Hello again and here we are in the rundown to Christmas. Schools will be wrapping up next week which raises the question: What do teachers want for Christmas? Turns out it’s not a Best Teacher mug, a Múinteoir bracelet or a Christmas tree decoration to remind them of their term-time charges.
Teachers don’t expect gifts at all, and it’s up to individual schools to have their own policy on gifts, says the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, their union. A handmade card or personalised note makes the most meaningful and memorable gift to receive, the union has said, based on feedback from members.
That doesn’t stop some parents wanting to buy a Christmas gift for teachers, or feeling like they should. When it comes to navigating these choppy waters, it is usually down to the class rep. Those who would like to share in the cost of a group gift will be invited to contribute anything from €5 to €20. Clubbing together can be cheaper for parents than buying gifts individually.
And with class sizes in Ireland averaging about 23 children, combining parent contributions like this can add up to a generous amount. But you will want to make sure you are spending the pooled money on something the recipient will value, or will at least be able to use.
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Does the teacher like Indian or Thai food, would they prefer Malbec or Pinot Grigio, a manicure or a facial? Somebody saw them glugging prosecco at the local Chinese once. Shouldn’t that be considered too? And one parent has knitted the teacher a jumper for Christmas and would really like a contribution towards that. If you’re not careful, a generous pot can end up being spent on disparate items to satisfy intra-parent diplomacy on the class WhatsApp group.
Such gifts can leave a teacher baffled.
Look up school parenting advice forums schooldays.ie or Mumsnet and teachers indicate there that, yes, a handwritten card means a lot. But if you are gifting, something combined from the class rather than individual gifts, and in the form of a voucher or gift card, is very useful indeed. It might lack the personal touch, but it can be a good use of money.
When buying a voucher for teachers, or anyone else for that matter, be sure to choose carefully, however; otherwise you could be gifting the recipient a world of unwelcome hassle.
Legislation was brought in four years ago to protect consumer rights after it emerged that some shops imposed expiry dates of as little as three months on gift cards and others refused to refund any outstanding balance after a purchase.
The new law imposed a mandatory minimum five-year lifespan on gift cards and a requirement for stores to refund any unused amount on a gift card either in cash, a credit note or on the gift card itself. Not all cards are covered however.
Gift vouchers or cards for a store, or store chain in Ireland, or a shopping centre gift card are covered by the legislation. This means they come with some specific protections. For example, these types of gift cards or vouchers must have a minimum expiry date of at least five years. This gives the recipient plenty of time to spend it before it goes out of date.
If the expiry date isn’t printed on the gift voucher itself, ask the business for it by email or in writing and give this along with the voucher.
If the gift voucher is from a business elsewhere in the EU, that five-year expiry rule may not apply, so check before you buy.
There is another perk to these types of gift cards and vouchers too: if the person spends only part of the gift card and the balance left is more than €1, the business should refund the difference. This can be done in cash or electronic transfer, or by giving you another gift voucher – so the recipient can use it for bits and bobs over time making them a flexible choice.
Another upside of store, or store chain vouchers, is that you can use more than one gift voucher at a time. For example, if an item costs €100 and you have two €50 vouchers, you can use them both to pay
Be aware that with shopping centre cards, the card is tied to that shopping centre. The recipient can use it in, say, M & S or Dunnes in that shopping centre, but not in other branches of those stores.
The law does not prevent businesses applying a fee if you do not use your gift voucher. For example, if after a year, you haven’t spent the full balance on your Dundrum Town Centre gift card, a service fee of €3 is automatically deducted from the remaining balance every month thereafter.
So, if after a year you have €20 remaining on your €50 gift card, it will be worthless seven months later.
These consumer protections – minimum expiry dates, using them in one go, combining vouchers or converting them to cash – don’t apply to all vouchers and gift cards, however.
One4all gift cards
For example, gift cards that are not limited to one shop or shopping centre, allowing them to be used in many businesses are not covered by the legislation. Popular One4all gift cards have the flexibility of being used in a wide range of retailers but there are some things to watch out for. These are actually prepaid debit cards, regulated under EU electronic money regulations, so they operate differently.
The good news is there is no time limit on their use. A downside is that if you don’t use the full balance within 18 months of the card being issued, charges kick in. After this period, a monthly fee of €1.45 will be deducted from your card until the balance reaches zero. So for example if, after 18 months, you still have €20 remaining on your One4all card, that balance will be eaten up in charges after 14 months.
You can combine multiple One4all Gift Cards up to a maximum value of €150, but there will be “a small fee”, says the company. You can convert the card to cash but that will involve a “redemption fee” of €8. Replacing a lost or stolen card costs €5.
If you’re buying a voucher for a restaurant, check the Tc & Cs. With a gift card from Italian chain Milano for instance, any value will expire five years after its last use. The card cannot be exchanged for cash.
Another example that can catch people unawares are online deal vouchers like Groupon or Pigsback, discounted vouchers bought for a specified good, service or experience.
Where the voucher treats you to a specific experience, like a helicopter ride, and the expiry date is more than three months, the legislation will apply so the voucher is valid for five years. But if it must be used on a particular date or within three months, then it is excluded, says the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
With all gift cards and vouchers, check if there is a deadline by which you must book or make a reservation. You don’t want to miss out on a facial, a sky dive or a hotel stay because you had to book within a month of purchasing the voucher. Miss the deadline and the value of the voucher is lost.
Check for restrictions on when you can use a voucher, too. A massage that can only be enjoyed Monday to Wednesday at 9am will be of little use to some.
Gifting with vouchers can be a happy middle ground for parents concerned about being too personal or choosing something the teacher might never use. But the last thing you want is for the recipient to miss out on its value or incur costs or hassle, so make sure you know the relevant terms and conditions, and let the teacher know too.
You can contact us at OnTheMoney@irishtimes.com with personal finance questions you would like to see us address. If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read it here.
