How to work it out?

[Pudding Girl]

New mindee - parent works 25 hrs, includes some afternoons, some weekend shift and some evening shifts - but they are not regular days. So there may be weeks where she does no weekends or evenings, only afternoons. Which is going to be hard to work out for fees. she will get childcare element - lone parent - so needs a set figure to give them to work out doesn't she?

Is it best to work it out like - using her first weeks shift pattern she has given me and just working out what fees due would be for that week and keeping it at that each week?
Some weeks it will not be as much as that, but others it might be more so it will average itself out really won't it?

I can't see any other way, can you suggest anything?

[sarah707]

Not a clue... but I'll bump you up! :D

[Lou]

Is it on a 4 week rota or anything like that?

If it was you could then work out an average.

TBH its not your job to decide how she lets tax credits know, thats up to her.

If you are charging a normal rate and then an overtime rate for weekends etc the she will have to work out how to let the tax credits know.

Your only concern is that she pays you!!!!!

[Pudding Girl]

no set pattern to the shifts no. I know it's not my responsibility to work it out for her childcare element, but I have to work out something for the contract obviously don't I? for her to then tell them? for me to be paid? get what I mean?

[ChocolateChip]

Could you try to come to a figure you are both happy with for now, and then review it say every 3 mths or so?
Sorry don't know what else to suggest really, just make sure you are not out of pocket!

[Pudding Girl]

OK what I did was to take her shifts she has given me for next week and base it on that ( which luckily included 3 enhanced rate days ;) ) and set that as the weekly figure - ok sometimes I won't do 3 ER days, and sometimes I might do 4 ER days, but in the end it'll all work out.

[sue32]

I would keep a record and tell her that you will be looking at the figures again in 3 months to check that it is still fair to both partys as you dont want to be loosing out and her to be claiming more than she is paying you

[Pudding Girl]

I would keep a record and tell her that you will be looking at the figures again in 3 months to check that it is still fair to both partys as you dont want to be loosing out and her to be claiming more than she is paying you

as I said over the year it'll balance out I should think, I am happy with that, and she can't claim for more as it is on contract, so not sure what you mean there?

[cloud9]

She can claim for more, if it is more! at the end of the tax year she will provide the inland revenue with a figure for her whole year and if it was more than she had informed then she will just get her award topped up.