Should nurseries refund parents when the child is excluded?
Show your support
If you agreed to that policy when signing your child up to go there, then no.
You agreed to the policy when you signed your contract and sent your child there They’re a private business and are allowed to have whatever exclusion policies they wish in regards to contagious illnesses That said 7 days is steep! I don’t think it’s on them to refund you for a period as per their policy
Not at all, why they should loose money when your child is ill. I get paid when I'm off ill. It's there business so they can set the rules, HFM is highly contagious, and our nursery won't except kids back until scabbed over and I fully accept that, they sent the whole baby room home last week. You should have been given a policy when signing up.
Maybe not a full return but I'd appreciate at-least half back. The amount of times my daughters was off sick was frustrating. Even though she was acting perfectly fine at home.
I work in a private nursery and our policy is that they can come in with HFM, 7 days exclusion is a bit steep. They would not reimburse for time off for the child as the payments guarantees your space
@Alex they didn’t have this policy. It’s something they’ve suddenly decided and told us about when our child caught it
@Sarah to control the spread they say
@Kath they didn’t have this policy when signing up. They have just started doing this now
@Amy we didn’t agree to it because it’s something they’ve just started doing. The only way we found out is because our child caught HFM.
That’s crazy. Especially seen as HFM is most contagious a few days before the lesions appear. That’s what I thought was the reason behind the NHS not recommending an exclusion period. Have you spoken to the manager about it? I know because they are private businesses they can largely decide their own rules but could it be that this has just come from one of the workers in the room as an assumption? Xx
@Chelsea it was an email from the nursery office. It just seems really unfair because she caught it at nursery. Now I’m having to juggle working from home while looking after her because I can’t take any time off work
Ours had to be off 5 days when he had HFM. The doctor actually said to keep him off for 2 weeks! But nursery said their policy was 5 days for HFM. It's frustrating paying money when they're not there but I've just accepted he gets ill a lot from nursery and as crap as it is that's just how it is. In all fairness he was so ill with HFM he wouldn't have been able to go in even if they didn't have this policy.
I genuinely thought you meant excluded as in for bad behaviour 😂 I was like, they do that that early haha As someone has said above, it's probably in the small print of the enrollment contract you signed. In an ideal world they should refund or follow the NHS guide at least x
@Incognito 👻 since it’s not in the contract and they haven’t gotten you to sign an updated policy / contract, I’d definitely speak to the manager. 7 days is really steep. If she/he agrees to talk with you, definitely go in with a calm mind, so that they’re more willing to cooperate. Going in upset, frustrated or willing to bring the law down on them will cause them to double down on their decision. At least this is what I would do 😅 I hope this is helpful
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
I work at a nursery and have done since 2020 (have recently changed nurseries since going back from maternity). My little one is also at nursery with me so I have both perspectives on this. At my first nursery the policy was until every blister was scabbed as it can be spread through the liquid in them. Now at my second nursery they said there is no longer an exclusion period which seemed scary to me as I knew babies could come right back and give it to my little one... which is exactly what happened. It spread so quickly that they added a 3 day exclusion period as they're small so they would have ended up shutting down. It was so horrible to see my little baby covered in these spots, especially when a baby had it at my old nursery but never passed it onto anyone else because of the exclusion period (and it was a much bigger nursery)
As for having to pay, just imagine your child being off for that week and they have to give you that money back... say £500. Would they now be taking that out of someone's wages even though they've still worked and looked after others, or would it come out of the food and supplies for your baby? Nurseries actually make very little money because they have so much staff for so little children because of ratios, they need to pay for food, supplies, gloves and aprons and stuff for staff, potentially the nursery provided wipes and nappies and stuff... it's a lot. That's why you need to pay to secure your child's space, they can't just predict your child being ill and buying less shopping that week for them 🤷🏼♀️
Our nursery will still have them with HFM (providing they’re well in themselves) as it’s so common x
Was the new policy shared in any way shape or form? Eg is it online and available but you’re expected to check them regularly hence you missed it Or have they literally sprung it on you? Or did the policy say there will be an exclusion policy for some common childhood diseases and you’ve never needed to check until now If they genuinely didn’t communicate I’d be challenging it tbh
48 hours if the child has vomited. Other than that if the kid is well enough to attend they can go. I wouldn't keep mine home for 7 days. That's crazy. Especially since they get sick in the nursery all the time. But I'd look at the contract and see what it says regarding illnesses. They probably covered themselves 🫣
Just saying, when there is an outbreak of something (like 5+ cases across the centre) it is totally reasonable for them to require an exclusion period even if it's not in a policy.
Depends on what their policy is and what you signed up to. I would send them all the info from NHS about them not needing to be off. My LG wasn’t kept off when she had it because it will have already spread by that point.
In the current climate, nurseries set the tone. And each nursery has different policies that can change without giving notice, no matter what the NHS advices. In other countries you wouldn't pay for service you don't get, but here they can refuse service for any reason they want. Have you seen your contract?
Tbf I'd be happy nursery was making them stay home. I know it's not nhs guidelines to have to do so but it's still super contagious.
@Charlee but it’s contagious before symptoms appear and after they’ve gone. So excluding children for a certain number of days doesn’t stop the spread. That’s why the NHS advice is what it is. Different people will have different opinions on this, of course. Often dependent on family circumstances and how difficult the lack of childcare is for them. Ultimately it comes down to the individual nursery’s policy but if they are refusing to take a child who is well enough to attend, against NHS advice, based on a policy that wasn’t communicated when parents signed their contract, then they are on dodgy ground.
@Charlee I think it’s to do with the severity of the illnesses as well. Chickenpox can be dangerous for some people like pregnant women and newborn babies. Hand, foot and mouth is unpleasant but not as severe.
HFM is very contagious so once we have 3 or more cases within the room ask parents to keep their children off for a few days to reduce the chances of HFM spreading even more
@Sophie sorry I just realised that this isn't the post about chicken pox vs hf&m that I've just seen, so apologies for throwing chicken pox in their out of context for this thread 🤦♀️ my little one has down syndrome and actually can be at a much higher risk of complications due to this but appreciate for typical children it can be less severe. (Just as a point to note though, if a pregnant woman catches hf&m close to giving birth, there is a chance it is passed on to baby so there is a risk there too.) but I guess thats probably it, as it is less dangerous than others in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately illness runs so fast through classrooms that if every kid that got sick at school didn’t pay that time teachers wouldn’t get paid and centers would close down. It seems crazy with how high fees are and how low staff is paid now but economically childcare profit margins are razor thin.
No, as they still charge regardless for the place. Just take emergency leave and stay at home with your kid, unfortunately this is what us parents have to do sometimes!
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
@Rebecca what is emergency leave? Never heard of it
Are you in the UK? If so, every employee with dependant children is entitled to unpaid parental leave.
@Rebecca yes UK. Thank you! Tbh I don’t think I can afford to lose 4 days’ pay so it is what it is I guess!
Incog, my work allows 5 days paid leave for parents with dependant children. So maybe check with your work place as might not be unpaid.
Interesting take! My nursery only excludes for chickenpox. HFM and other things is continue as normal. What is their reasoning for stopping attendance for something that has no official NHS isolation guidance?