Notice letter

[Dilly Daydream]

Hi

Thank you all again for your support on my other thread (do I need parental permission for school runs!).

Unfortunately this parent is still getting on my nerves. We got over the initial spat that I posted about but I am still being pestered on days that I do not have her child and on weekends. There just always seems to be something and half of the contact/comments are totally unecessary and could be discussed on the mornings she drops off her child.

I was always prepared for the fact that I would be working from home and would not be able to "clock off" at closing time like I could with my previous job but its getting beyond a joke and I am on edge all of the time wondering when next she will text or ring to tell me something and nothing.

I have NONE of this from my other parents so know it is not the norm.

I know that 99% of people who answered my last thread said to give her notice and my lovely CM friends in this area have told me to do the same. But I feel a bit of a failure doing this. I left my last job to be home with my own Daughter and I am finding I can no longer relax to enjoy the time we are having together.

I am lucky that I have established a good after school group and I can manage on the income that will bring me til after christmas so I dont need this womans money any longer - sorry if that sounds awful!!

Does anyone have any nice wording that I can use please to state that I can no longer continue on with our contract. I have to give 4 weeks notice as this was put in the contract (lesson learnt - will now be putting in a cooling off period where contract can be ended immediately within a settling in time!!).

I kinda got the feeling this woman was going to be difficult when I started contact with her but as explained in my previous posts - she was my first contracted parent. I have since learnt from the other CMs that no-one wanted to touch her when she approached them as she was a demandy pants and tried to dictate to them too. :blush: I feel like such a failure for not trusting my first instincts about her and I feel bad for letting the child down.

Also what reason can I give her for ending the contract that will cause the least backlash?!?

Thank you all again for your help.

Jibbery mess signing off xx

[Dilly Daydream]

oooh should have also added that she reduced her contracted hours with me recently as she said she couldnt afford to pay me for the additional hours she originally wanted from the beginning of October. So I said I was happy for her to drop the additional hours, without the required 4 weeks notice (as it suits me perfectly) amended our contracts/paperwork to cover this then 48 hours later she has come back and said she may need the extra hours back. But she has signed contract amendment now so I am no longer obliged to offer this - but it just highlights the point I am trying to make. Its always something!?! I just feel at the end of my tether!!

[tess1981]

try this

As of from today I no longer wish for you to offend my ears so i am giving notice and do not have to listen to you anymore.... yeeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaa..

you might want to play around a little with the words to get it just right :rolleyes:

[EmmaReed84]

Dear X

It is with regret I feel our contract of agreement cannot continue. Therefore I have no other choice but to give you my 4 weeks notice as agreed in our original contract.

I will follow this up with a text at 10pm, then again at 6am. The last day of care will be XX/XX/XX however this will more than likely change like the weather. I shall give you a few hours notice via text message of any changes. I shall also text you anything that can wait until I see, even if it is the weekend.

If you have any issues regarding this letter, you can discuss them with. I shall pretend to listen and take notice, however in reality I will hear "blah blah blah" and do the complete opposite.

Kind regards

[Dilly Daydream]

Thank you for the giggle - very much appreciated and wanted!!

I just wish there was some other way around it but I dont think there is :(

xx

[LittleLadybirds]

Sounds like you will definitely be better out of this contract!

Dear Mrs X,
Due to a change in personal family circumstances I will no longer be able to provide care for Child X. I therfore give the 4 weeks notice as required in the contract to end the arrangement. The last day of care provided for Child X will be on day, date etc.

Yours Sincerely
Me :)

(Perhaps don't add the smiley face though!)
If the parent then asks what are the family circumstances, just say they are personal and you don't wish to talk about it. Job done.

It is hard trying not to feel guilty about the child though; I had the same thing with a parent messing me about with not paying, and in the end I gave notice on Christmas Eve :eek: On the boy's last week (he was 9 years old) I had him on the Tuesday and he was on about which day was his birthday a few weeks later, and would he be at my house or did I think his mum would let him have the 'day off', as he put it.
Needless to say I was a bit gobsmacked that he had no idea that he was only coming to my house for one more time, so I text mum saying she needed to tell him before I picked him up again. She told him the morning that was his final session, and by the time he got to my house and brought it up, he nearly cried.

I had a little cry afterwards, because it had taken a good 3-4 months for me to get him to be ok about coming to my house, and to actually play and join in with things. All he really needed was somewhere stable and reliable, with someone who actually gave a monkeys about him. Sadly I just couldn't afford to keep him coming and mum not pay me properly.
That was over 8 months ago, and I still feel guilty sometimes that I was another person on his list who failed him.

[Dilly Daydream]

Thank you for your reply.

Just about to sit down and write the notice letter. Have been onto NCMA legal for the second time re this parent and they have now advised what to put in the letter. Just one sentence "I hereby give you 4 weeks notice as stated in our contract, care will cease on xx/xx/xx"

Parent has today called and requested I do something which I deemed illegal, told her I didnt think I could do this legally and after checking with NCMA legal it is definitely a NO!

As she has requested I do this I dont officially have to give notice and was told I could now refuse care on these grounds but it may leave me open to a bit of a fight to prove the conversation - was over the phone no one else was around. So I am best to give 4 weeks, not enter into conversation about the whys and whens just to simply end the contract.

Waiting now for her to call me back to question this - I had to leave voicemail message to state I cant do what she has asked :rolleyes:

This has certainly opened my eyes to my gut feeling and I should learn to trust this more about parents in the first place!!

So I will now go off do the letter ready for when they get back off holiday next week (they fly out later today and I am not cruel enough to issue letter on a day they go on holiday though I doubt she would be half as thoughful) and start readvertising my vacancies for November.

Thanks again for good advice and support.

Hopefully I dont have to come back here and bore you all about this parent again - have a good weekend folks!!

[LittleLadybirds]

Go and give her the letter today and let her deal with the consequences! Don't feel guilty about them going on holiday.