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View Full Version : What to do .. Moved goalposts!



smurfette
03-11-2011, 09:49 PM
Hia

I have been minding a little fella three days a week since mid august .. At initi meeting mum said she needed full time care then at one of the settling in sessions said she had more holidays than she thought so it would be threw days a week until the new year was that ok? She is a fab parent never a moment of bother extremely relaxed for a first time mum And has told me several times she is really happy with the care he is getting. I said to her it is what it is and i appreciated that she must be pleased to be havig extra time with little guy and to let me know when she needed full time.

Since then she has said different things about going to college one day a week, using parental leave to get four days a week etc but recently has said that she had calculated wrong and would be back full
Time before christmas. Through all this I have been expecting to have him five days aWeek very soon (money wise)

Tonight she text me and said 23rd nov she needs to go back full time but her mum has offered to have him Mondays and tuesdays .. She wouldn't expect her to do this every week so how would I feel about every second week (sl five days one week and three the next) I am a bit annoyed to be honest as feel she would probably have known at first interview that it wasnt going to be full time at least at first and I have been understanding about it despite being out of pocket and not charged her a retainer. Maybe she just didn't think it through. I couldn't fill that space (mon and tues every second
Week) and all we are talking about is 160 euros a month .. I do appreciate that she is trying to save a few quid but hubby is moving to a new job with less wages so mine are more important ! She is lovely tho and baba is fab very easy to mind so don't want to upset her either .. What to do (btw could prob fill space tho don't want to replace him lots of work here at mo)

Trouble
03-11-2011, 09:56 PM
can you not charge her a fee to keep the spare 2 days for him a cheaper hourly rate?

smurfette
03-11-2011, 09:57 PM
Hia ..like a retainer? What percentage would that be? I charge 40 euros a day .. Figure she will
Need me some of those weeks anyway

Mouse
03-11-2011, 10:03 PM
I think I would contact her and say that it is fine to only bring him Monday & Tuesday every other week, but that of course you are going to have to charge for the full-time place every week as you are keeping the place for her.

Or, say that you will charge five days one week, then 3 full days and 2 days at half rate retainer for the other week. You'd lose out on one day's pay every 2 weeks, but it might be better than losing the child completely if mum can't afford it.

The Juggler
03-11-2011, 10:03 PM
i'd be honest. sit her down and say when you took her on you understood it was full time. you've been flexible to accommodate her leave but your understanding was it woudl be full time fairly soon.

explain to her that you have no way of filling that space as she WILL need you some weeks. if her mum can commit to every week then you'll be happy to look for someone to fill that space but otherwise she'll have to pay.

she probably just is completely clueless as to how what she is asking will affect you. :panic: