I am a childminder and for unforeseen circumstances I had to give a notice letter to a parent to stop care for their child (notice of termination of the childminding contract). According to the contract I had to give them 4 week’s notice which I did and as goodwill I also mentioned that if they need more time I would accommodate the extra time till they found a suitable replacement childminder.

I delivered the letter to them personally by hand and told them to contact me if they had any concerns, but the parents completely cut me out of the picture and immediately found another childminder. Though they have paid me for the last week that their child was in my care, but are bluntly refusing to pay for payment in lieu of the 4 week’s notice period which amounts to £120.

I would like to know, if I have a case against the parents to claim for payment in lieu of the 4 week’s notice period and if so how should I proceed.

Any advice would help. Thanks