Childminders charging half fees when they are away on holiday.

thatgirlsam

bestpud wrote: »

I think it is absolutely right that childminders take holidays, but I do not feel it is right to charge parents for those weeks!

Personally, I would rather be charged a little bit extra throughout the year, even if it worked out a tiny bit more. The point is, budgetting is essential for many of us and having to find an extra weeks child care money four times a year if something that would throw me.

I also think it is wrong of nurseries to charge for days they are closed, although I know from pervious posts that many think this acceptable.

When parents go away, yes, they should pay, as the place is being kept open for the child and they still have their overheads.

When the childminder or nursery is closed, then parents should not pay imo. That's the downside of being self-employed. If they make that choice then they have to accept the cons as well as the pros as far as I am concerned.

And as for getting what you pay for - I'm not sure how being paid while they are on holiday would make a poor childminder better, or not being paid would make a good one bad.

People are good at looking after children or they are not and I would not look at someone charging £10 an hour and assume they are going to care for my child better! Would anyone?

somone who could have a rest from their work without worrying about money would be better at their job i think

galvanizersbaby

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

As has been said, it is swings and roundabouts.

If the childminder isn't getting paid for their holidays (wherther they have factored this into their hourly rate or not) they will have a pressure on them to not take a holiday, or at least cut it down to a bare minimum.

Not sure exactly what you mean here - Surely if the childminder had already factored the holiday pay in to their hourly rate they would not have the pressure not to have a holiday or cut it down to a minimum as they would have planned it?
If they are under pressure not to have a holiday then they haven't managed their finances very well!

thatgirlsam

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

As has been said, it is swings and roundabouts.

If the childminder isn't getting paid for their holidays (wherther they have factored this into their hourly rate or not) they will have a pressure on them to not take a holiday, or at least cut it down to a bare minimum.

Not sure exactly what you mean here - Surely if the childminder had already factored the holiday pay in to their hourly rate they would not have the pressure not to have a holiday or cut it down to a minimum as they would have planned it?
If they are under pressure not to have a holiday then they haven't managed their finances very well!

maybe parents who haven't taken planned for their minder to have a holiday haven't managed their finances well either

bestpud

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Paid holidays are a good thing. I know most self-employed people don't get them (and for most self-employed people it isn't practicle - who would pay them, for example) but that doesn't mean it's not right that those who it can work for shouldn't get them.
Because holidays in themselves are a good thing. It is good to have a break.

If the childminder isn't getting paid for their holidays (wherther they have factored this into their hourly rate or not) they will have a pressure on them to not take a holiday, or at least cut it down to a bare minimum.

Would you rather the person looking after your child took a well earned break and came back to your child fresh and full of enthusiasm? Or would you rather they worked week-in week-out to get maximum money?

I thanked you by mistake. Although saying that, I can see your point, to a degree.

But, if the child minder cannot factor holidays into her working year then I would question whether she should be self-employed. That is her responsibility, not the parents! If something went wrong because she was tired and had not taken a break (because she doesn't get paid and needed the money), can you see a court finding her not guilty on those grounds?

Obviously the answer is no, because being self employed brings with it certain risks and responsibilities. Any child minder who cannot accept these, foresee them and work around them, should not be practising imo.

It is not a game - they are responsible for children for goodness sake!

bestpud

thatgirlsam wrote: »

somone who could have a rest from their work without worrying about money would be better at their job i think

A decent child minder, who cares about what they do, and manages their business well, will plan holidays and/or know when they are flagging anyway!

A week away refreshes everyone, but it will not turn a poor childminder into a good one!!

No one is suggsting they don't take a holiday. People are suggesting they factor it into their hourly rate and not directly charge parents for the weeks they are away.

It can be argued parents could budget for these weeks but tbh, unless they are given a lot of notice, that is easier said than done. The childminder knows what holidays they need and when they want to take then etc, and should be thinking about this when setting their fees and hours etc for the year. That's part and parcel of being in business.

oki_2

My childminder charges full fee when we go on holiday and no fee when she goes on holiday. Our daughter is 2 so for now we take our leave when childminder does. That will change when our daughter starts school.

galvanizersbaby

bestpud wrote: »

And as for getting what you pay for - I'm not sure how being paid while they are on holiday would make a poor childminder better, or not being paid would make a good one bad.

People are good at looking after children or they are not and I would not look at someone charging £10 an hour and assume they are going to care for my child better! Would anyone?

Just re read my post - I mean't you get what you pay for in terms of availability, not because someone was charging more they would be any better at looking after your child
TBH I've no personal experience of childminders - I've always used a nursery because I like the reliability and safety in numbers - the nursery I use has a low staff turn over (5 of the staff members were in post when my son first started 5 years ago) and my 2 have both been happy there but it wouldn't suit everyone.

Mips

oki wrote: »

My childminder charges full fee when we go on holiday and no fee when she goes on holiday. Our daughter is 2 so for now we take our leave when childminder does. That will change when our daughter starts school.

Now I think that is nice and fair

thatgirlsam

bestpud wrote: »

I thanked you by mistake. Although saying that, I can see your point, to a degree.

But, if the child minder cannot factor holidays into her working year then I would question whether she should be self-employed. That is her responsibility, not the parents! If something went wrong because she was tired and had not taken a break (because she doesn't get paid and needed the money), can you see a court finding her not guilty on those grounds?

Obviously the answer is no, because being self employed brings with it certain risks and responsibilities. Any child minder who cannot accept these, foresee them and work around them, should not be practising imo.

It is not a game - they are responsible for children for goodness sake!

i don't think any childminders consider what they do to be a 'game'

i used to look after the baby of a very well off family.. he was gorgeous
the mum was constantly late picking him up.. no notice when she took the day off, brought him round when he was ill etc..

she did not want to pay when she was on holiday.. begrudgingly she did..

it was also in her contract that she would pay me for a weeks hol..

the amount of eyerolling and snidey comments she made was unbeleivable..
when i bought a 3 year old astra she said 'looks like im paying you too much' as she zoomed off in her £40,000 bmw

i gave her notice after a year..

i wanted to be treated fairly, i don't think a weeks hol is a lot to ask

galvanizersbaby

thatgirlsam wrote: »

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

maybe parents who haven't taken planned for their minder to have a holiday haven't managed their finances well either

You would then expect the childminder to give an awful lot of notice of the holiday dates and this may prove impractical for both parties.

Hopefully the childminder is well organised and able to run the service as a business