Frequently Asked Questions about Day Care Fees

What is a fee decision (“maksupäätös”)?

Day care fees are determined according to size of the family, income, and the length of the day spent in day care, as agreed upon in the care agreement. The fee decision is a notification about the amount of the child’s day care fee; it is not an invoice. The fee decision will be mailed to your home before the actual invoice, and the invoice will be mailed to your home later as per the fee decision.

Why should I check the fee decision?

The child’s monthly day care fees are determined according to the size of the family, income, and the agreed length of the day spent in day care. If one of the abovementioned has been marked incorrectly in the fee decision, also the day care invoice will be incorrect. The family must contact the manager of the place of day care in order to fix the error.

When will I receive a new fee decision?

If the size of the family, income, or the length of the day spent in day care changes, a new fee decision will be sent to you. It is sent automatically by the day care customer information system, which is why a family can receive several fee decisions during the same calendar month. You may receive two fee decisions if, for instance, the child’s length of the day spent in day care is changed from full-time to part-time in the beginning of the month and a 17-year-old child turn 18 in the end of the month.

When will the absence of the child due to illness be compensated in the day care invoice?

The child must be absent due to illness for 11 days during a calendar month before the absence is taken into account in the invoice. The period of illness does not need to be continuous, the number of days can accumulate from individual days during the same calendar month. If the day care personnel do not know that the absence is due to an illness, the absence is marked into the register as “other absence”. So that the absences due to illness can be taken into account in the invoicing, the family must notify the place of day care when the absence due to illness begins. It is not possible to change the reason of absence in the invoicing afterwards.

Why a continuous 11-day period of absence due to illness does not always affect the invoice?

The monthly day care fee is charged per calendar month. The invoicing is also done per calendar month. If the child is ill during the turn of the month but there is no 11-day period of absence due to illness in either month, both months will be invoiced in full.

In what case is July free of charge?

The day care of July is free of charge, if the current care relationship began in August of the previous year or before that.

Why do I have to pay the full monthly fee if my child is in day care for only one day in July?

A monthly fee is charged for a child’s day care, and it is charged even for days of temporary absence. Half of the day care fee is charged if the child is absent for a full calendar month for some other reason than illness.
A day care fee is charged for July as well, just like for all other calendar months, unless the conditions of free July are met (see “In what case is July free of charge?”).

If the child’s day care in July is not free, you will be charged:

• Half of the fee if the child is absent the whole July
• Full fee if the child is in day care even for one day in July