If your daycare or childcare provider closed due to coronavirus, are they still requiring you to pay

[Anonymous]

Question applies to people already in this situation. I know most contracts/terms/agreements don't address this kind of situation, so wondering whether anyone that's currently dealing with this can shed some light on their situation.

I think my provider, a large daycare center, may close next week. No word on whether we'd be expected to pay tuition if the center is closed for weeks on end. I understand fully the need for the teachers to be able to support themselves; at the same time, if the center is closed for a prolonged period, we'd be paying for services that aren't being rendered. It's a tough situation all around.

[Anonymous]

I'm sort of shocked you would consider this a question.

How do you propose any of the staff pay themselves if you aren't paying tuition?

This should've been worked into your budget from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

I think we'll have to pay, and I don't really mind paying, but I know that not everyone is in as fortunate a situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked you would consider this a question.

How do you propose any of the staff pay themselves if you aren't paying tuition?

This should've been worked into your budget from the beginning.

No, it is ridiculous to think your budget should assume a) paying daycare you aren't using, for weeks; as well as, for some people b) not being able to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked you would consider this a question.

How do you propose any of the staff pay themselves if you aren't paying tuition?

This should've been worked into your budget from the beginning.

No, it is ridiculous to think your budget should assume a) paying daycare you aren't using, for weeks; as well as, for some people b) not being able to work.

+100

We aren't talking about parents voluntarily taking their kids out for a three week vacation, or kids getting sick for a few days and hiring a sitter or staying home from work on top of tuition. We're talking about what might look like a month of no daycare. That's extreme and this whole situation is completely bizarre and unpredictable.

OP, my thought was that maybe some of the larger centers have "reserves" for the care providers? I don't really know how that works. I'm a high school teacher, and even up until last week MCEA was sorting out if WE would get regular pay if we shut down for a prolonged period of time (yes, we will).

Obviously I feel for care providers, particularly those who are more so part of the babysitting gig economy. Our former nanny does a part time, after school babysitting job, but this is her primary source of income. If the family she works for start teleworking, they won't have a need for her and she's starting to worry about how she'll make money over the next few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Large daycare center? I would argue I shouldn't pay or pay a reduced rate. They aren't paying for electricity, food, or supplies, so there should be a reduced rate.

Nanny or an inhome daycare? I think you should pay. Nanny should still work thought, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked you would consider this a question.

How do you propose any of the staff pay themselves if you aren't paying tuition?

This should've been worked into your budget from the beginning.

OP here. I'm sort of shocked that you're sort of shocked. Did you consider that maybe I myself won't be paid if the company I work for closes down, limiting my ability to pay for daycare? Companies assume risk when they operate a business; this situation obviously is a special, unforeseen case for which management reserves should be applied to pay teachers. To expect the client, i.e., the family of the children, to pay the teachers' salaries for weeks or months on end while receiving no services in return is not a good business model. Two weeks? Maybe. Three months? No. It's the company's responsibility to plan for this kind of black swan event.

Anyway, you didn't answer my question as it was asked, so I'll hold out for those that do.

[Anonymous]

Of course, how is this a question? They'll lose their workers if they can't pay them and they can't pay them without our tuition.

[Anonymous]

I suspect you will lose your slot when they reopen.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had daycares shut three times due to states of emergency and they always required we pay to keep our spot. It sucks, but a good daycare is hard to replace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sort of shocked you would consider this a question.

How do you propose any of the staff pay themselves if you aren't paying tuition?

This should've been worked into your budget from the beginning.

OP here. I'm sort of shocked that you're sort of shocked. Did you consider that maybe I myself won't be paid if the company I work for closes down, limiting my ability to pay for daycare? Companies assume risk when they operate a business; this situation obviously is a special, unforeseen case for which management reserves should be applied to pay teachers. To expect the client, i.e., the family of the children, to pay the teachers' salaries for weeks or months on end while receiving no services in return is not a good business model. Two weeks? Maybe. Three months? No. It's the company's responsibility to plan for this kind of black swan event.

Anyway, you didn't answer my question as it was asked, so I'll hold out for those that do.

How the hell is a daycare or preschool--with low profit margins--supposed to plan for this sort of event? By its very definition, a black swan event is impossible to predict, so using that term totally undermines your argument.

My kid goes to a preschool that I'm sure will ask us to continue to pay. We will gladly do so because we don't want the teachers and staff to go without their salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suspect you will lose your slot when they reopen.

And then OP will be on here, complaining about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had daycares shut three times due to states of emergency and they always required we pay to keep our spot. It sucks, but a good daycare is hard to replace.

Where do you live???

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on whether or not you want to keep your slot.

If you don't pay I suspect you will lose your slot in 4-6 weeks when they reopen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had daycares shut three times due to states of emergency and they always required we pay to keep our spot. It sucks, but a good daycare is hard to replace.

Yes, but for a weeks-long global pandemic? For an entire season?

I fully get that centers need to shut for a few days here and there. But I'd bed you'd have a claim in small claims court if they required you to pay many thousands of dollars for the teachers to go on a staycation for two months.