If a child you pick up as already arranged in the contract and you break down or bad weather such as heavy snow stop you picking up can I still charge
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If a child you pick up as already arranged in the contract and you break down or bad weather such as heavy snow stop you picking up can I still charge
I would say that if you can't provide the service agreed in the contract then you can't charge, it's really the same as if you are ill.
My policies say that I provide home-based care and that any pickups are provided free of charge on a voluntary basis and are not a contractual obligation - so that if for instance I was unable to pick up due to extreme adverse weather, parents would need to get children to me. When the schools (and some roads)were shut due to heavy snow, some parents did bring children to me, some booking extra hours to make a day of it, one just bringing the children at 3:15 as if it were a normal school day.
I do think we need to cover ourselves against the eventuality of bad weather or we could be out of pocket for weeks on end if the roads became really dangerous for a long period.
I think car breakdown is slightly different in that if you do commit to provide transport, it could be argued that the onus is then on you to maintain your car in good order and that not collecting due to breakdown is failing to meet your contractual obligations. I am fortunate that collecting from school on foot is an option so I am careful not to commit to any transport.
I would be interested to hear what others do about documenting exactly what is agreed regarding pickups and transport, as the standard contracts seem to ignore the whole question.
I agree with Mummits. I do not write in my contracts that I collect children for this reason. If I am contracted to collect and am unable to do so because of the weather or the car breaking down I would not be able to charge for the day as I am not able to provide the contracted service, the same way that when the electricity went in the snow I was unable to provide a service (no elec = no heating) so could not charge for the day. If I say I can collect voluntarily (no charge) if possible but if due to weather or unforeseen circumstances I cannot collect then it is the parents responsibility, that way the parent still needs to pay for the day or bring them to me.
I'd say 3 important things to consider.
1. As mentioned by other members: what does your contract say? This describes the service you're selling them. Does it say you are selling care between particular hours, or care plus pick-up and transport?
2. Irrespective of the contract, it is entirely possible that a clever solicitor might successfully argue that you are obliged to provide the pick-up. This might be because you verbally agreed to do so, therefore it is implied even if not stated explicitly in the contract; or, by regularly providing that service, it has legally become "custom and practice"; or it is otherwise reasonable for the parent to expect it as part of the service paid for. Whether a parent would bother to engage a solicitor for a relatively small payment to you is debatable though.
3. In practical terms, is it worth wee-wee-ing off a parent for the sake of a day or 2's after school fee? Nothing is more guaranteed to annoy a parent that the feeling they've been charged for a CM to "do nothing". The key here is "how would you feel if the boot were on the other foot?" If you expected a service, didn't get it, but were expected to still pay for it - no matter what contractual details were quoted at you, would you be satisfied, or would you be looking out for an alternative service-provider? :huh:
I don't write it personally in to my own contracts
However all my parents know if I can't child mind their child on the days required for whatever reason, I break down, I have an accident etc I don't charge and it comes off next months invoice
I think its very wrong if you broke down or couldn't child mind for whatever reason but still charged the parents, as it's out with their control and they possibly have had to take time off work to go & pick up their kids