Parent changing days weekly

[Bakez66]

Hi, I have a parent who's child comes to me on a Monday, Tuesday and a Friday,she pays £40 a day (10 hours) and has asked me to do the odd Thursday instead of Friday, alternating the days as and when she wants with out paying extra. Should I be charging either a full or half fee for the other day?

She has now just asked if i can do 8-1 Thursday and 8-1 Friday this week instead of 1 day but still only pay £40.

I charge a minimum fee of £30 a day so in affect she should be paying £60. I don't know if I should mention this or just leave it and do the 10 hours over 2 days Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[rickysmiths]

It depends on what is on the Contract and in your Fees and Payments Policy.

I will try to be accommodating if I can and did swap days sometimes. However I had a parent really take the pee last year and the last straw was when I gave her 5 weeks notice of my Father's Funeral day, on one of her normal days, and she told me that was ok because I could do an extra day the next week.

I made it very clear for that occasion that I would be having the day off and I would not be able to do the day the next week un less she paid me for it on top of the normal 3 days and that in future I would be happy to try and change days if she needed but as per Contract she would be paying for the un used day and the additional day. She never mucked me around again over days and we parted Company 4 months later.

She employed 'a more reliable' Nanny. She has gone through 3 in six months and has had problems covering sickness (I had one day off sick in the 3.5 years she was with me and found emergency cover for her all before 7.30am!) Karma is a fine thing.

I think you need a Contract review and a good talk.

[sing-low]

What does your contract say? Does Mum expect you to keep Thursdays open for her?

Swapping days I would accommodate but if you have a minimum fee per day then I would charge for both days regardless of time used. That's the way you run your business.

[Bakez66]

she's now text and said can I just do the Friday as normal this week now, talk about being messed around.

mon, tues and Friday are the contracted days. £30 minimum a day . However on the Thursday I am full anyway so it's not like I could take a new child on, it would take me upto 4 on the odd Thursday that she needs me (continuity of care) which is why I wasn't sure if I should charge her a half fee or not to keep the space open :-/

[rickysmiths]

No I would not charge half fee for Thursday.

However I would make it clear that if it is booked and then cancelled a full charge for the hours booked will be charged if the cancellation is less than 48 hours from the start of the care like today she has given you less than 24 hours notice. That is not fair because you have planned for the day, bought and may have cooked for the day, bought extra craft resources, you may have planned visits out differently all sorts.

I think you need to ask the parents in for a meeting and contract review. Ask them to bring their copy of the Contract with them.

Put the two copies together and go through each section together re affirming the terms and conditions. When it comes to days and payment go through what it says and then discuss the swapping of days. From what you have said I would be saying that you were willing to swap an occasional day to help out in an emergency but you can not offer this as a permanent weekly service, that it makes it very difficult to plan and disrupts the other children's routines. That you are willing to put the Thursday on the Contract as part of their hours but it will be paid for used or not. or you will do the extra day for them but you need to know at the latest by the Friday before when it will be paid for and the fee will be non returnable if they don't use the day.

This may seem harsh but in my experience this kid of parent needs reining in otherwise the will and do take the pee and you will resent it. You need to put your hard business head on. If you don't feel confident ask a cm friend to sit in on the meeting with you or a trusted friend so they don't talk you out of what YOU need to do.