No way would I accept a parent hitting a child in my home. Having said this, I wouldn't accept parents who hit as a form of discipline into my care either. I am opposed to corporal punishment in any form. I wasn't hit, and I don't hit.
I can't imagine how people feel that they are showing a child that hitting is wrong if the child gets hit by the people in the world that he trusts most. No wonder this child is hitting others. It's how conflict is "resolved" in his home, so why shouldn't it work for him at daycare?