Do I have to still pay when childminder takes a holiday?

Also some of the problems come up because many parents visit the childminder on an evening, just glance at the policies, ask a few questions, glance at the contract and sign there and then.
I would feel more comfortable to just give the prospective parents a copy of ALL my policies with a filled in contract and then they can take it away to look at it PROPERLY and then bring them back signed.
Then there can be no disputes (hopefully!)
Sometimes i think there is too much pressure on both parties to sign on the dotted line there and then.

"this is accepted as quite reasonable when self employed, but no other self employed profession would" Because you don't expect a plumber to be available 48 weeks a year then find differnent client for the 4 weeks you/they go on holiday.

I look at it as having a place at my CM all year round for my DS - for which she charges me a fixed monthly fee - she is away for up to four weeks a year (agreed in advance) and I may choose or not to take my holiday s at the same time (which I do).

She could if it kept me happier, not charge me for the time she takes on holiday and charge a higher rate but its all a bit pointless. Childminders don't earn anything like what most other self employed people do IME with twice the paperwork and a huge responsibility.

very very well put.

colacubes. WHERE IS YOUR CONTRACT? It should answer all those questions.

I do not understand it. This is the person you have entrusted your children with. If you have that much distrust of and animosity towards her, then why have you allowed her to look after your child. AND if you have signed a contract, how on earth can YOU a professed self-employed person, who is presumably used to reading contracts for yourself, not do so before creating a contract regarding what should be the most precious thing in your life. And if you didn't sign a contract, why on earth not? That would be wise with any person you take on. Surely at a minimum you would do it for your child's caretaker.

It really does amaze me the disparity between the care people put into a selecting clothing, electronics, cars, groceries. But often don't put anywhere near the same due diligence into selecting the caretaker for their most precious child. And here in the land of rich entertainers (Los Angeles), I have seen people spend easily $80,000 a year on their secretary and begrudge half that to their nanny.

do some childminders just make the rules up as they go along? or do parents just not read anything before they sign. i cant believe this question keeps coming up again and again. all these things should be sorted when contracts and policies are signed and reviewed each year.

i guess as a se person, they can charge what they like, when they like as long as there are parents like yourself who pay it iykwim

obv parents do seem to pay her or other cm holiday/sickness or they wouldnr be able to get away with it - does that make sense?

maybe worth changing your cm to one who doesnt charge?

in hubby's case, he is se, if he doesnt work for WHATEVER reason, holiday, ill etc, then he doesnt get paid!!

I can't afford to use my childminder in the holidays, as at 10 pounds an hour for the two of them it would be very expensive. I'd rather send them to day camps (it's half the cost for ordinary ones, or about the same for fancy ones, but a lot more delivered) and juggle with family and annual leave.

the other way childminders can do it is charge more per hour to cover things like sick pay/holiday pay {which is how most other self-employed work it} BUT as there is no rulebook for c/m's it means that if you do this and others don't you can price yourself out of the market. IYSWIM.

i pay 50 weeks a year. this year cm is taking four weeks rather than two in august so i am not paying for them. she usually has a week at easter and xmas. this seems pretty normal arrangement.

i expect any cm who didn't charge for hols would charge a slightly higher rate. depends on the customer really.

exactly!!!

assume colacube you have a contract with your CM, and you signed it agreeing to pay her for her holidays, and for as many as she wants?

if not in contract, then dont pay her, if it is in contract, why on earth did you agree and sign it?

I wouldn't mind paying for holidays because I could budget it out over the year. I can see that a regular cash flow is useful for childminders, and as long as the average payments over the year were reasonable, then that would be fine.

Sick pay is different, because it is unpredictable. And while I appreciate this is also a problem for a childminder, it would put me off.

But I used a nursery, so what do I know?

You'll have to check your contract. I personally wouldn't use one that charged as I believe being self employed means you dont get the perks of holiday pay etc.

Ripeberry, unless you have a lot of teachers in your area you may not be very busy as holiday time is when most parents need cover as no school hours.

cant be arsed to read the thread just first couple of posts -
colacubes - when you contracted your c/m you signed a contract if you read it properly and it said you have to pay for a certain number days of paid holidays why did you sign it if you don't agree with it?

I don't tell my childminder that I am highly pissed off to have to pay all her holidays. Given that this is the school holidays we are talking about, it's not small beer. But I have to have a good relationship with her and moaning wouldn't help. Should I ever use a childminder again (I am currently a SAHM) I would love to find someone like Ripeberry

At the end of the day, many cms charge something for their holiday. I also wouldn't advise a parent that i'm going off on holiday next week! I have a written clause in my contract that I have to give 4 weeks written notice. As I want to keep good relations with the parents I would always give a few months notice when I need time off. Everyone has their own opinion and I have never come across an issue about my paid time off. Therefore, parents I have dealt with are happy to pay the little time off I have a year. I appreciate your view and opinion colacubes.

It's a different relationship with your CM, though, IME. I employed mine for seven years. I paid XXX per week. It wasn't ad-hoc like my paid by the day work.

I charge a high daily rate precisely because I don't get paid holiday, but I've never heard of a CM who charged what I do!

I don't pay my childminder for her holidays.

Havent the foggiest!

Havent the foggiest!

scootermum - do you not know where your contract is?

With regard to cm paid time off it will depend on the cm and the parents. I dont think there are any hard and fast rules. Parents have different amounts of leave (which is paid for by their company) unless they are self emp, which to be honest isn't my problem. I know of so many cms that have come unstuck on not getting any time off/or just a couple of weeks for one reason or another. Each scenario will be different. I offer a service that is very flexible and I work long hours. As cms we also take time to study, attend workshops, college etc. I would let any parent know who wanted to use my service that I expect paid time off. If they want me then they normally wouldn't question this and accept it as a business decision - nothing personal.