Is it cheeky to ask to be paid over the holidays?

I think your responses here are rather strange OP. You wanted advice about summer pay, so posters have given you helpful advice on how to achieve the best results in your business, but you haven't responded with any indication that you understand that you have to have a business plan and terms and conditions in place in order to succeed. Instead you came back to the thread to comment on one pupil's desire to achieve high grades, exams and give other irrelevant information. 🤷‍♀️

Your posts show a real lack of awareness of how to run a business. The situation you describe is more like what you'd expect with a casual babysitting job - instead of you being in control, it seems you're just coasting along waiting to see whether parents will want you around for holidays, and tutoring in general. Plus, they just drop you at short notice because you didn't discuss terms and conditions initially. Not what you'd expect from a professional tutor who needs to earn a living from tutoring.

You have to work out what yearly income you need to earn and then work out how many students you need and the price you need to charge to achieve this. Factor in tax, pension, business expenses etc when working out what income you need.
Parents should be made aware at the very start of price, payment dates, what happens during holidays, what happens if they need to cancel (e.g. no refund), that a month's notice is required to end tutoring, whether a deposit is required to secure tutoring after the summer holidays, etc, etc.

As others have mentioned, most parents don't want to pay for holidays so that's why you charge a higher price to account for this and save that extra money to use during the holidays, when you don't have work. It's up to you to budget effectively so that you have this extra money to live on over the summer and other holidays such as Easter and Christmas. Students who sign up for all year tutoring should be charged a discounted rate.

With your current clients, you can tell them you're reviewing your working model and then update them of the new changes.

She obviously doesn't though. Otherwise she wouldn't be in this situation 3 years down the road.

Everyone is talking about a contract as if she doesn’t already have one with this client - she does. Contracts do not need to be written. Moreover terms can be implied through custom and practice.

OP, as a self employed person the most important things you need are a business plan and a contract. Draw them up now.

In that case keep in mind retainer fee will need to be deducted from actual lessons. You don’t get that on top.

This is all quite unbelievable to me.

literally the whole point of running a business, is that you set your own terms!

you decide your prices and terms, and ‘customers’ decide if they want to pay it or not.

I don’t really understand how you can run a business, and a tutor at that, and not know this.

i think you should take a very simple first guide to running a business op. Do you know how to pay tax etc?

When you set up as a tutor this all needed to be thought of. So you either asked for a retainer over the summer to keep their slot or had something set up in your contract. If anything summer is the ideal time to take on new students. I would love to find a summer tutor for my kids to help get them up to speed again before the new school term starts. If you would have availability during the day rather than just evening then you could add quite a few new students. Market it as a summer camp so 6 weeks of 1/2 hour lessons.

I would actually think yabu ,if you asked me to pay for sessions I wouldn't use during the holidays unless this was in your contract and pre arranged.

I wouldn't market it as a retainer. Id say

"I only take x weeks for summer. Hermione mentioned she may finish before then. I will have to charge you until x date, or may have to fill her place.

Really sorry, you understand i can't have an empty space

Of course ill still be available for her session. Online if you prefer".

It’s usual to have something in the contract about holidays. Normally, this is either a reduced number of minimum sessions or half rate

I also think there is a settling in period when you're tutoring. 1st year or maybe 2nd year my boundaries were a lot weaker, for what I'd accept. Now, if anyone messes me around, I cancel them. If I get an application for tutoring and they don't turn up for our introductory chat (online), I cancel AND block them. Not bothering with excuses about how they were delayed etc. That is what Whatsapp is for.

Now I'm harsher. Parents (TBH) take the pish. IF you're a good and in demand tutor, you can call the shots. Nicely, and politely of course.

Reputation and word of mouth will get you more work. But I would never rely on one family for most of your income. That is too precarious. And however good you are as a tutor, you are not on their list of priorities unless you put yourself there (with the vague but underlying knowledge that you have a waiting list and their child can be replaced in your timetable at a moments notice!).

If I were employing a tutor I wouldn’t expect to be paying for the summer unless we were actively working on a subject/ preparation for a big exam in the future. You should have a contract with each client clarifying your T&C, including what happens between school years (eg if they want to ensure a spot for the next school year, they have to pay over summer too). Generally, it’s on you to save over the school year for the summer drop in clients.

It’s unusual to be paid by a family for the summer - you’re either self-employed or you’re not. If my child’s tutor asked to be paid for the summer I would think it absurd. As a tutor your rate should take into account that you don’t get holiday pay, sick pay etc.

Are you very young? You don’t seem very clued up on how self employment works, or how school terms work etc. you must realise your work is both seasonal and time limited, surely? Parents won’t employ you forever.

You should always be looking to add new clients and ideally keep a waiting list. You should also save for periods with no work. This can’t be a surprise, don’t you discuss this with other tutors?

Yeah that wasn’t in your OP.

Hi OP

unfortunately as a self employed person you need to spread your money so to speak, over the entire 52 weeks to account for holidays etc

I think speaking to them and asking if they want to keep you on, they need to pay a retainer if they dont want you to fill their slot with someone else

But if they do not, you need to find more work

I do. They can. As a self employed person, they can choose to charge for X number of days holiday a year. The few I know who do it are super popular with wait lists, and they have it something like they can take 2 weeks a year but have to give the parents 8 weeks notice or something like that. They all do it a little differently but same principle.

It’s up to the parents whether they find that acceptable and choose to use them or don’t like it so go elsewhere.

OP, why are you repeatedly avoiding the issue of what your contract says? It's very telling.

I don't know any childminders that charge for their own holidays 🤷🏻‍♀️

You should get a summer job

As you’re self employed, you need to draw up a business plan to work out how much income you’re likely to earn over the year in order to ensure you have enough money to live on, pay all your bills inc. tax and pension payments etc.

Secondly, you must issue a contract for the families who book your services where you specify the terms of engagement inc. whether any retainer has to be paid during the summer months.

This is very basic business planning and it sounds like you’re just winging it at the moment?

You don’t have a contact with them though, so they don’t need to give any notice at all. A simple, “Last session this week and we’ll contact you in September” is all they need to do.

You can have any rules you like, but they need to be in a contract which the parents sign. You can have them pay by term, or by month. You can say they need to give a month’s notice or a term’s notice. Whatever. But it needs to be feasible and you don’t want parents thinking it’s too much.