1 week's care for an under 5 in one or 2 months from now

[hollyberry]

Had an enquiry for a woman who is coming to my neck of the woods for work and needs someone to look after her 3 yo. I would charge her the week's fee as a deposit of course, but then do I ask for a retainer from between now and then (she says it will be one - two months, very vague I now) and if so, how much?

And how much do you charge extra for ad hoc placements like this?????

[Tinglesnark]

personally, for adhocs like this i just charge my usual rate and ask for cash in advance. I dont do retainers or deposits for ad hoc care because ive found that it is quite a lot of paprerwork for a one off situation
hth
x
oh and my contract states "ad hoc and emergency care, hours to be agreed when requested, fee £.....,"

that sort of thing x

[karen1033]

I have only been in this situation once when another CM in the area closed down at very short notice and left several parents without care. Most found alternative care but one family needed a short term placement for 2 months till the end of term (youngest child was starting F/T school in the September). Luckily I had the required vacancies so I just charged normal fees. Any enquiries I had during that time I said I would have vacancies from September - that suited most people anyway!