Unsociable hours charge?

[tiredandemotional]

Hello! I wonder if any of you charge extra for unsociable hours; those outside of your normal working hours?

I have recently taken on a new schoolie who arrives at 7.15am. My normal working day is 8am-6pm and although I want to be as flexible as possible I am finding the 7.15 start rather tough! The mum initially told me 7.30 but when she came to visit with her child changed it to 7.15. She didn't actually ask me my charges but I sent her my contract which she signed and returned. As I drop her child off to school at 8.45 I had rounded it up to the nearest hour and was charging for two full hours - £8. I do normally do a half hour fee but considered this such a short time at such an early time that I felt justified in rounding it up.

A few days after I started minding her daughter she came up to me in the local play park and said that she had put the paperwork through (she is a single mum and gets help to pay childcare costs as she has gone back to uni) and just wanted to check that it was £6 a session. When I said that it was £8 as it was earlier than my normal day, I don't have any others arrive at that time and was on the contract that I charge for a full hour after the first 15 mins she implied that it wasn't much work for me and that she had to do a cleaning job just to pay for the childcare (but she had already told me she gets 80% paid by the uni).

To be honest I now begrudge having to get up early, rush to get ready with a clock in the bathroom and then have my kids woken up when the mindee arrives (I am lucky that my kids sleep late!) then rush out of the house early to get her to the junior school to then wait around at the infants- where my son and other mindee go; all for £6/day for three days week!

I know that I made the mistake of not confirming the fees at the start and charging an unsociable hours fee but I am seriously considering giving notice and just want to know what others would do and whether you charge unsociable hours fees so I know what to do for the future. Many thanks for getting this far!!

Susie
x

[The Juggler]

officially i charge 50p more than my normal hourly rate. i have 2 family's who use me from 7.30 but I don't charge

[winstonian]

my normal working day is 7.30am to 6pm at £3.50 per hour, before and after this it goes up to £5 per hour.

[rubycairo]

my normal working day is 7.30am to 6pm at £3.50 per hour, before and after this it goes up to £5 per hour.

.Y

our rates are more than fair.Most round our way charge 4.50 or 5 per hour between 7am to 6pm anything after that is 6 per hour.

[blue bear]

I have never charged unsocial hours. Earliest I have started is 6.30 but that was a while ago £2.20 an hour then.
I won't work earlier than 7.30, it's just not practical for my family circumstances but I think £8 session before school seems fair when it starts at 7.15, my friend charge £10 7.30-9.00

[Chimps Childminding]

To be honest if you are regretting taking the early start on would the extra £2 a day make that much of a difference? We all try and be as flexible and helpful as we can, but if it impacts on your own family unless you really need the money is it worth the extra hassle for £6/£8???

I have a before schoolie who comes for 1 hour, and I charge £5, but some days that is all I have to get up for (my own children are grown up) and I begrudge that ! Unfortunately this is because anther parent works shifts so the schoolie comes 4 mornings but the other child only come 3, but not the same ones, so can't really say I don't want to have xxx on a certain day (complicated I know).

I would love to lose schoolies full stop, but they have all been with me since they were babies, and one lives over the road, so awkward!!! But I don't actively take on before/after schoolies and certainly wouldn't take on one that didn't fit in with my family routine!!

Hope you get things sorted!!

[bunyip]

To be honest if you are regretting taking the early start on would the extra £2 a day make that much of a difference? We all try and be as flexible and helpful as we can, but if it impacts on your own family unless you really need the money is it worth the extra hassle for £6/£8???

I have a before schoolie who comes for 1 hour, and I charge £5, but some days that is all I have to get up for (my own children are grown up) and I begrudge that ! Unfortunately this is because anther parent works shifts so the schoolie comes 4 mornings but the other child only come 3, but not the same ones, so can't really say I don't want to have xxx on a certain day (complicated I know).

I would love to lose schoolies full stop, but they have all been with me since they were babies, and one lives over the road, so awkward!!! But I don't actively take on before/after schoolies and certainly wouldn't take on one that didn't fit in with my family routine!!

Hope you get things sorted!!

Susie, I think Chimps has hit the crux of the matter. Is it really about a little extra charge for unsociable hours or is it about whether you want this contract at all? If it's disrupting your family and making you unhappy, then maybe you need to give notice. Only you can decide, but no-one here is going to blame you for making a decision like this for all the right reasons.

[tiredandemotional]

Susie, I think Chimps has hit the crux of the matter. Is it really about a little extra charge for unsociable hours or is it about whether you want this contract at all? If it's disrupting your family and making you unhappy, then maybe you need to give notice. Only you can decide, but no-one here is going to blame you for making a decision like this for all the right reasons.

Thanks for al your advice re charges and unsocial hours. I think Chimps and Bunyip you are right- it isn't about the money; more the fact that it doesn't fit in with my family and other mindees and makes my childminding day a very long one. A couple of extra quid won't change this but I think some of my struggle has been with the fact that the mum beat me down on price! I think I am going to tell her that I will carry on until Christmas and then she will have to find someone else (and I can give her details of another CM that is willing to take her on two of the days). This is way more than my notice period and I will just cite the reason that it is too early and too disruptive to my family - not mentioning the money.

I will also learn a lesson to really think about what hours I am prepared to do and what unsocial hours charge I want to make it future.

Many thanks again
Susie

[karen m]

To be honest i don't charge "unsociable hours" ,i decide if i can do those hours if so my fee is £4 p/h , .Every 3 week on the monday i have lo from 4to 8 rest of week from 5 till 8,next week from 6 pm till 11 pm ,following week i dont have him as mum works night ,nan has him ,his mum is willing to go out at that hour to give her child a good start in life i am lucky my children have all left home and hubby works away.

[jane5]

I have a lo that comes for 5 hours, 3 mornings a week, starting at 6.30am.

I charge 4ph from 8-6 but I charge this lo £25 for the 5 hours because the others start at 8.30 so this adds 2 hours to my working day.

I also charge £10 flat fee on the 2 days she is at nursery if mum is working, for her to be dropped off at mine at 6.30am and I take her to nursery for 7.30 start.

I charge a higher rate to make it worth my while. Mum is a single parent with no family close by and would not be able to do this job if I didn't have lo. She is happy to pay the extra and always makes me feel appreciated.

It does impact on my family but because I know she appreciates me I do it.

[Chimps Childminding]

Thanks for al your advice re charges and unsocial hours. I think Chimps and Bunyip you are right- it isn't about the money; more the fact that it doesn't fit in with my family and other mindees and makes my childminding day a very long one. A couple of extra quid won't change this but I think some of my struggle has been with the fact that the mum beat me down on price! I think I am going to tell her that I will carry on until Christmas and then she will have to find someone else (and I can give her details of another CM that is willing to take her on two of the days). This is way more than my notice period and I will just cite the reason that it is too early and too disruptive to my family - not mentioning the money.

I will also learn a lesson to really think about what hours I am prepared to do and what unsocial hours charge I want to make it future.

Many thanks again
Susie

I think you have made the right decision!! As you say just tell her that you now realise that it doesn't fit in with your family! I am sure if you mentioned the money she would probably pay and if that really isn't the issue you will end up feeling you have to carry on even though you don't want to!!

Good luck

[miffy]

Thanks for al your advice re charges and unsocial hours. I think Chimps and Bunyip you are right- it isn't about the money; more the fact that it doesn't fit in with my family and other mindees and makes my childminding day a very long one. A couple of extra quid won't change this but I think some of my struggle has been with the fact that the mum beat me down on price! I think I am going to tell her that I will carry on until Christmas and then she will have to find someone else (and I can give her details of another CM that is willing to take her on two of the days). This is way more than my notice period and I will just cite the reason that it is too early and too disruptive to my family - not mentioning the money.

I will also learn a lesson to really think about what hours I am prepared to do and what unsocial hours charge I want to make it future.

Many thanks again
Susie

I think you've made the right decision for you. I class anything before 8am and after 6pm as unsocial hours and charge £5 per 15 minutes during those times because I don't want to work those hours. I explain this to parents when they sign contracts but they also know that if they have an emergency then I will help out (and won't charge higher rates). You have to do what fits with your family and works for you.

Miffy xx

[LauraS]

It sounds like you have made a good decision for.you and your family. I don't charge a fee for antisocial hours precisely because of the reasons that someone else stated - if the hours are that disruptive, an extra 50p won't soothe the blow

My earliest start is 6am but.I quite like it (obviously I'm odd)