Childminder charging holiday pay for days my child would not have been there

[Eunhae]

Hi team,
First time posting. My 14 month old goes to a childminder 3 days per week and these three days are in the contracted hours.
My childminder took three weeks off and went on holiday and has billed me for the full five days for each of the three weeks - 6 days more than I would have paid for, and received, had she not been on holiday.
This does not seem reasonable to me. Has anyone had similar? What would you expect? To pay for your contracted hours at full prices but not additional days/hours your child never attends?
Many thanks in advance, stress I could really go without being a single mum recently returned to work..

Probably a mistake

Doesn’t sound right. I think they have just made a mistake

She is in the wrong. My childminder never billed for when she was unavailable.

Does your contract say you must pay her in her holidays?

It’s unfair but standard for nurseries and childminders to charge for days not used. Nurseries charge for bank holidays and aren’t open.

Others will say oh but they have to have holidays etc but common sense would be you pay for a service that’s been provided- if she’s on holiday it’s not been provided.

You aren’t going to get far with putting up a fight but if you claim childcare costs through UC you will still be able to claim for those days invoiced.

Obviously you would only pay for the days your child would have attended. Just point out the error.

I can't believe you have to pay her for her holidays.
Is that in your contract?

It's obviously a mistake.
Just tell her I'm sure she'll realise the mistake and rectify it

Yes but the op is being asked to pay for 5 days when her child is only contracted for 3.

What does your contract say about holidays op? It's unusual but not unheard of to have to pay childminders during their holiday. But you certainly should not have to pay for days your child wouldn't usually be there!

I don't pay for weeks she's closed for holidays.
I do pay for weeks I choose not to send him in, rightly so.

Being in London I do have to pay for holidays at the full day rate.. a bit painful and no, no UC and not even the £24 per week govt child payment.. I have reread the contract tonight and it does not reference anything regarding paying for a full week regardless of days attended.
I will message the minder tomorrow and hopefully it is a mistake with the other kids being full five day attendees

I too have to pay for the weeks our childminder takes her annual leave

I’ve generally had to pay half rates for their holidays. Full rate for ours. But never for days we didn’t usually send our child.

Paying for their annual leave is normal but it's not normal to pay for days when your DC wouldn't have been there, had she not been on holiday.

I reckon it's a simple mistake so just ask her to correct it.

Why are people not reading the op properly? Do you pay for the days your child isn’t there? For eg your child is in Monday-Friday, but when the childminder goes on holiday she suddenly adds Saturday and Sunday to your bill too?
Op this is ridiculous, I’d assume it was a mistake. Either way I wouldn’t pay it

Should only be your contracted hits She bills you for. It's a mistake

It's not fair but parents are her employers and she's entitled to paid annual leave each year.
What's more, when I worked I had to mirror child minders holidays so essentially she dictated my annual leave also.

This. Your childminder has made a mistake. Check your contract.

When you go on holiday, you are still paid 5 days a week, aren't you. You don't suddenly get paid for Saturday and Sunday too.

A childminder isn't a nanny, they aren't employed by the parents. They're self employed and not entitled to holiday pay. It's not holiday pay - it's the same as paying nursery fees when the nursery is closed for bank holidays or a summer break. The payment is essentially to keep your place.

You shouldn't have to pay for days you don't normally pay for though. My child isn't at nursery on Mondays so I don't pay fees for bank holidays.

Another who thinks she has just got confused.

She can charge you for the days she takes as holiday, but only for the days you normally attend, not the other two days, obviously.

Is she self employed? If so, she doesn't get any holiday pay from you.

No they're not.
A childminder doesn't have an employer.
They're self employed.
And I wouldn't go somewhere and pay for services I wasn't going to receive.

Parents are not her employers. She is self employed.
I cannot think of any other sector (apart from care) where your customers are expected to pay for a service when the business cannot provide that service because they are taking time off.

This is not right. I only paid for 3 days holiday in this situation. Normal to pay pro rata.

Read the contract again. I would interpret that as you have to pay for when YOU are in holiday, not when she is on holiday and not providing a service.

Not all childminders charge their holidays. I view myself as 100% self employed and I don't charge when not open.