Paying for nursery on bank holidays: FAQs

Bank holidays, such as Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, offer an anticipated sense of respite for many people across the UK, but they can cause a problem when it comes to childcare.

Here are some of the most asked questions when it comes to nurseries and bank holidays, including why some settings still ask families to pay for nursery on bank holidays.

Are nurseries closed on bank holiday?

Most nurseries will close on bank holidays.

If they are open, they may change their opening/closing times depending on the time of year.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day are both bank holidays but many nurseries will close for the whole Christmas week.

While, over Easter, nurseries tend to close from Good Friday to Easter Monday.

Everything will be dependent on the individual nursery, so it’s worth speaking directly with staff to find out what days and times they’ll be open during bank holidays.

Do nurseries charge for bank holidays?

Nurseries are able to charge on the days when they are closed due to bank holidays. If a setting will be closed any other days over the year, they tend not to charge families for this time, or it will be accounted for in the average monthly costs.

If the nursery is open during bank holidays and you choose for your child not to attend on their regular days, you’ll likely still pay for those sessions as normal.

As always, speak to your nursery to find out what their plan is over bank holidays. As well as giving you more information about how payment will work, it will also ensure you have plenty of time to arrange alternative childcare if you should need it.

Is it normal for nurseries to charge on bank holidays?

Many nurseries charge for bank holidays throughout the year, even if they are closed.

If your nursery does charge for bank holidays and you normally pay a monthly fee based on the days your child attends, you’ll usually be charged as usual, without any reductions for the day the nursery is closed.

If your nursery closes for bank holidays and doesn’t charge for these days, your invoice will normally include the total amount with the bank holiday(s) deducted.

Why do nurseries charge for bank holidays?

Although paying for a nursery day that you can’t use may seem unfair, nurseries do this so they can continue to cover their own costs, including staff, setting and resources.

Generally speaking, if a nursery doesn’t charge customers for bank holidays, it will make up for this loss in other ways, such as higher rates across the year.

However, it’s not always as simple as it seems.

In many cases, nurseries will average the cost of your scheduled days over a set number of weeks across the year, meaning your payments are spread equally across 12 months, regardless of attendance. Whilst some do this for the whole 52 weeks of the year, many nurseries will average the cost over fewer weeks to account for days when your child doesn’t attend.

For example, if a nursery averages the cost of your child’s scheduled days over 48 weeks, this leaves four weeks per year which you essentially don’t pay for – this will take into account any days when the nursery is closed (such as bank holidays), as well as any other days when your child doesn’t attend on their scheduled day(s), due to holidays or sickness, for example.

Your payments will then be spread equally across the year, so the reductions are already included in your standard monthly payment (or however often you pay), rather than including a reduction for a particular day.

When your child originally joined the nursery, you would have signed a contract which should provide all the details of how the fees work. If there is anything you’re unsure about, refer back to this contract or speak to the staff at the nursery.

Can I change my planned days if the nursery is closed on bank holidays?

This will depend on the policies in place at the nursery. Some nurseries will be more flexible, allowing you to switch your days if you would prefer to. You’ll usually still have to give a fair amount of notice though, so bear this in mind.

However, many nurseries won’t allow you to change your day(s) because of bank holiday closures. If you want to book an additional session because of the closure, you’ll usually pay for the bank holiday day and an additional cost for the extra session, and this will be dependent on availability.

Childcare during the summer holidays

If your child’s nursery is term-time only, you may need to look for alternative childcare to see you through the summer. Our article covers the different options available during the summer holidays.