Cutting childminder's wages - how do I broach it?

loucroft

Hi

Sorry to butt in, it seems you've had some good pointers already, what an awful position to be in. It's a sensitive area, but you need to approach her, explaining the position to her gently, and basically outline that she really is only looking after one child - so try halving it and adding alittle to cover her trips taking your eldest to school.

If perhaps you then look into 'legal' childcare, could you try looking into childcare vouchers - busybees.co.uk is one I remember - where you might save a little.

I'm shocked at how much you pay in London, I'm in Kent and pay my cm (she's a support cm) £5 per hour for two under 3 plus any additional outing expenses etc

I truly hope you manage to deal with this, with your friend. If she is a true friend, she will understand that you can't pay her the same if she is now only looking after one child 99% of the time.

All the best
Lou

jo1972

Hi Lou,

You're not butting in, I asked for advice

Thanks for your comments and thanks for the link, I've have to have a look at it a bit later.

Something else just came up....DH just rang me as he's just found out that his company offer a cash sum per month for those with kids in registered childcare. Oh man, it's going to get worse, I'm not only cutting her wages, I'm now getting rid of her entirely

Sea78

Hi

It might be worth relooking into the registered childminders fees, especially with siblings rates - I was in London too and managed to get a MUCH better deal than you did originally - 2 kids from 7.30am - 5.15pm ish - full time, about £700 a month (yes, this was cheap) but I wouldn't have expected to have paid over about £900. Nursery wildly more expensive. Thegood thing about CMs is that they can now do a course that enables you to get the free vouchers for childminders, thereby cutting the cost further - this combined with tax credits, the chldcare vouchers etc make it much more affordable.

However, having some you are comfortable with is priceless really and I would echo what's been said - just say - whoops - forgot to alter the pay - would this be ok now? And sort it out. Also warn that you're going for more local work, possibly not needing her as much, so that she is aware of your plans and it doesn't get awkward in the future too?

Sea xxxx

dangers

I would echo some of the comments made previously. Can you not look for a registered c/minder close to your childs school who can then do the drop off/pick ups as well as looking after your youngest? Don't forget that when paying childcare for only 1 (the older one will be a lot less hours) that your childcare bill will be that much lower. As well as that, a registered c/minder won't probably mind taking the vouchers such as Busybees.
Don't forget that with a registered c/minder, they will have insurance and will have undertaken training - some of it compulsary such as First Aid. They are also officially inspected by Ofsted.
Good luck though with your decision.

TS_777

Hi jo1972

I don't think it is fair if your friend's payment will be cut in half because the second child is not there full day. One child or 2 children is not that big difference. Her hours of work did not change, as before she is working the same time from 7.30 till 3.30, so should be paid the same amount for her time. She actually does more because instead of staying at home all time she brings the child to school and collects him/her. You could subtract the cost of food that older child is not eating now, but it is not much probably, is it worth it?

You could suggest your friend to do an afterschool pick up, she can earn more. I paid my friend 60£/week for a pick up of a child and stay from 3.30 to 6.30.

TS

dangers

A registered childminder will only charge you for the hours you actually use (although this settling in period is very difficult as your child will be using a pre-schoolers place until they are in full time education). Once your child is in school full time, they will be classed as an over-5 and therefore will be out of the pre-school ratio.

blackangeluk

Me again Jo!!

I forgot to mention the childcare vouchers, I get the busybee ones and me and Husband are entitled to a voucher each for up to £243, taken at source from our wages. We save about £120 tax per month between us by paying it direct from our salary - there is a calculator on the website for you to look at so you could make some more savings there. This is obviously in addition to the free sessions we get so our nursery bill has reduced from £460 to about £230 after the savings in tax etc. As I understand it the more you earn the more you can save, the maximum being about £200 saving per month. My company joined the scheme when I asked them and it was very easy apparently.

Might be worth a look for you to weigh up your options.

More good luck sent x

p.s. as I type, DS is fast asleep on settee and DD is about to go to Brownies - all I want to do is sleep as well and now have to drag them both out of the house again :rolleyes:

OberonSH

It is a tricky one - I'd definatly look into childcare vouchers, plus the Child Tax credit. Knowing your child is being looked after by an insured, qualified INSPECTED professional is worth it. I had to tell the CM I had one day a wek for my daughter that she was no longer needed when family asked if they could have her - it was tough, but I think she realised that she'd been charging me the earth to start with (£50 for 2.30pm - 9.15pm)and didn;t take it too badly. You'll just hve to explain that you have to look at cutting the cost of your childcare, you don;t want it to ruin the friednship but you can't put your own families needs behind someone else's financial situation.

tallyhoh

You really are in a bad situation. I was there myself 16 years ago. I used an unregistered child minder because I couldnt pay the going rate (no childcare allowances then).
Everything was fine until my child took a tumble, I realised then that if any emergency had ocurred while I was working & emergency treatment had been required, what then??? I could have been prosecuted or worse for not providing registered care.

You have to forget being nice with your friend & get a registered carer, even of it costs.

Sorry if I make you feel worse but its better than the alternative.

benbenandme

Have a think about what would happen if your eldest was ill ... would you be able to take time off or would you rely on her to look after him?? If so, is she going to be willing to be on call for that if her money has been cut? I know she will alredy be looking after your younger one but she may feel a bit used I hope you're not offended by this, just trying to point out another angle. I agree with others that the best plan is probably to be honest with her and explain how you feel. Good luck with this situation, I hope it all works out for you all :beer: