parents giving problems

[danielle28]

I have 2 children on my books they are brother and sister, the mum informed me her husband was goin to be off work on my days an that I wouldn't be needed for 3days. On the 3rd day, 25mins before deciding she now needed me she text me but I was unavailable as I was told I wasn't needed am I in the wrong for not being available?

[ivy]

No . That used to happen to me a lot and i was so soft i would let them walk all over me , I have since got a lot tougher you have to as you have to plan , food etc . Parents dont think of this majority are brill but you will always get akward ones .

[Daisy De]

Depends on a few things really in my opinion.

I'm assuming you were paid full for these three days? If so, I would find it awkward really to say no unless I had made appointments I couldn't cancel. If you weren't paid then, as you did, I would say sorry you didn't need me so I have made alternative plans.

[Jenna]

I had the same thing at Christmas one mum kept swapping and changing days but it worked out well as it meant I had a Friday off to do some last min Xmas shopping with my mum which was lovely. 10 o'clock the night before parent texted to say they actually needed me in the am and it would b a full 10 hour day. I sent a polite message bk saying sorry I had already made plans and wouldn't b able to mind little one tomorrow no way was I giving up my Xmas shopping at short notice stand your ground from the start and be firm or they'll mess u about all the time.

[lizduncan72]

If you are being paid for the day then you need to be available to work it-sorry but I'm with the parents on this one. It's annoying when it happens-I've had it in the past too-but if you are expecting to be paid for a service then you need to provide that service.

[tashaleee]

If you are being paid for the day then you need to be available to work it-sorry but I'm with the parents on this one. It's annoying when it happens-I've had it in the past too-but if you are expecting to be paid for a service then you need to provide that service.

Sorry i disagree.....

If a parent cancels a day and sais they dont need me I would not expect them to change their minds with less than 24 hours notice as I may make other plans - and if I did have other plans and couldnt accommodate them I would still charge them as it was their choice to cancel (however the difference being is that they would be fully aware of this in advance) - I have shift workers who pay a minimum amount of hours per week but they know that they are to confirm hours for following week on a certain day and if they decide they dont need care they will still pay and if they come back and try to change their booking with under 48 hours notice then I may not be available but they will be charged and they are happy to accept this because it was all agreed in advance :thumbsup:

[wendywu]

No i dont think you are in the wrong.
It works the other way as well if you had booked somedays off and then decided to that really you wanted to work you could not demand at short notice that parents bring in children to you and pay for the days. They may have made plans to take time off.

[Rubybubbles]

I have a 72 hour clause in my contracts that if they give holiday notice, i can refuse care if less than 72 hours notice to change it again

[Rubybubbles]

If you are being paid for the day then you need to be available to work it-sorry but I'm with the parents on this one. It's annoying when it happens-I've had it in the past too-but if you are expecting to be paid for a service then you need to provide that service.

with 25 minutes notice! no chance! I have lots of part timers and charge full for parents holidays but sometimes it falls I may arrange a doc appointment or dentist (all the things we never get to do!)

[bunyip]

I think the message is that you might get away with charging, unless perhaps the client challenged it in law. That doesn't make it right.

Irrespective of what other CMs do, I think you'd be on very dodgy legal ground by demanding to be paid when you're not available for work. At the very least, you'd need to have it clearly stated in your contract, and even then you'd probably want advice from a solicitor that it's a 'reasonable clause'.

Personally, I wouldn't risk damaging my relationship with a client over this.

Btw, isn't this a duplicate of yesterday's thread where everyone said the parents were in the right? I think it would've been better and more revealing to 'bump' it and let members see yesterday's replies. :rolleyes:

[FussyElmo]

Do you have a bit in your contract saying that holidays etc cannot be changed without so many days notice?

If not then maybe it will be hard for you to charge if you refused to have them.

A learning curve we have all had to do them :thumbsup:

[The Juggler]

i don't think you have to make yourself available in these circumstances however, I do agree that if you then had made other plans and couldn't provide care you would need to refund the parents.

[dette]

it is a difficult one,yes its disapointing if you think you are getting a day off and it falls through but unless you made it clear either in your contracts or verbally at the time of the cancelation then really you should work,if for example you have no food in ready because you werent expecting to have children in then you could say this to parents to make a point that there are reasons why we have to organise our time and you may have to arrange a late drop off to fit in a quick shop or tell them that LO will have to go shopping with you.As for planning tell parents that LO will still have continuous provision but nothing specific to their child and as its not set up for the day it will be limited as most of it goes away and you havent left enough time to set up.
ideally you would already be out at a soft play or farm an hours drive away and you wouldnt have the right pram so parents own tough luck

[wendywu]

I would work because i only ever take holiday to leave the country and go abroad. So i would be minding anyway , never lucky enough for 4 children to be kept off at the same time :laughing:

But i can understand how frustrating it could be if you had none then all of a sudden they changed their minds. I always book vets and dentis and doctors for when i am down on numbers:D

[bunyip]

For reference, here is a cut&paste of the message posted by the OP yesterday.


Need some advice I'm a childminder, my contract states payment is still due if child is absent but no payment is required if I am closed. I have a parent refusin 2 pay for days her childer have had off. The parent told me verbally that she was off work an didn't need me for. Our usual 3days then changed her mind on the day 25minutes before she wanted to drop the children off as I was not available because I was previously told I wasn't needed I said no an now she is refusin to pay an also isn't complying with the 28days notice of service endings she is claimin I have breeched so she isn't following the signed agreement. Were do I stand with this matter can any1 help?

I'm assuming this is the same situation. Please tell me if this is incorrect. I've highlighted the key phrase from the OP's contract in red. I think the key point is: is the setting open or closed? If it's open, then she takes the child. If it's closed, then (as per her contract) "no payment is required." I don't think there's any wriggle-room over this unless the OP has made a clarification elsewhere in the contract/policies about late changes of mind.

If this is likely to happen again, then I'd want a meeting with the client to agree on exactly how this sort of chopping and changing might be handled in future. This is mainly cos I'd be concerned about the impact on other children, trips, planning, etc. rather than about whether or not I get a paid day off. :)

[dette]

i think that there may be some surcumstances where the parent would have to accept that they should have planned ahead a bit better,eg if you were already out for the day when they phoned and couldnt reasonably be expected to get back.
but most things like hair appt etc really should be canceled although i would point out to parents that more notice would be appreciated.