Holidays over Xmas

[mumofone]

My contracts state that parents are to give me at least 4 weeks notice of any holidays they wish to take but over the Xmas period I need to know sooner that that in order to invoice correctly upfront. Is it ok to ask for holiday plans/dates by a certain date so that I can invoice them accordingly? What dyou all do?

[Mouse]

I'm closed from 22nd Dec until the 3rd Jan and do my invoices on the basis of no fees when I'm closed. If parents take any time off before or after those dates full fees are due anyway so it doesn't matter to me whether or not they give me their holiday dates 4 weeks in advance.

If you need to know your parents plans earlier than normal there's certainly no harm in asking.

[mama2three]

I used to send out a request form with my november invoices ( at the end of october). they said something along the lines of being so i could take parents needs into account before finalising my own plans . Actually i was trying to work out how little time off i could get away with taking at no fee whilst still maximising time off. It didnt work at all. The parents still sent them on days they said they didnt need once they saw i was open and they would be charged. So i learnt my lesson and from then on ive closed for the whole school holidays over christmas. parents sometimes ask if i can do odd days but the answer is always no , sorry , thats family time.

[BallyH]

I used to send out a request form with my november invoices ( at the end of october). they said something along the lines of being so i could take parents needs into account before finalising my own plans . Actually i was trying to work out how little time off i could get away with taking at no fee whilst still maximising time off. It didnt work at all. The parents still sent them on days they said they didnt need once they saw i was open and they would be charged. So i learnt my lesson and from then on ive closed for the whole school holidays over christmas. parents sometimes ask if i can do odd days but the answer is always no , sorry , thats family time.

Ditto, I now also have all Christmas off. I can relax and plan ahead. I use to play the 'waiting' game but if very rarely went in my favour.

[loocyloo]

I just tell my parents when I will be off! I get the time off I want, and they know where they are!

I don't charge when I am not working, so easy to sort out!

x

[bunyip]

My contracts state that parents are to give me at least 4 weeks notice of any holidays they wish to take but over the Xmas period I need to know sooner that that in order to invoice correctly upfront. Is it ok to ask for holiday plans/dates by a certain date so that I can invoice them accordingly? What dyou all do?

Just posting to address the original question.

You can't really change the contracted terms in order to simplify the invoicing process like this. the best you can do is to issue the invoices on the basis of the information you have at the time, then make any adjustments on the following invoice, if clients give you holiday dates after the invoices have gone out.

But,as others have said, there's no harm in asking.

Just put in terms of, "Whilst I will of course honour the contracted period for notification of holidays, it will help if I can have an accurate picture of your childcare needs over the school vacation, so I can then ensure you are charged the correct amount. This could mean you avoid having to pay more than you need to in the run-up to christmas, which we all know is an expensive time of year for all of us."