Adverse weather conditions

[Rickers83]

Hi

Having seen the report in today's express about the bad winter we are to expect this year, what are people's policies regarding adverse weather conditions, when do you still charge & when do you not?
Thanks

[SJ35]

I came on here to post the same question. Look forward to the replies x

[tulip0803]

If I am available to work then I charge. I am open and available if parents can get to me.

I closed for one day in January when it snowed but that was because the power went and I had no heating.

I live on a main road and most parents can get to me. I do not collect from home though parents have to bring them to me.

[samb]

Mine says the same - if I am open (have necessary things to run like electricity, gas, food etc) then they pay as usual whether they choose to come or not. If I have to close as I can't feed everyone or have no heating or lighting etc then I will refund the time I am closed. I use same rule for everything- open pay, closed dont pay.

[samb]

And they also come to me- most can walk to me so not a problem. Only 1 who would have to drive and she has a 4x4 and hasn't had a problem yet

[bunyip]

I charge if open and available to work.

I make no guarantees to do school drop-offs/collections if it becomes unsafe, or if it means taking a pre-schooler along in a blizzard, etc. Neither do I guarantee to have children for extra hours if other settings ( school, pre-school, etc.) are closed, but try to help out if at all possible.

I remind parents to take care travelling and I allow them a lot greater flexibility for early/late arrival/departure.

Clients are allowed only one gripe about the weather per year, after which they are contractually obliged to pay a 'moaning fine' or move to Florida. :rolleyes:

[Rickers83]

Thanks everyone, makes sense really :0)

[lilac_dragon]

I charge if open and available to work.

I make no guarantees to do school drop-offs/collections if it becomes unsafe, or if it means taking a pre-schooler along in a blizzard, etc. Neither do I guarantee to have children for extra hours if other settings ( school, pre-school, etc.) are closed, but try to help out if at all possible.

I remind parents to take care travelling and I allow them a lot greater flexibility for early/late arrival/departure.

Clients are allowed only one gripe about the weather per year, after which they are contractually obliged to pay a 'moaning fine' or move to Florida. :rolleyes:

I'm the same - but think maybe I should add the "moaning fine" lol!
I don't drive, and can't push the buggy through snow to the school as we're on a hill with very narrow pavements and it's sometimes uncontrollable. I ask all parents to have a Plan B in place to get the schoolies in and out if the school's open as I won't risk the los sliding under a car if we career off the road. So I'm open, but only at home.

[Sarsar3NCH]

So if you can't take/pick up schoolies do you charge them? I only charge for hours (ie no pick up or drop off charge for schoolies) but I would consider myself unavailable if I couldn't pick them up from school. I wonder if I need to be more specific on my contracts "fees are for the hours I care for the child not for the act of getting child to/from school". Tricky one...

[loocyloo]

I'm the same .. charge if open or no charge if shut.
However as I have to take/collect dd from school I'll be taking/collecting mindees ( we walk )

[Nicola Carlyle]

I charge if open and don't charge if closed. As long as I've got the essentials: food, heating, light etc then I'm open. They way I see it us tax credits don't stop the parents payments do to weather so if I am open that money belongs to me not parents. May be a harsh way of looking at it but its the truth. I have also been know to use that card when parents have queried and said I would phone to make sure they knew they hadn't attended or paid as I would hate for parents to have a huge lump sum overpayment to pay back to tax credits at the end if the year!!!!

[lilac_dragon]

So if you can't take/pick up schoolies do you charge them? I only charge for hours (ie no pick up or drop off charge for schoolies) but I would consider myself unavailable if I couldn't pick them up from school. I wonder if I need to be more specific on my contracts "fees are for the hours I care for the child not for the act of getting child to/from school". Tricky one...

For school age I charge from when they are booked to arrive at my house to 9am school start, and from 3.30pm collect at school to the time they go home. ( If they're booked to go at eg 6pm I charge to that time even if they go earlier and if the parents are late picking up I add on any time in half hour increments.)

So, if I couldn't do the Primary school runs due to not being able to get the buggy through snow then that's me withdrawing my service to the Primary school age children so I don't charge them.
However, if the school shuts due to adverse weather conditions before I make that decision then it's school closure not Childminder closure so I charge.

I'm available at home so the los can still come and be looked after, parents just drop in as normal - if they can get through the snow.

If the child is High School age and comes to me early and walks themselves to or from school ( Primary and High School in opposite directions) then my fees are from when they arrive at my house until 9am or from 3.30pm to home time as I accept responsibility for them during the "walking" time.
If the High School closes due to adverse weather conditions then I charge as I'm still available.

The school doesn't actually close due to the weather though, does it? It actually closes due to the staff not being able to get in so no adult cover, or as in our rural area - the school buses can't get through to deliver the children!

If the schools close I take into my home however many schoolies I can within my numbers, and charge the parents by the hour.

Hope that helps?

[Roseolivia]

Thankfully I've never had a problem with regards to weather. I managed to get the buggy through the snow last year, luckily baby mindee is now nearly 2 and an excellent walker so don't have to worry this year. We luckily live just around the corner from school so doesn't affect me getting there.

[bunyip]

So if you can't take/pick up schoolies do you charge them? I only charge for hours (ie no pick up or drop off charge for schoolies) but I would consider myself unavailable if I couldn't pick them up from school. I wonder if I need to be more specific on my contracts "fees are for the hours I care for the child not for the act of getting child to/from school". Tricky one...

It's a very fine line.

I understand we're essentially selling our time and limited places, but I think you have to consider why parents book a CM and make sure you're offering what they actually want, and don't try to charge for anything other than that. If you look at the occasional parents' threads on these boards and the far more regular ones on Netmums, etc. the biggest single grievance seems to be that parents cannot abide their CM charging them when they're closed (or otherwise not performing the service they expect and are paying for.)

A bad weather/unforeseen circumstances policy statement should make it clear that there may be times when you cannot be expected to provide the usual service. That way, you can cover yourself against a client deciding to charge you for having to make alternative emergency arrangements. But charging them when you can't provide the normal service might just be asking for trouble. :(

In practice, I haven't found weather to be a problem. Teachers live further away from school than the students, so the most likely effect of bad weather is that school closes cos they cannot get the staff to attend. I then have the issue of parents begging for a full day's care. I have once been unable to reach school due to a road closure causes by a chemical spillage. I contacted mum and she made other arrangements and wasn't difficult about it. Things like that crop up, and that's when it's worth having a good relationship with clients (which might not have been the case had I been in the habit for tapping them with unwanted charges.)