They also offered term time contracts
They still divided the cost over 12 months.

By doing what every other business does. Set client rates that covers all overheads including staff holidays.

And how will that work when the current "free hours" paid for by the government are already causing nurseries to close down at an alarming rate, because they can't afford to subsidise the "free" pupils?

Oh and there's a board for petitions

Do you mean the board this post is on?

*Oh and there's a board for petitions

Do you mean the board this post is on?*

Ok I should have read further, it was moved.

Nursery workers should be paid by their employers during bank holidays as part of the business running costs and not from charging parents.

The running costs come from charging parents. Particularly with funding for 15/30 hours being below the cost of provision, fees pay for the business running costs.

Most nurseries will be like mine. They charge for 49/50 weeks a year (incorporating bank holiday and Christmas closures in the other 2 or 3 weeks) and then average out over 12 months. So you’re not paying more in January than in February, etc.

Bank holidays are built into that fee structure. To have a further rebate for bank holidays your fees would have to go up (and I’d expect Mondays to become more expensive as they would incur additional expenses for the nursery).