YuA couple from Redcar, North Yorkshire, England, were fined twice a total of £480 (about €540) for taking their children on holiday during term time because it was much cheaper.
Paul and Jessica Benson believe that families “should have the right to take a vacation” without punishment, so they take their children Robbie and George to Florida twice during the semester.
Each time, the cost of the trip was £3,700 (about €4,200) instead of the expected £12,000 (about €13,600) for a trip in August.
However, on each occasion, the couple were fined £240, which comes to nearly £1,000 (about €1,100) after the two trips, Yorkshire Live reports.
Benson said he had been warned before the last trip, in September, that it would have a detrimental effect on the education of one of his sons. “It’s not like bad students skip classes because they have two weeks and two or three days off. It’s much cheaper to get out of school. A family of four, like us, can go to school in Florida during the summer vacation – but we won’t have the money for that.” said the father.
“My wife is a nurse in a hospital and worked during the Covid-19 virus crisis. Right now there is a huge backlog of operations being done and it is difficult for us to get time off so we can all go together,” he added.
To go in August, we might be looking at £12,000, but a week or two later, in September, it’ll be £3,700, so we thought, ‘Okay, let’s take the fine.
Benson, who works in the events and hospitality sector, admitted that he and his wife had not decided whether they would do the same thing again, after being warned about their children’s attendance. “But I work hard full time and my wife works for the NHS, so why shouldn’t we go on holiday?” he asked.
“It seems that we are among the few countries in the world that have this system [de multas]It seems unfair and needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis.”
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