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hi all,

 

just wanting to see what the rest of you out there do in the same situation as us.

 

playgroup, village hall, committee run

 

situation 1: two weeks ago we had a weeks notice from our hall committee saying urgent repairs were needed on the ceiling and we would have to be out of the hall on that day. so we closed for the day.

 

2: before the end of last half term, we had 4 out of the 6 staff employed either off sick or with their own children off sick.

(minimum of 4 staff needed every day for ratios) lots of children in who really wernt well enough (but thats another post)

so i made the decision to close the setting down for 2 days (then it was end of half term) so all could have a bit longer to get well.

 

well, question is: in this situation,

1) do you refund those who have paid for the sessions.

2) do you pay staff who were willing to work and not absent

 

does anyone know if insurance covers this kind of thing? have asked committee to check, but as of the moment, Haha.

 

we do offer those who are funded the opportunity to make up to their full entitlement

 

any advice?

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Hi Ruthie,

 

I can only relate my practice when I closed due to snow. I gave everyone who would have attended on the sessions a voucher (equivalent to missed sessions) to use at another time.

 

I would look into Insurance for the closure due to hall renovation.

 

I have recently read guidelines for teacher should they be unable to attend school due to snow closure. amongst other things it said that they would be expected to work at home ( I presume paperwork / assessments /etc) and that they should record and prove what they did.

 

You now need to decide whether to pay staff ( I think this will depend on finances available, good will etc) and possibly if paying in the future to have the above requirements as a condition of payment.

This would also have to be detailed in their employment contracts.

 

If you are a member of PLA, I would suggest contacting legal department to see if the committee are legally obliged to pay for days not worked.

My contracts state a minimum of 16 hrs to a maximum of 35 hrs per week employment, so closing for a day would not affect the hours offered to my staff ( they would not go below the minimum 16 hrs with an extra day off).

 

Be interested to hear what you come up with and what legal advice you get.

 

Peggy

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Just some additional advice, if parents start asking for refunds etc, and staff ask for wages - Refer them to the committee - The committee will then have to get the information required to make their decision. You shouldn't have to do this for them, you have enough to do ( I'm guessing you are the supervisor).

 

Peggy

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I too would pay staff for an enforced day off-in fact have done in the past when we were flooded. And I would deduct fees from the next bill, or if it happened in the summer term and the child was not returning then I would give a refund.

Linda

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Nothing much more to add than Peggy has already said - would you be able and do you have the space to make up the children's time by offering an additional session via a voucher scheme, although I know there is a big question over doing this when NEG funded children are say on holiday. Staff I think ought to be paid and as Peggy says this sounds like a good idea to get them to do do some work at home - planning, cutting out/preparing etc without them moaning - you could sell this to the staff and you would benefit too on this occasion but you will need to make sure that the committee reviews this in the contract of employment as to how long enforced closure you are able to pay for and relate this back to the insurance if this covers. If you are a member of the PSLA and have their insurance would love to know the answer as it could affect me too.

Nikki

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PLA insurance...just has a quick glance at the policy and from this I believe to be covered for 'loss of revenue' you have to have paid an additonal premuim, but there are lots of reasons , extensions and exclusions to it so it may not cover you anyway... some of them excluded for the 1st 24 hours... the best way to find out is to telephone them.

 

Inge

 

we too pay staff for closures if it is unavoidable, last time (due to a break in) we organised a staff meeting at home and did some training as well. second day we had to go in aand sort out the mess, parents volunteered and helped us with this too, so none asked for any refund but we did offer addtional sessions if the wanted ...not one took it up.

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