Charging for unsociable hours

[skatie]

One of my lo's will be attending nursery for 3 hours every morning come September, I'm not charging for those hours, however, LO arrives at 7am and when the hours change I want to Chang the contract o start charging double time for unsociable hour 7am to 8am. To be honest I resent starting so early and sharing my family time with another child. Should I tell mum this is what I am going to do I'm going to do or should I just let her read it on the contract?

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I would sit down and discuss the terms and then complete the contract. If the parent isn't happy then you both have an opportunity to come to an amicable agreement or either party can give notice. If the parent doesn't agree or give notice she may then carry out paying fees and find someone else and then give notice.

My advice to anyone, be upfront and speak face to face and explain why you are doing what you are doing.

[karen m]

To be honest I don't think 7am is unsociable hours and I would personally find it very rude if you just put it in new contract without discussing it with me , as last reply states maybe parent would rather give notice than pay extra

[ziggy]

I charge extra before 8am but parents know that from the start. It is written into my contracts. Same applies after 6pm

[supermumy]

You can't just change it and hope she reads it that would totally pee me off as a parent
I would Deffo discuss this with the parent who probably won't be happy anyway as wasn't a problem before

[Bumble Beez]

I charge extra before 8am but parents know that from the start. It is written into my contracts. Same applies after 6pm

Same as ziggy...my main working hrs are 8-6 so charge basic for those and extra for before or after that and for weekends.
Personally, I would sit down with the family and explain the situation. It can be added onto the contract once its been discussed and agreed...

Sarah x

[Koala]

I would tell mum.

I would charge double rate (if you charge by the hour) from 7am - 8am,
my core day is 8am -5.30pm outside those hours (within reason and I only do it on the back of a full day care i.e 7am - 5.30pm) I charge £7 for 7-8am plus day rate.

But if you don't want to do it - don't - its not worth 7 quid to me to do something I don't really want to do. To feel you are missing out everyday for just £7, ask yourself are you doing right by yourself.

[skatie]

Absolutely see what you are saying, it looks really unprofessional to just let her read it without discussing it. She is my friend ( not that that is an excuse) and I was burying my head in the sand a bit. Feel a little bit taken advantage of as we used to be friends then didn't see or hear from her for years after she split from her husband. She's approached me to look after her children now that I have become a childminder with a big sob story about being a single mum and I felt really sorry for her so agreed to start at 7am, gave her mates rate for first child and an even bigger discount for second daughter who was supposed to be starting school in 2 weeks (they moved town), two weeks has become 3 months at discounted rate. All food included and one child literally eats more than I do!

I am starting to feel a little used and abused and feel upset that most days I see her two kids before my own, that I have to up, drressed, ready, vacuumed before 7am as well as story out the bickering and arguing which wouldn't be there if they weren't there.

Yep, I know I agreed to it to start off with but now that the contract is changing I thought it would be a good opportunity to rectify some of the things that bother me, to lessen the resentment.

Any advise on how to come across professional, without being blunt and saying I hate having your kids here so early in the morning?

[Tunja]

I charge extra before 8am but parents know that from the start. It is written into my contracts. Same applies after 6pm

I charge £12.50 per child per hour outside my core hours. I have only had one lady take this up, and it was for two children from 7-8 the 35 from 8am per hour per child.

[dette]

I would tell her that you charge slightly differently for "wrap around care" with a premium rate before xoclock(I charge time and a half before 7.30 am and after 5.30pm,and weekends)and that you charge a drop off /collection fee to take LO to nursery and that you usually charge while LO is at nursery but seeing as you were "mates" then she could have that bit for free. This way you get paid more for the part that you are feeling resentful for and she still feels like shes getting a good deal. This is an ideal time to sort out any little things that are niggling at you as it will be a change of contract ...but definitely be upfront about any changes as this will make you feel more professional

[supermumy]

But Would charging more really stop the resentment you have about starting early etc though???

[skatie]

But Would charging more really stop the resentment you have about starting early etc though???

I think to some extent it will as I won't feel like I'm being taken advantage of so much. It's lots of things not just starting early. It's her whole attitude towards bringing up her kids and living the single lifestyle, the kids being passed from one relative to another. It's small things such as she put me as the primary emergency contact for her daughter at school next term, her daughter will no longer be in my care. She didn't ask, she told me in a 'by the way' fashion. Sorry, I'm sounding really catty. Need to wipe the slate clean and approach this professionally.

[bunyip]

One of my lo's will be attending nursery for 3 hours every morning come September, I'm not charging for those hours, however, LO arrives at 7am and when the hours change I want to Chang the contract o start charging double time for unsociable hour 7am to 8am. To be honest I resent starting so early and sharing my family time with another child. Should I tell mum this is what I am going to do I'm going to do or should I just let her read it on the contract?

To my way of thinking, putting it on the contract is telling mum. BUT I always go through the contract with the parents anyway, and I can understand the members who say it would look bad if you didn't draw attention to the increase.

My personal approach is that I don't really think about 'anti-social hours' - maybe cos I've previously done 0430 starts. 0230 finishes and night shifts. I tend to think in terms of hours I will work and hours I won't. Family time is non-negotiable and so I won't let it be bought.

I sense a lot of resentment there, which can be very damaging and might just be causing all the separate issues (the "lots of things") to get mixed up and individually out of proportion. Putting you down as emergency contact without your consent is most certainly 'out of order'. The emergency contact issue is an example where you really seem to have been taken for granted, and that needs dealing with. The early starts aren't necessarily about 'being taken for granted' - not mum's fault if you agreed to it, but do address it if you don't like the times. Charging more for the first hour won't solve any of the other problems though.

It sounds to me as if you simply dislike/disapprove of the parent/family. There's nothing wrong with feeling that way, but you need to find a way of working with them or accept that it might be better all round to advertise and give notice when someone comes along with whom you can 'gel' a bit more.

[supermumy]

Hi

I feel maybe you need to let this one go completely it does sound much more than unsocial hours
Being a single mum Is hard work and it sounds like you don't like the choices she is making personally which is effecting ur work when really it shouldn't be?