Guest Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hi all Just wondered what you think. School club is closed over the Easter holidays due to no heating, electric and water as the school is having improvement works. Having to signpost parents to other places. Staff are now querying about their pay. Good Fri and Easter mon they get paid holiday pay. Of course there is no way we can insist that they take the rest of easter holidays as holiday. As a club we are ok for money so should we pay staff (I know my own setting would no way be able to afford this and we would not be paid!). Club is funded totally by fees ie no funding however it is still a charity so is this allowed? Its not staff fault we cant open. Not really sure how I feel or what to do about this. No policy or contract covers this at the moment! What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbat Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Is there anything that could be done while closed like cleaning, sorting etc etc just so they are doing something in order to get paid? I know it's not their fault you are closed but as a manager myself if we ever had to close we could never afford to pay the staff and to be honest I don't think the staff would expect to be paid either - but we are a small non profit making pre-school which doesn't sound the same as you?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I think that if you can afford it, then you should pay them. It's not their fault the building is closed and the goodwill factor in this is important. It might pay you to say that it's possible this time because the funds allow it, but if you had to close again, you would have to review any closures on a case by case basis, so you aren't setting a precedent. I don't think it matters that you are a charity......all the charity commission does is to check you spend your money appropriately; this would seem to be covered by paying staff wages during a closure of this nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I also agree with mrs b........if you can give them jobs to do in the meantime, then that would be a good compromise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello Kitty Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm not sure many other professionals would happily lose money through no fault of their own would they we do put up with some rubbish but as charities we can't spend money we don't have... Do the children still have to pay their fees if the school is shut? I'm assuming not actually as just realised you said they were signposted elsewhere. We have managed to avoid closure but we thought we might have to due to no water (and therefore no toilets either) a while ago and decided staff would stay and do 'stuff' as we could access school toilets etc. In the end we decided that the children could use those too and it was OK. We would have paid staff but they would have been at work so not quite the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hi all Well went away and did some internet research and found the answer which makes interesting reading. I would check your contracts now!! "If an employer temporarily has to close its business premises at short notice because of unforeseen circumstances such as flooding, fire or a power supply failure, and there is no work available for its employees as a result, this will result in a period of lay-off. Unless there is a contractual right to lay employees off without pay, or employees expressly consent to being laid off without pay, they will be entitled to receive their normal pay for the duration of the lay-off. If the employer fails to pay employees they may sue for damages, or claim unfair constructive dismissal (if they resign as a result of the non-payment) on the ground that there has been a fundamental breach of the contract of employment. Employees may also claim that the employer has made unauthorised deductions from wages." what do yout think of that then???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello Kitty Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 See marley - that's what I meant when I said other professionals wouldn't have it... but you can only pay what you have and if you sue a pre-school, chances are they would have to close to pay out In my position, every penny counts and I would end up overdrawn if we had to take days off unpaid... I'm sure I'm not alone. I wonder if insurance would cover it? I mean if it's a problem that has forced closure the 'fix' may be an insurance claim... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Well have just checked my contract and there is a clause in there saying that we arent paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 As for giving them jobs...the cupboards are a nightmare! So could possibly go in and do a good sort out! Thats something to think about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello Kitty Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Sounds like a plan... when else do you get time to do stuff like that? We used to have a paid day at the end of the summer term to do it but can't now we don't control our own budget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 They may not be allowed onto the premises if it is closed for a reason, so cleaning onsite may not be possible.. any items they could take home to wash/clean/repair.. paperwork that could be checked, policies to read and check.. , new signs etc to be made, so now we all need to remember to add a clause to the contracts to cover this sort of incident... I am sure that many staff would be sympathetic if it meant paying them for a period would end up with the setting closing due to the cost and hence they would all end up with no job at all.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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