Search Q&A
To AO: Diegem crèche - notice period
It's in the contract you've either signed or are going to read before you sign.
I think in the end we did not give any official notice, but this is probably because our daughter moved directly to maternelle so the end of the contract was 'natural'. I am sure there is something mentioned in the contract though, so just ask them.
I do remember them being very flexible. Our daughter is born in early summer and we had originally informed them verbally that she'll move to the maternelle after the carneval break (she reached 2.5 just before that). By the time we got there however we felt that she was not ready and the owner agreed that we could keep her there until the Easter and then re-evaluate if she''ll need the place even longer. In the end she stayed until end of July. On the other hand I am sure that how they handle the situation depends on how many children they have in the queue waiting to enter the creche.
Now that I think about it, I seem to remember we did pay 1 week of the August, but not sure anymore if that was for the holiday practice or for the ending of the contract. The holiday practices are in any case good to check before you sign, many creches only agree on 2 or 3 weeks of unpaid period per year not depending on how many weeks the child is actually away.
The creche we were at was the same each month 12 months a year regardless of holidays. Required 2 months notice in writing. Though we didn't get there as it shut down and left us in the lurch.
all terms and conditions should be in your contract. Creches are open 12 months of a year, with maybe 2 or 3 weeks of closure. Creche workers are paid for the whole year. Overheads last for the owner all year. It's quite logical therefore that you pay for the whole year. There are few creches which are open for term times only, those like that load their fees to cover the closed periods where staff are still paid and overheads like rent still must be paid.
> it's never "logical" that I "pay for the whole year"
It is perfectly logical if it says so in the contract. Which applies to most private creches.
Public creches (commune) usually do not charge if the child is not present,
Private creches are a business, they are hardly going to make a profit if children are taken out for X number of weeks and parents don't pay. Overheads such as staff pay remain and filling the gaps with other children for small periods such as 2 weeks is just not practical.
