parent is changing the hours again and might be less money, should i.......

[sammy]

parent is changing the hours again and might be less money, should i.......tell her that i want to earn the same amount as i am now (it might only be 2 hours less a week but thats still £12 a week i would be loosing)

As she is a doctor her hours have changed several times so far in the past 6 months and now they will be changing again in April for 15 months then they will change again.

She will have to get her hubby to have baby one afternoon as i already mind other kids, (i have baby til 2 on a thurs, then have 2 more from 3pm to 7pm)

I think she thinks im available for whenever she needs me and thinks her baby is the only one i care for, as she will tell me a week before hand of her new hours!! But i have told her this time she will need to give me more notice as i have to change all my plans to fit in with her child.

Anyway i have always had him for 34 hours a week and now it could go down to 32 hours a week (if not less) as im not available to have him on a thurs.

I feel i should still charge her the same as she changes her hours so often and i have to try and accomodate him, and i took him on knowing i would get paid that set amount. what do you guys think?

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I charge by the session so would get the same amount regardless of if she changed her hours so I would say money would stay the same.

[sammy]

mine is more on an hourly rate, as each day is different hours i couldnt do a daily rate, but i agree that the rate should stay the same

[acorns]

I charge by the hour and would swallow the change in hours, unless you need the vacancy for another full timer, in which case I would give notice & take on the new full timer. Hard I know, but it's a business, which is something a lot of parents forget.

[sammy]

this is just another worry that her hours could change to whatever, and i get calls for full timers all the time. He is also extremely HARD work, as he is SO clingy and has been since I've had him. But if i accept to be paid for less, this could happen all over again and i could end up with much less money in the near future.

[huggableshelly]

you cant book another child in for the 2 hours she is cutitng back so tell her the fees stay the same this allows her to be fliex and chang eher hours when needed at a later date.

[miffy]

What does it say on your contract about changing hours/days worked? I have a minimum of 4 weeks notice for these changes.

I think it's time for a bit of straight talking here - this mum needs to appreciate that you can't be available at short notice or have your hours changed at equally short notice unless she pays in full for your time. One way round this would be to charge a minimum number of hours a week whether she used them or not.

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted

Miffy xx

[Bushpig]

Each time change means a contract change... I too have a mum who has different hours every week.

I charge per hour, with 5 hours of care minimum per day, and this would be at my highest charge, as I am making myself available for the whole day when she only needs me for maybe half a day. She needs the flexibility, so I charge her my highest rate (£1 per hour than other kids) to accommodate her.