not happy with current childminder, need advice

[dmax]

hi all i am new here,
i have some concerns regarding our current childminder and would appreciate some advice from childminders and parents . current c/m has been minding our daughter for 3.5 months now. but contract was only signed 2 weeks ago. at start 3 weeks into childminding we went on hols for 6 weeks, c/m asks us for a retainer, she asked us for full pay , we told her no, then she asked would we give her half if she kept place open , this we did and paid her half money. reflecting on this we shouldnt have bothered paying her as there was no contract in place. anyway its 3 and half months into her minding and she has taken 11 days of her holidays allready!! she gets payed full money for 15 days per year, so that leaves her only 4 days left. surely childminders have to earn their holidays as with anyones job ? if she takes all her paid holidays within say 5 months and after that she takes anymore days off then she doesnt get paid , right ? im concerned if she takes all her holidays and we or she cancels the contract can we the parents claim any of them paid holidays back off her ? also we the parents dont get any holidays off , i have talked to a few mums and they have told me that they get 2 weeks off per year for holidays. is two weeks off for parents the " norm " ? is it unreasonable to ask the childminder for 2 weeks off for ourselves ? a lot of questions i know but i am still learning and i havent a clue about childminding fees etc, by the way we are from northern ireland , uk . thanks in advance

[Roseolivia]

In my contract i state that i take 4 weeks holidays a year, as most my parents are teachers i try to take my annual holidays when it's the school holidays. I don't charge anything for my holidays unless it's when it's the school hols as i then charge parents half fee to keep the space open. I charge parents half fee for their holidays and in the contract it states that they are entitled to 4 weeks of this. Childminders are entitled to take holidays when they want as we are self employed not employed by the parents, once she has used her 15 days paid holiday any other holiday would be unpaid. If you have worked out the fees to include holidays both sides so you pay the same each month then if the contract is cancelled before the year is out then you or the childminder would be owed any outstanding balance. As for not having a contract to begin with i'd advise you that if you ever went to another minder always have a contract before you start in case of any problems like this plus it could make the minders insurance invalid which would mean if you had to claim of your minder for any reasons you wouldn't get very far.
Hope this helps.

[wellybelly]

Different childminders work in different ways. I know a lot of childminders who do charge for when they take their holidays and others who don't. There is the argument that normal paid employment offers (for example) 21 days a year paid holiday then why should'nt childminders get the same entitlement. But this really should have been agreed, signed and acknowledged during a contract signing before any childminding commences.

Personally I don't charge for any of my holidays which is normally 5 weeks a year, but I do charge if the parent chooses to take their holidays when I am working. Most of my hols are taken during the school holidays and therefore parents make the most of the "free" opportunities by having their annual hols when I am off. Does this make sense lol! I try to make it clear that it's not the childs attendance which parents pay for, its the contracted place that needs to be paid for.

I always sign contracts before any childminding begins as both parties (the childminder and the parents) are covered under the childminders public liability insurance and basically it keeps everything fair and by the book. I hope you manage to sort this out with the childminder. Thanks for coming on the forum.

[aly]

1) did she do settling in sessions before care started?...this could be why especially if there were holidays taken between them.
2)...no we dont need to accrue holidays before taking thme as we are self employed so work as self employed people not employees. - what if the cm had her hols booked nefore you enquired...we will not cancel our hols because you start then a few weeks our hol is due.
3) parents also have as many hols as they want, as long as they give cm notice of when you intend to take them, all or at least mostly all cms will charge you for your hols{and sickness}
4) some cms charge for their hols some dont {i dont}
5) the cm was right in charging you a retainer for the 6 weeks, you went on hols for 6 weeks the cm has no money for that time and you may have cancelled care so the cm would be out of pocket, the retainer is there for both parent so they space is there and cm so they have a backup incase you dont go back!..this is the norm.

[The Juggler]

sorry to hear you are having a tough time. However, if our contract had started already, I would also have expected full pay for the 6 weeks you were away or I might have compromised on 1/2 pay if I'd known about it well before your child had started.

If you start with a minder and she has pre-booked holiday you cant really expect her to cancel but also she should have explained to you that her holiday entitlemtn was at full pay and that it was already booked. I take my holiday in the summer every year so would not cancel just because someone only started just before the summer break.

Having said all that it's unforgiveable that there was no contract in place for 3 weeks (as no contract = no insurance) and given how unprofessional this is I am assuming your CM did not clearly explain about holiday charges for either herself or you, in order that you could make an informed decision about your child's care.

Forewarned is forearmed and if you do consider moving your child these are crucial elements of care/payment you need to iron out. However, lots of fantastic minders do take paid holiday and will charge for any of your own long absences. Likewise, there are loads of fab minders that will not charge for their own hols and might offer you 2 weeks payment free holiday but you would be unlikely to find someone who would not expect payment for a 6 week absences. Maybe you can find someone, somewhere in the middle but the most important thing is someone who is happy to discuss (clearly) how their charges work so you are aware of them and there are no surprises later on.

However, if you are otherwise happy with your child's care, then it might be better to sit down with her now and say we got off on wrong foot please can you go through and explain these charges to me now so I understand how it works, then perhaps there might be a bit of room for compromise.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[Blaze]

Hi & welcome to the forum

I have nothing really to add to what's already been posted...I would say though, if your concerns are monitary based then it is worth sitting down with your CM & clearing the air (from what I've read, wht she has done / charged if pretty standard) - if you are happy with the care itself then worth staying put, as good childcare isn't expensive, it's invaluable.

[fluffysocks]

From a childminders point of view, we are self employed and our own boss therefore we can take days off as and when and for how long providing a reasonable amount of notice is given, standard being 4 weeks notice.

As for Parents holiday some childminders allow soo many "free" days per contract year, others charge a retainer-commonly haf fee and some charge full fee.

In all cases some childminders set these fees and if you want their space then you agree to their charges, others are happy to discuss things and reach an agreement. In all cases these should be outlined and explained durin the contract process which should always take place before any minding starts.

That said there is no reaso why you shouldnt ask for a contract review, go along the lines of "its been 4 months now, can we meet up to discuss my childs progress, view his/her development portfolio/record, discuss "next steps" planning" as well as discussing the contract". Explain what you would like, let your childminder explain the contract clearly to you and see if there is a half way point where you are both happy. As much as childminders are self employed and our own bosses it is soo important to build up a positive happy relationship with the parents as well as the children.

From a parents point of view, my ex childminder charged full fee for any time off (hers or mine) and althought I felt it was excessive she was absolutely fantastic with my two, i really couldnt have asked for anyone better and she was part of my inspiriation for becoming a childminder myself, and I feltthat she was worth every penny and more.

alot of thoughts and feelings there, hope it helps you.

[dmax]

1) did she do settling in sessions before care started?...this could be why especially if there were holidays taken between them.
2)...no we dont need to accrue holidays before taking them as we are self employed so work as self employed people not employees. - what if the cm had her hols booked before you enquired...we will not cancel our hols because you start then a few weeks our hol is due.
3) parents also have as many hols as they want, as long as they give cm notice of when you intend to take them, all or at least mostly all cms will charge you for your hols{and sickness}
4) some cms charge for their hols some dont {i dont}
5) the cm was right in charging you a retainer for the 6 weeks, you went on hols for 6 weeks the cm has no money for that time and you may have cancelled care so the cm would be out of pocket, the retainer is there for both parent so they space is there and cm so they have a backup incase you dont go back!..this is the norm.

hi, the retainer was paid only into 3 weeks of childcare, and no contract was in place . is that the right thing to do to a parent - ask for a retainer to keep a place open even though theere was no contract? and the child was still in her settling in period?

[mama2three]

Oh dear , sorry youre unhappy.
Is your little one happy and settled..this is first and foremost , and should be what you base your 'next steps' on.
If you have doubts about the care your child is recieveing then look for an alternative and give notice....
but If you feel that lo is happy you need to work through your concerns with the cm. Firstly look at your contract - even though it was late it should outline all your 'terms'. I dont charge for my holidays , but know several minders who do. They would all reimburse you proportionately if the contact ends 'mid year' regarding holidays etc. Its not always possible to build up holiday days before you take them - especially as this is the time of year when so many of us take holidays. I charge full fee for parents holidays and that is usually the case .

For the sake of your lo it is important that you build up a positive relationship with your cm...have a chat at pick up , or if shes busy ask her when the best time would be for a chat...
Start by saying you know how important it is to work together , and could she just clarify a couple of things for you...

Sorry , ive waffled on a bit! Good luck!