should I charge for lateness!!

[ladybug]

GGGRRRRR biggest bugbear of mine is people taking the micky! I have a parent whos lo I have looked after for 2 years now full time, they are still on day rate (which is next to nothing) as he was my first fulltimer and I made the age old mistake of being a bit cheaper cause I really wanted a fulltimer! Just recently she is turning up instead of 4.45 at 5 5.15 etc etc, and today she worked from home and was still half hour late.....................question is do I charge her, or just put her rate up?????????????????

[mrsoliver]

What does your contract / policy say? When is your next scheduled review?

I make it clear that I charge for lateness at a higher rate than the standard. I also review every 3 months so I would be changing the times of the contract to reflect the new pattern - and I would have my register that the parent signs to prove this.

Best of luck, thispart of the job is tough, but you are a professional. Nurseries charge £15 a day late pickup fees.

[cs01]

I get the feeling there are 2 issues here, one is that you do not feel you are charging enough and two, the late pick up.

I would review the contract with parent and put your fees up to a figure you are happy with and one that is competitive with other minders in the area. I would then give the parent another copy of your late fee policy, if you have one and introduce one if you don't. Then stick to what your policy says.

[ladybug]

when she started to work from home on a friday it meant that she would collect him at 11.45 which also meant he was no longer "fulltime" so I advised that back to the hourly rate it would be, they said they would carry on paying the fulltime rate as this still worked out cheaper although they was paying for an afternoon when I was not having him! I think I have been too lenient with them now its hard to put my foot down! He is a long term placement although he will be starting school sept '11 they still want me to do school runs, think I need to toughen up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cs01]

My experience tells me that you have to be happy with the fee you are charging or resentment will start to build up. This then spoils your relationship with the parents and that's when things can start to go wrong! You obviously feel you are being short changed so I would address this. Even if you put your daily rate up by a couple of pounds, it's a start. I would also start charging for lateness. For future mindees, sounds like you need to charge your hourly rate.

Hope you sort something out.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Firstly are you happy to work later?

I had a parent that was due to me at 8am and bit by bit it became 7.45. I approached her and said that I was happy to have H early and the fee would be. She sat in her car for 15mins if she was early

Try it the other way with your parent and say that it will be cheaper to extend the contract to 5.30pm and the cost is £ and I am sure she will turn up on time.

When was the last contract review? I would ask to meet her before you spring this on her and talk about what she needs. maybe she was caught on the phone (this coming from a person who is always late!). I would set your new contract from Sept/October until 31st August 2011 and then you are in school term mode at the next review.

[ladybug]

all my other mindees pay my hourly rate, their contract is not due until february but I will def have to approach her, its been ongoing and I like to think I am quite flexible but when it happens constantly it starts to grind a bit!! thanks for all your advise.....toughen up is the lesson of the day i think!!

[miffy]

I also think you need to tell her straight - including that she is on a good deal atm!

Give her the choice of paying the extra at your new hourly rate or collecting on time but warn her that if she opts for the second one then late fees will apply if she does pick up late.

Then it's her decision and she has only herself to blame if she doesn't get to you on time and has to pay extra.

Miffy xx

[gigglinggoblin]

You say you are charging a day rate but not what your day hours are. Most of the cms I know work 8 - 6 ish so that wouldnt be late. It might just be that she thinks if she is paying for the full day then the space is available to use. Maybe its more of an issue about when you close than how you charge. If you close at 4.45 and they are late then charge the hourly rate for anything over that.

[ladybug]

am open 6 til 6 but she is contracted 7.15 til 4.45! i dont everyday work til 6!

[celdemorg]

I had this situation, I've charged my first mindee a daily rate, which is slightly cheaper than paying by the hour. I work 7.30 - 5.30, her contracted hours are 7.30 till . 5.00 but she kept turning upearly at quarter past seven, then ten past then five past, that was the final straw so I just added an extra fee for my out of hours. Thankfully she hasnt done it since, I don't mind five early or five minutes, late or if they call to say stuck in traffic. But it's when they start taking advantage. I'm finding the longer i've been minding, i'm not being a push over anymore. The end of the day it's your business, and if you stopped longer in an office for eg, you'd get paid overtime, that's how i see it. It's ok to be flexible to a point.

[singlewiththree]

am open 6 til 6 but she is contracted 7.15 til 4.45! i dont everyday work til 6!

She obviously feels she is paying for a day rate so it doesn't matter what her hours are with you she can collect anytime up until 6pm. I had parents like this which is why I changed them all to hourly. I just gave a couple of months notice that I was dropping my daily rate and to let me know their comments. I only had 1 parent object but I didn't find out they didn't like it until they gave notice but these were the parents that took the mickey.

[ladybug]

Right! Have over the weekend totally re structured my charges, have done the letters to parents advising that it is effective from the 1st October, letters are going out tonight so we will see what tomorro brings!!!!!

[cs01]

Right! Have over the weekend totally re structured my charges, have done the letters to parents advising that it is effective from the 1st October, letters are going out tonight so we will see what tomorro brings!!!!!

Keep us posted!

[charlie potato]

my old childminder used to up her prices 10p per yr. The thing i'm having to think about is whether i charge the same as her per hour or slightly cheaper. xx

[ladybug]

Ok letters went out yesterday and have had a very positive reply from MOST, the one who wasnt positive was when lo was dropped this morning and not a word was said or directed to me!