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Do you have to pay for daycare on public holidays ??
I just don't get it.
We have two children who go in one day a week.
We can't swap the day (other days are full) so we just get to spend $200 odd for the boys to *not* get to go to daycare ... ?
Is that normal?
Yeah I hafta pay for public holidays too. Apparently that's why Mondays aren't so popular.
I don't use childcare yet but around here that's what happens. I guess they figure you have to pay for their staff to have the paid day off!
It's normal but unfair when the centre is closed! At our last centre we paid half a day rate for public holidays for the last year we were there, back to paying full rates again now but have swapped days so it rarely affects us now.
Yep we pay for them too. I agree it's unfair when the centres closed. I would rather pay a little extra everyday than pay for a day I don't use. By my calculation, it would be about $3 a day extra.
Yep normal here. They still have to pay the staff so the costs for the day at the same. I dont mind as luckily for us one of us usually has the day off to be with the kids anyhoo
We dont however have to pay for the two weeks over Christmas/NY that the centre is closed - which is nice, a bit more money in our pockets at Christmas time
I would understand more if you were there full time, but when I only have them in for one day, it's really unfair.
For us, we're paying our *whole week* of daycare when we have absolutely no ability to use it.
So DH won't get his uni work and the shopping done, I'll probably have to work anyway, and we're still out of pocket ... :(
Yes is true that is one reason people say Mondays arent so popular but on other hand if you have permanent position and paid public holidays if you work part time you may want Mondays as more days off. My two have always gone Mondays for one of their days as easier day to get - I don't get paid public holidays so is double whammy. Since I have gone back to work in Feb we have had four public holidays if you count this Thurs and have been hit for three of them so that is around 530 dollars - and another coming up in June!:
I understand why have to pay though, the centers have to pay their staff.
Yep thats it and it sucks but its the way it is! The last 2 years my 2 went on ONLY mondays so off course we had majority of the public holidays. This year boys are in Monday and Friday. We pay $97 per child per day even when public holiday!!
It has always annoyed me but what can you do.
Yep, I'll be paying for ANZAC day although the centre is closed. I still have to go to work, but luckily DH will be home to care for the kids.
Yes it sucks, I have to pay for public holidays, but we've now got him going on a Wednesday as apparently most PH fall on Mondays or Fridays????
In principle I get this, but everyone else seems to manage ... I can't think of any other places that doesn't build it into the general cost...? eg: hotels don't kick guests out on public holidays and charge for the room anyway ... The cost of paying the wages, utilities etc are absorbed into the running costs, and the expenses that don't get used those days (supplies, nappies, food, etc) aren't accounted for.:
Anyway, question asked and answered. It looks like it's a standard (albeit highly frustrating) reality of daycare.
I am lucky that my girls go to a flexible centre that will allow make up days or swap days but I agree peanutter that they should be wearing the cost of paying staff.
I pay but I think it's wrong. Every other business has to wear the costs of closing, I don't understand why childcare centers (many of which are profit-driven) can still charge without providing a service. It's not like they don't know several years in advance when the public holidays are. They should be able to smoothe out their expenses, pay their staff and not charge parents who may not themselves be getting paid on the public holidays.
It sucks. My old centre had a good way of managing it though. We would get am extra make up day to use whenever. I didn't mind paying then.
It does suck, DD1's preschool (3-4yr olds only run from 8am-4pm) charge regardless too. DD goes on Monday and Friday :rolleyes: Thankfully they allow makeup classes when there is room on another day. So far DD has managed to get a makeup class for all of the public holidays :D It's our personal holidays and the random sick days that have bothered me but that's how they roll, hey.
That is one of the silliest things I have ever heard! How can they close for the day and still charge you for their services?! No one else can get away with that.
We get half fees charged. Better than nothing I suppose. I too think its pretty unfair. Seems they can do whatever they want !
Make up days are a good idea if the center has any capacity to give you an extra day, but then what about parents who already utilise 5 days a week.
How do private schools do it? You pay per term right? Does the term fee change depending on number of days actually at school that term? Or kinders that pay by the term do their rates change? (I don't know the answers to those questions) but can think of quite a few term based activities where sessions don't run on public holidays and your term fee is the same.
I suppose the way I see it user will pay whatever, either by paying on the day or in the general daily rate - and there are so many other issues with childcare accessibility and affordability that paying on public holidays doesn't rate that highly on the list.
(Although centers being open on public holidays and better hours, Saturdays etc for non 9-5 workers I think is important)
Also a 'hotel' based system where the cost per day depends on the demand for the day (which is one of the way hotels for example work) would be a very bad idea in my opinion.
I'm so used to it I was surprised after school care isn't charging me for Thursday!
My sister who was the director of a CC centre explained it as you are paying for the place to be held.
I don't know about private school fees or kinder fees. The swim school I take the girls to charges by term but if one of your days falls on a public holiday the fee is reduced. It is not a public pool and the only other income they have is from physio setions so not a big business. I know not as big as private school fees and such but an example.
The swim school we used to go to did the same - but only for Mondays - presumably because they were having trouble getting people to sign up to Mondays because of the number of holidays on a Monday.:
You guys all need to move over here! I don't pay for public holidays. We're in four days a week, paying $312 a week, but this week we won't pay for Thursday. Come on over!
My kids go to a private school and I'm honestly not sure if term fees are reduced based on the number of public holidays. I do know that if a private lesson, such as private music tuition or after school sport, falls on a public holiday then the fee is reduced for the term and you do not pay for the lesson on that day.
Most private schools operate on a yearly fee basis, not a term fee. The yearly fee is simply broken down to be paid at regular intervals. It is not based on how many days per term classes are offered.
DD1's ballet class (paid per term) is cheaper in term 1 because they are 3 weeks shorter due to holidays.
Where are you? :D :D:
Lol a very small town out of Adelaide, you wouldn't all fit here :rofl: But our daycare is state-wide, I don't think they're all over Australia, but surely the others in the same company would be the same?:
Bellybelly may have just found were they can start their zombie apocolypse commune when the time comes. I hope that the childcare fees will still be waived on public holidays when we all ascend on your town Teeki ;):
Kinder is the same. DD goes Mondays and Fridays, and even though we get majority of public holidays, we pay same as the Wednesday/Friday group.
Wow, I didn't know this, but sadly I am not surprised. So best I avoid Mondays when I book for child care? Mondays at work suck anyway :lol: So that would work well for me :)
Well that's ridiculous. *Everybody* pays for a place to be "held"? How does that even make sense?:
Fair enough if it explains why you pay for care when your family goes on holidays - but not when the centre isn't even open!!
Does this mean that if the centre closes for 2 weeks over christmas (as many do) that parents still pay for those 2 weeks??
No they don't charge if they choose to close as a rule, is only on public holidays. Round here is only council run centers or non profits that close for periods - privates only close for public holidays.:
The idea about holding place for public holidays doesn't make sense I agree.
I think it will change as working patterns change and centers will be open on public holidays soon and then people will still pay if send or not but will be fairer I suppose.
I know at place we go the numbers of children they have in Jan are ridiculously low, but I am very glad they are still open.
We paid too. If I could remember I would put down that DS was having a 'holiday day' on public holidays and we'd only only get charged half fees. I think there was a certain amount you could use each year. It still sucked though.
The group of council centres I use do not charge for public holidays thankfully! So no need for make up days etc No need to pay over the Christmas closure either, but their is an option to use a sister centre over the holidays and pay per day.
I assume they build that "lost income" into their daily fee. They also offer a discount for full weeks.
Yep we pay too. It's crap
Dd goes to a council run daycare Centre and we dont have to pay for public holidays? I didn't realize it wasn't the norm. Our Centre also closes for 2 weeks or so over xmas/new year and we dont pay then either
It irks me too, but I suck it up because I'm fulltime and get paid for public holidays. I feel sorry for people who work casual/PT and don't have a choice and/or still have to work so have to sort out care for the day plus pay for their regular childcare. The other thing that gets me is that my childcare fees cover care, food, nappies.....my DS doesn't wear nappies. Average on 4 changes a day that's 20 nappies a week that I shouldn't be paying for.....okay, a small amount, but it adds up when you take other chidlren who don't wear nappies.
I think it is a bit of a slippery slope to start breaking it down like that - because all children will incur a different cost on a center - e.g. nappies (some may need till 3.5 some only till 2), through dietary requirements (for allergic or religious reasons for example), some children require more attention than others (and staffing decisions can be impacted by that), babies need a higher staff to child ratio than older children, some mums provide breastmilk - some use the centers formula etc etc.:
I pay too but it never really bothered me as I knew that that was the case prior to joining. I don't work on a P/H but I get paid not to be there so it works out the same budget wise for me. I guess it's similar to the fact that I pay even if DD2 is sick or on holidays unless I can sell my day to someone else.
True! Maybe I'm just being too pertnickity!: