teachers how much to charge in holidays

[zillervalley]

Hi

all my parents are teachers all work term time only, i dont charge them anything as I am happy for the time off,

the only thing is they have grandparents coming up and minding their children quite often lately in term time , when I said that I needed a half fee retainer for this they got quite stroppy,

has any one altered contracts totally for parents

[Twinkles]

I think when you renew your contracts you must make it clear that the no fee is for state school holidays only. They don't seem to realise that we actually rely on our income !

I think you are very generous in not charging 50% in the school holidays after all they still get paid don't they ?

[rickysmiths]

Surely if they have a contract with you for term time they pay full fee if they decide not to use that time because you are available for work.

I would charge and do charge teachers/parents 1/2 fee in the school holidays to retain their childs place in my setting. If they want to use me for any of the days they have to give me at least a weeks notice so I can plan.

If a parent refused to pay the retainer I would not take them on.

16 years ago my husband and I were looking for a childminder for our daughter, we thought because he is a teacher we would save money in the holidays lol.
We soon realised in order to find good childcare we would be expected to pay a half fee retainer in the holidays!

Frankly I think they are taking the mickey. Stand firm for the fees in term time and the retainer they are being paid 'full fee' all this time after all.

If they don't pay you can fill the place with another mindee and its tough they will loose their place.

[sonia ann]

I don't charge my teachers in the holidays ( 6 families , only one of which is a full timer, the rest are after schoolers) but that is my choice. At first when my own children were younger i liked the extra time , but now I can fill their places with holiday care children only so I don't lose out financially.This way works for me......not sure about the holidays in term time though as it's never arisen with me

[Daftbat]

I don't classify my customers in terms of their profession. The terms are the same whoever they are. If they want a term time only contract thats fine but they would be charged full fee for time off in term time unless they had provided 4 weeks notice of holiday etc. In school holidays they would not be charged but they would not have a place automatically available either and would take pot luck if they wanted childcare.

[mrs c]

Most of my parents are teachers and all pay half fees during school holidays. There are no enquiries for holiday only work here so am pleased to have the half pay for school holidays. However this has always been discussed during initial meetings and parents know what they have to pay. I have not had to introduce this after signing a contract.
If I were a parent I'm not sure how I would feel about having this introduced after a period of time.

[mrs c]

Sorry, I've just noticed I read this wrong. :blush:
If your contract was for term time and grandparents are stepping in then I would have still charged full fee as this was the contracted hours and you were available to work them. I think they should feel lucky that you are only asking half for these hours - I wouldn't have.

[miss muffit]

Hi

I would still charge full fee when grandparents have the children, its your income and she wouldnt like it if her school did the same with her wages.

I have a teachers child and i charge half fee during school holidays, this keeps their place as i cant take any one else on.

Worse side of childminding is the money :angry:

[ZoeAlli]

I charge teacher parents a retainer for holidays (13 weeks a year) to keep their child's place and through term time they are expected to pay full fee whether they have time off or not!! I feel that 13 weeks a year at half fee is generous enough, after all they get paid the same all year round and wouldn't expect to take a cut for this amount of time!
My teacher parents have all been ok with this and are happy to pay on these terms.:)

[The Juggler]

those parents are already getting 13 weeks free per year. I also don't charge for school holidays for teachers/school staff as I prefer to have less children in the holidays but I certainly wouldn't allow additional retainer periods on top.

In fact one teacher is at private school and has more than 13 weeks off but I told her I could only do a term-time only charge if it was based on state school holiday periods. She was fine about this.

I wouldn't even offer the retainer. Give them a choice maybe 50% retainer for all school holiday periods, or just the 13 weeks free. Tell them also most people charge for school holidays and would not offer retainer periods because they had found additional care. I would say that this offer is a one off for this year and from September there will be no additional periods with reduced fees. At the end of the day you are contracted to work for them for 39 weeks.

Is there anything specific written in your contracts that they are misinterpreting?

Good luck

[zillervalley]

Sorry, I've just noticed I read this wrong. :blush:
If your contract was for term time and grandparents are stepping in then I would have still charged full fee as this was the contracted hours and you were available to work them. I think they should feel lucky that you are only asking half for these hours - I wouldn't have.



thats ok


thanks for the advice

ziller

[zillervalley]

Hi

Thanks every one for the replies

answers to some of your questions

contracts state term time only rate

I am redoing them this holiday and stating that full fee will be paid when I am available in term time

anyone coming from now on will have to pay 50% in hols well - my 6wks hols

thanks girls

ziller

[peanuts]

term time only - you should still be paid whether they use you or not. they are lucky you dont charge a retainer for holidays

[The Juggler]

Sorry, I've just noticed I read this wrong. :blush:
If your contract was for term time and grandparents are stepping in then I would have still charged full fee as this was the contracted hours and you were available to work them. I think they should feel lucky that you are only asking half for these hours - I wouldn't have.

me too. most childminders charge a fee for school holidays. they cannot expect you to reserve a place for a child for 13 weeks of school holidays for free then again whenever they can find someone else to step in.

Do you have retainer periods written into the contract? If so, you might need to wait until contract review as someone said. If not , then
tell them that after some research you have found most childminders offer no payment free period during school holidays and that you are happy to offer 13 weeks payment free. However, in order to offer this you need to ensure that you are paid for the 39 weeks of term-time. Tell them the grandparent visit retainer was a one-off. I would tell them and put it in writing.

Good luck

[Roseolivia]

One mindees parent is a teacher and i charge half fee during holidays. If she decides to take a day off during school time i still charge normal fee as the space is open and on contracts i state she is entitled to 13wks hols a year which is the school hols.

[charliebear]

Hi,

I had this problem, i was approched by a close friend who wanted me to have her little boy, she is a TA so has school hols off, when she read through my portfolio she said no way was she willing to pay 1/2 fees during the hols as she had to make a living!!
This has caused problems and now he is not coming to my setting,i think that if parents want good quality childcare they need to be prepared to pay for us to keep their spaces. ( & don't mix business with pleasure !!)

Kel x