How many of you take your children to a private nursery? I’m guessing that quite a few of you do – it’s not cheap, is it?
Now, on top of what some consider already extortionate fees, some nurseries are charging fines of up to £300 an hour to parents who are late to collect their kids.
And it doesn’t matter if you’ve missed your train or you’re stuck in traffic – they’ll still charge you!
However, the National Day Nurseries Association says that at least two members of staff are needed to comply with child protection and health and safety regulations, so nurseries are justified in charging parents for the extra time they spend taking care of their children if they’re late to collect them.
Some parents are complaining that the nurseries use the late collection fees to make a profit and are taking advantage of people who are already struggling financially.
What do you think about late collection fines? Should nurseries be allowed to impose them to stop parents taking advantage? Is it right to charge parents who are late for a genuine reason that’s out of their control? Tell us here.
1 Comment
November 25, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Nurseries should charge but as a deterrent. Parents need to think of the child, if the child is attending for the whole day and the parent is late on top of that; it can be quite stressful for the child after a long day at nurse,y.
The late collection fee is a contribution to the additional costs of having to pay staff to remain behind, or keeping the nursery open in order to cater for those parents that are consistently late. The regulatory requirements that nurseries have to follow; for example maintaining minimum staff ratios mean that if controls such as late collection fees are not in place – costs for the nursery provider will spiral.