Need advice!

[claireh4505]

Hi,

I took on a new contract, full time excluding the school holidays. The contract was signed and then the parents wanted to only be charged for the hours that the child was in my setting (eg 6 hours one day, 8 hours the next) due to some shift work. I was happy to do this and wanted to be flexible however it has got to point where I am having the child less and less and cannot fill the hours that the child isnt here as it changes every day.

I want to email them during the easter holidays to explain that I was happy to be flexible, but will now be honoring the original contract and they will be charged full 10 hours even if they pick the child up early. I am losing out on money and cant take on any other mindees due to this.

Any help with how I should word this would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

[bunyip]

Hi,

I took on a new contract, full time excluding the school holidays. The contract was signed and then the parents wanted to only be charged for the hours that the child was in my setting (eg 6 hours one day, 8 hours the next) due to some shift work. I was happy to do this and wanted to be flexible however it has got to point where I am having the child less and less and cannot fill the hours that the child isnt here as it changes every day.

I want to email them during the easter holidays to explain that I was happy to be flexible, but will now be honoring the original contract and they will be charged full 10 hours even if they pick the child up early. I am losing out on money and cant take on any other mindees due to this.

Any help with how I should word this would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

I mean no offence but to be brutally honest Claire, you're showing all the classic symptoms of something we all suffer from to a greater or lesser degree: ie. wanting to be liked . You've tried to help out, done favours, but it's worked against you, and now you want an easy way to say something you suspect the parents won't want to hear.

Bunyip's Law of Tricky Subject Avoidance states:-

• People send text messages when they don't want to send an email.
• People email when they don't want to send a letter.
• People send a letter when they don't want to phone.
• People phone when they don't want to speak face to face.
• People speak face to face when they find the courage within themselves.

I know because I've been there myself.

You really just have to come out and say it, just like you've done in your post here. If the parents don't like hearing bad news that's their responsiblity. Your responsibility is to be honest with them and (maybe more importantly) honest with yourself. Say it once, say it all, get it dealt with. Anything less and you'll end up resenting it and could end up unhappy with the arrangement, the family, or yourself. Making a decision and then sliding back on it is rarely a good move. You've already made the decision, and that proves you have it in you. Be strong, because you are.

Try to think positively about the parents. Credit them with the maturity to see the logic and reason in your position. You're only asking them to agree to what they signed up for. They may well be able to understand your need to make enough money to run a sustainable business. They should at least see that it's in their interests to keep their lo with you and not drive you to the point where you have to give notice to make room for a more viable client. If they react badly, that's the time to deal with the reaction - but don't pre-empt it. You can prepare yourself for a bad reaction, but if you act like you expect one. If we expect the worst, we usually manage to achieve it.

On a practical point, if the current arrangement had become established, the parents are possibly in a position to argue that it has become 'custom and practice' - a legal term which pretty much means it has to be treated as if it were part of a contractual arrangement. But at worst that means you'd be obliged to give the usual notice period in order to revert to the original contracted terms. In any case, I'd be tempted to give that length of time as a goodwill gesture and avoid a financial 'shock' to the client - and probably use this as an opportunity to review and redraw the contract.

On a personal note, if we try to love ourselves better, then we rely less on how we feel others think about us. I only learnt this when I came to the edge of a breakdown, and I still struggle with it. I'm prepared to be flamed for saying it, but respect you enough to say what needs to be said.

[sarah707]

Excellent advice from Bunyip!!

Invite parents in for a meeting - talk about the child's progress in their learning - focus on the positives of the child's time with you.

Then talk about the contract and explain you are unable to continue as it stands currently because you are finding it difficult to remain sustainable.

Share your ideas for how you want the contract to work in the future - give parents time to go away and reflect on your suggestions - there should be a month before any changes are actually made.

However - be prepared to lose the child if the parents are focussed on cost.

Hugs xx

[AgentTink]

Tough one. As you say you are now losing money and cannot fill the space, however as you have been flexible in the beginning they are now thinking that they can keep asking for more.

I would sit and work out how much they now need you and what you think is the amount that you need to earn to justify the full time space.

At the end of the day they signed a contract for a certain agreed amount/time and any changes need to be agreed by both parties. You may need to be prepared that if you cannot offer them any further reductions to their bill that they may look elsewhere, but that it not to say that you standing your ground means you are wrong.

I would word the email as follows

dear xx

thank you for your requests to change contracted hours. I appreciate that families are looking for ways to reduce childcare costs in this economic climate.

I am also running a business, and any hours that your child does not attend on a certain day, I am unable to fill with another child, so there is a minimum cost of 8 hours per day that I must set for each day.

as yours and your wife's shifts mean that your childcare needs will be different on different days I have a few proposals in relation to costs.

1) You pay a set figure of xx per week which covers for xx amount of hours. Any hours you use over this will be charged at xx per hour, and payable at the end of week/month.

2) you pay a set fee for each day for 8 hours worth of childcare, which is my minimum charge per day. This cost would be xx. Then any days where you need more hours would be at xx amount per hour.

3) We return to the original contract of 10 hours per day, and the cost would be xx amount per week/month.

Please note with these above options that the hours from each day are non transferable to another day, and if your child does not attend for any reason than the weekly/daily charge would still be charged and again hours can not be transferred to another day.

I hope you appreciate that I am unable to offer any further flexibly in regards to costs. If you wish to reduce the number of days care in a week that you need, than this is something I could accommodate with appropriate notice, however these days would then not be available for you to use.

Kind regards


It is not easy the money side of the business, however start as you mean to go on. If the family wants something that you are not prepared to offer say so now as if you do take them on in their terms you will only resent it further on down the line.

[lynncjt]

I've just had similar as Mum wants to go from 3 fixed days a week to any 2 short days a week!

Discussed the options with Mum but we have ended with me accepting notice on the current contract and when that ends I will just be offering as Pay as You Go. This means she gives me her hours at the start of the month and if I can do them I will book them in and she will pay me then (at a higher rate than her current rate). If I can't do them - sorry..

Meanwhile I'm advertising that I have a full time space available, and parent knows this.