Could it worK?

[lucyD]

& would it be worth my while to take on an adhoc contract? A mum has contacted me as she wants to go back to teaching but will as & when they need her. I have explained I have one 2 mindees, one is all day wed & Thur, the other is 1/2 days & they alternate from one week to the next & she is tues, wed, & thurs. ( I also have my own son) I also will be starting some work at playgroup on a Monday so not free then. I am also thinking it will not be good for her lg as there won't be any regularity or consistancy, nevermind trying to do lourning journal, planning etc. Would like to help her but my brain hurts.

I told her my situation & said I would only be able to have her lg IF available & she seemed ok with this as she wants to visit next week

Anyone else had a contract like this?

Thanks (why is it never easy!!)

[moggy]

Sounds messy to me... what would she do if you were not available? If she has a back-up plan then I might go for it, if I felt I got on well with the family and the child would fit in easily (they are not going to get time to settle in each time so if child is very clingy or difficult it could be trouble)

[busybee_mummy]

Hi, this works for me, I have a child on the books, his mum is a part time supply teacher (she doesn't want to be tied each day). She rings me the night before/ morning to see if I have spaces if so she works if not she either uses a relative or turns the work down. Most times she gets a few days notice and I can be flexible ( I co-childmind with an assistsnt ).

[sarah707]

I used to care for a child on ad hoc for a supply teacher and it worked because I didn't want to fill my last early years space so I was happy with a bit of extra work on the days the child came... rather than needing a full timer and resenting the days the child didn't come.

it got even better because mum eventually got a more stable position in a school and I made good money from a well established little girl who stayed with me for many more years.

Hth

[samb]

I have a child who comes ad hoc hours only. I made it clear from the start that if I didn't have the space then I couldn't take him. She does know when she will be working but as her and her husband are self employed and she works very short hours she only wanted to be tied to a max of half a term at a time and as it is such short hours for an EY space i didn't want to feel tied down to it if I haf the offer of longer days. So far she has managed to swap the day he comes to me once when I took on another child. (He only does 3 hours 1 day a week). After half term however, on the possible 2 days she wants to use me I will already have 2 lo's in a buggy, he is the elder of the 3 but would still not be able to walk the school run quick enough for me to manage it. I have offered for him to do 2 hours from after school run or nothing. Seems not worth it but actually he is a sweet easy going boy and if that's all they need and are happy with it then so am I.

[lucyD]

Thank you everyone. She is coming for a chat Monday so I will see what she says & go from there. I will explain clearly to her how it stands & see what she thinks. Another question, would we need a contract or would she just pay up front when she needs me?

[bunyip]

I have several ad hoc arrangements. The key is that they understand the basic underlying principles:-

1. They do not guarantee to offer me any work.
2. I do not guarantee to be available when do they offer me work.

I do a normal contract at the start (reviewed periodically) and write "ad hoc - as and when care by arrangement" instead of the times/dates. I also write that they do not promise to offer me work and I do not promise to be available. If it's going to be so flexible that you can't state any fixed fees, then just make a note that fees will be mutually arranged at the time of booking. This can also be useful if you think the arrangement might stand for some time: you don't want to have to do lengthy contract reviews to put up fees if the client only uses your services very occasionally.

I then run a bookings system as follows:-

1. Parent submits a booking request to me in writing (I have a simple form for this).
2. I return the form, either accepting or rejecting the request, within an agreed time frame.
3. If I accept then the booking is made only when the fee is paid in full and in advance.
4. If the parents cancel for any reason, I reserve the right to retain the fee paid.
5. I will only cancel for illness or unforeseen emergency. In that case, I refund the entire fee for days when I failed to provide care, but the parent must accept that as the limit of my liability. (ie. they don't hold me liable for having to arrange alternative emergency care.)

Again, it's crucial that the parents understand this whole process so there are no arguments. I take the fee in advance every time, as this protects me against the possibility of parents requesting ad hoc care "just in case" then cancelling when they find they don't need me after all.

It works for me.

[k1rstie]

I have a teacher parent who just works on a Friday. I have her 2 on that day every week.


She occasionally does last minute supply work. I help her if I can.

She also does blocks of overtime - currently doing every child a writer with groups of kids. She will ask me once the school knows they have funding. She asked me tonight to have them for an hour before school for the next 10 weeks.

It may only be a small bit of money for me, but she earns well from it, and it does help her out imensley

[TAZ]

I have had children on ad hoc contracts and has worked well.

I basically work along the same lines for this as Bunyip outlined, except I didn't always get it in writing (except e-mails texts) & parents paid after the event (so leaving me open to cancellation / non-payment - but I did know the families very well) So think I will take on Bunyip's advice.

I do add to the contract that once confirmed a cancellation within 2 weeks of the minding date will incur full fee.

[Bluebell]

hmm definately tricky and I always try and help out people who works shifts because I know from experience its hard enough to find childcare as it is! I would get a commitment from her for sure so a minimum amount of hours a week and be clear on what days you will be available and which you won't. So for example I am full on a Tuesday but have spaces on the other days so I will never be available on a Tuesday but at the moment can be flexible on the other days.
Is the mum going to be available to work on every day or just specified days - will she pay you a minimum amount every week - like agree to send her child 1 day a week as a minimum? This could be helpful for the child. I have someone I kept 3 days open for and they only came 2 afternoons each week, they weren't very good at telling me in advance and often asked for other days which meant I had the original days open. When I filled the other spaces I couldn't help them although on one day I have applied a continuity of care exception as both that child and another child who had been with me some time wanted the day and the overlap is only an hour and obviously the shift child doesn't come every week. I really believe that (within reason) the new rules are there to help us be more flexible and accommodating to parents like this that are desperate for childcare!

[Porridge]

Some v well made points here. Ad hoc work can be great for filling gaps (if you have them). Like Sarah, I used to have an 'ad-hoc' who would use an early years space I didn't want to fill when my baby was v young - a bit of extra money if I chose to do it (can't say no to extra money usually!). That was all done very last minute (at school gates - "Hi, do you have space tomorrow?"!) so I never charged if they didn't come through sickness, or if Mum's work didn't pan out as expected etc (never felt brave enough to charge as I couldn't say I had really changed my plans or turned someone else away).
I now have a few adhocs who are ex-regulars and/or those who's parents are self employed and only need quite irregular hours. Overall they add up quite significantly.
I like Bunyips approach - and I have actually made a note-to-self to read through what you do and maybe come up with a concrete policy for what I consider my 'bonuses' - thanks!
I think it's definately worth having a contract re some kind of cancellation policy at least.
And also totally agree with Bluelion. Quality childcare is indeed scarce! The new guidelines must allow us this flexibility on occasion to 'bend the rules'(?) when safe & appropriate, in order to accomodate these parents.

[busybee_mummy]

I forgot to mention on my last post I have a mindee that pays a minimum of 5 hours x3 days week. Any more and its added to invoice and like today mum had no work but still paid the 5 hrs, as I rely on this one for my income , whereas the supply teacher is my 'bonus'.

[lynncjt]

I could not afford to take on an under 5's for ad-hoc as there is a big demand up here so I'm nearly full, but I do ad-hoc for over 5's as I have spaces and would rather have ad-hoc than nothing! They book and pay a month in advance and I then guarantee to hold the space.