Unpaid fees

[charlie999]

Hi,
I have a mum who's child was scratched in my care
She has now said she no longer wants to bring her child, however refuses to pay 4 weeks notice as per contract.

I drop children off so when small injuries happen they are informed at the end of the day due to the fact of busy drop offs, I forgot to mention it at the door and later she text saying it wasn't an issue but what happened, so I explained, she said okay no probs.
Then the notice came, I have a procedure in place which she signed for when she signed them all saying this us how I handle minor injuries which she's never questioned before.

An injury form was completed and due to be signed by mum the next day, however I was off the next day. And also new risk assessments were carried out.

She's saying she doesn't need to pay, however I have not come away from the procedures set out that she signed. That I'm unprofessional for not mentioning it. Of course I understand but it is also easy to forget at the time of rush which is why I have my procedure in place.
Am I right in what I'm saying?

[bunyip]

It's difficult to say "yes" or "no" with 100% certainty, without having read your contract and policies. I'm replying on the basis of a couple of bold assumptions, which is always dangerous, so don't take what I say as advice, but refer the matter to the legal team at your insurer or professional representative body. Also, make sure all your incident record are in order, including her initial reaction of "no problem" before she retracted.

Does your injury/accident policy say/imply that you will inform parents at the end of the day or as soon as possible or similar? If so, then strictly speaking, you haven't followed that policy. That's not the end of the world, as we're talking about a minor scratch, nor a hospital case or scarring for life, but it's a glitch. It helps that mum first said it didn't matter before she back-tracked and made a deal of it.

If your contract states 4 weeks notice, then I'd say you're probably still entitled to 4 weeks notice or payment in lieu. Now, it's possible the client might argue that if your failure to tell her about the scratch on the day breached your injury/accident policy, then maybe you breached the contract. This is based on the premise that policies form part of a contract. However, I'd be quite surprised if a court would rule that such a minor issue would constitute sufficient grounds for the client to be entitled to give immediate notice. But this is something that only your properly qualified legal representatives can tell you for sure, so give them a call.

My guess/gut feeling is that the mum has either blown a small scratching incident out of proportion (and I've had something similar to deal with recently) or she might just possibly have been about to give notice and the timing of this seems to have given her what she thinks is an excuse. Impossible to say. My guess is that she may think she can get away without paying the notice period because you'll feel bad, or afraid of being reported. Though tbh, if she wants to make a complaint, she only has to pick up the phone and can do it whether or not she pays the notice.

[bunyip]

One important thing I missed. Do be aware of this if there's any likelihood of mum raising a complaint.

I'm not passing judgment, merely applying the regs in the light of what you've said. But...........

You do appear to have breached EYFS regulations. :(

If the incident happened prior to September, then the relevant section of EYFS 2012 is 3.48 of Safeguarding & Welfare Requirements. If more recently, then the reference is paragraph 3.50 of EYFS 2014. The text is the same in either version: "Providers must inform parents and/or carers of any accident or injury sustained by the child on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable, and of any first aid treatment given."

Not sure this helps exactly, but worth being aware of.

Hope it all turns out OK.