Help with creche

RealistSpy

Hi all Parents,

I need help with a creche issue. My son goes to a private creche MontessoriI have to pay my son's creche during bank holiday eventhough the creche is closed fine. Now I have to pay from the 23rd - 4th of January even though the creche is closed aswell I mean what the biscuit! I don't get paid at work on chrismas day do I do why would I pay them for a job they won't do.

Is this normal or I shouldn't have to pay? What can I do I am already paying a lot, going to college and working my socks off!

Victor

If you don't pay, I suspect they won't want your business any more.

Lots of creches do this and I think its outrageous. Sure they need to pay staff, but thats their overhead, not something you should have to contend with.

Oryx

My creche do this too, as they bill on a yearly, divided to monthly, rate. They claim its to pay for staff holiday time. I also pay when my child is sick, when they ask me not to bring the child in as they may be contagious, even if he/she caught the bug in the creche in the first place.:) I also pay for any weeks my children are away from creche on holidays.

It's what you accept if you place your child in a creche that runs with those rules. Others have a pay as you go method of charging, which can work out better, but I've noticed the ones that do that close to me, have shorter hours which dont suit.

I'd imagine if they charged only for 'working' weeks, costs per week would be higher to compensate. One thing parents do at the creche I use, is swap days. Say if an attendence day falls on a bank holiday, they ask for a day in lieu, or request a swap for preplanned days they wont have the child there. But thats usually just one off days.

Moonbeam

Wages are calculated on an average weekly basis so most people earn the same every month whether there are bank holidays or not.
Creches also divide out their fees on average per month to match this.

RealistSpy

I think its a really bad system! Grrrrrrrr

Moonbeam

Would you rather pay more every week and not get charged for bank holidays?
or would you rather your employer did not pay you for bank holidays?

Ickle Magoo

I think that's pretty par for the course. We pay a fixed monthly rate whether it falls on holidays or no. I imagine they have worked out an average of the annual fees and that's what you pay, rather than over the odds during the holiday season?

kelle

Going back to the OP, I think it's outrageous having to pay for Christmas week when they are closed - if you're working and can't get time off, the child still has to be minded and you could end up paying double fees that week!

Our creche actually doesn't charge for Christmas week, so I'm grateful for small mercies.

themysteriouson

My child is also in a private creche and unfortunately they have to be paid the week they're closed aswell. Even though the creche is closed the staff which I have to say in our case do a great job still have to be paid just like everyone else over the christmas so i dont mind.

I do agree that its a big hassel having to pay for a service your not using that week but with my creche we were made aware of all of these issues from the beginning so that it wouldnt come as a shock at christmas.

ash23

Our creche used to be open the week between christmas and new years but have stopped this year as for the last 4 years they might have had 4 or 5 children present and some would be there one day and not the others. At least 2 staff had to be paid (as opposed to making them take their holidays at this time) so it just made more sense to close.

Personally I can see that it's awkward if you weren't expecting it. Did you get a handbook with these details when your child started?
I just take annual leave over christmas. It's easier.

They balanced the closure with not rising their rates in the summer as they usually do.
So rates would normally go up about 5%. They left them as they were, reasoning that we weren't being charged for the weeks closure.

For eg we had been paying 140 per week. Would normally go up to 145 per week (5% increase every year).
Now it's 51 weeks. At the higher rate it'd be €7395 for the 51 weeks(145x51).
We pay 140 over 52 weeks instead = €7280.

We probably wouldn't have had the usual 5% increase this year anyway but it would have gone up slightly as cost of heating and insurance would have to be recouped.