To want to pay the lower rate? Sorry-long and lots of numbers involved!

[AmazinglyConfuddled]

This is regarding childcare.

Dd is in part time nursery and goes to a childminder 4 days a week after the morning nursery session until I finish work. In September, she will drop to 2 days with the childminder, as for two of my working days I finish early enough to pick her up from school at 3.30. This has been discussed with cm, she knows it's happening, is fine with it etc.

As part of the contract, we have to pay the full day rate of £70 a day during school holidays for any days she would usually be there. This is to keep the space open, regardless of whether she goes or not. I get it and don't dispute it, and have until now (the past year) paid £280 a week during all school holidays, even though she rarely goes... I tend to get around half of them off myself and don't send her and I have family who can't have her during school time due to pick ups and not driving but love having her for the holidays.

The dispute we currently have is the bill for July and August this year. CM has worked it out as, as usual, £280 a week for the six weeks. I have worked it out as £140 a week for the six weeks. Based on the fact that when she finishes nursery on 18th July, that is the end of her being a '4 day a weeker'.

CM already knows from past experience (and we have discussed it) that she'll spend the odd day with her over the summer but probably only a day a week or so.

We've already discussed the drop in hours from when she's full time in school, and we both agree that from October holiday onwards I'll only be obliged to pay £140 a week in holidays as she'll be there 2 days only...but our contract says something like 'full day rate to be paid on any days dd is scheduled to be at cms'. So we've also openly discussed that the drop in days does not necessitate a change to the contract.

CMs view is that the 'scheduled days' is 4 days a week until September. Mine is that as soon as she is finished in nursery in July, her 'scheduled days' will be the 2 days a week.

So who is BU?

Do I pay £140 or £280 a week over the summer? The difference is £840 in total and we're both convinced we're right. It's the first dispute we've ever had.

YOu are right. The CM can sell the space on the days you don't want DD there so no need to pay a retainer to keep them open.

I think it's pretty obvious from what you've said that you won't be needing 4 days a week from the end of term. YANBU. She wants money for nothing and if she persisted I'd actually just look for a new childminder to start in September.

I suggest that you put in writing that from 4 weeks tomorrow (presumably that is the minimum notice) you will only require 2 days per week and as such all fees and charges should be amended accordingly from that date.

Doing it "on the nod" is never a good idea as this sort of thing will inevitably happen. She is trying to get as much out of you as possible to avoid actually having to to work 4 days over the holidays!

It's been going round and round in my head all weekend until I wasn't sure if I was being really ur so I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees it that way!

I can't have any sensible conversation with dh about it...he can't get past the 'why do we have to pay at all when she's not there' pov (it's only been a year, you'd have thought he'd have got over it by now)

The scheduled days are the days you schedule. And if you say it's now two days a week that would be effective immediately. It's absurd for the CM to say actually you still need four, when you won't.

The childminder is self employed and that's how it goes.

£70 per day seems quite a lot too,btw.

YANBU - the childminder can now take on another child for those two days a week without any expectation on your part that she is holding the place for your daughter. She cannot expect to get paid for time that she knows your daughter will not be there if she isn't expecting her to return to a four day week - that's not holding a place, it's just paying for nothing!

To be fair, you said in your OP, that in September the hours will be changing so it may be a result of how you have communicated it to your CM. If you can guarantee that you will not need your CM on any days in the Hols beyond 3.30 pm, then give formal notice that this is effective from x date although you may need to wait until Aug now before this kicks in. It all depends on when your contract renewal date/notice period is and how you communicated it in the first place. Anything beyond that and you are relying on her goodwill, although tbf I would expect my CM to apply goodwill to this once it's made clear you don't need her beyond 3.30 from July.

Sorry slightly misread this but principle is the same. I should have said that if you can guarantee that you won't need her more than these 2 fixed days from the end of July, then give formal notice that you only require 2 days from x date.

I think you need to give her formal notice of the change in days, which will presumably be 4 weeks notice. At that point, your dd would go from being a 4 day a week child to being a 2 day a week child. Without the formal notice, I suspect she is within her legal rights to continue to charge you for the full 4 days.

However, it's important that you check your contract to see what the notice period is.

Yy with others - give written notice now that you no longer require the two days that you don't need,

I suppose the childminder could have simply misunderstood. If you said 'in September when she starts school I'll only need you 2 days' (you mention in your OP that you discussed the drop in hours from when Dd starts full time at school) then the childminder could rightly take that to mean current days continue till September. Just because you don't normally need the cm in the holidays doesn't mean she can assume you don't need her this time.

As others have said, I would give formal notice now that you wish to drop to 2 days a week ASAP, meaning from the 4th August (assuming 4 weeks notice period) you will definitely only have to pay for 2 days.

"we've also openly discussed that the drop in days does not necessitate a change to the contract."

Somewhere, either in the contract or elsewhere, there must be a written note of which days are scheduled. And if not, do one now!

This would really sour my relationship with her, she is coming across as greedy and grasping and trying to take advantage of you. Not a good place to be with someone who cares for your child. As someone said £70 is an awful lot, is there anywhere else ?

£70 a day

I live basically in central London and my incredible childminders are £41 a day. They are amazing, have a great reputation and huge waiting list. Nothing could posess me to pay £70 a day for childcare that wasn't one on one.

I thought a cm was around £5 per hour usually?

We've been quoted £8 per hour for childminding. We had an alternative so didn't pursue it but it's not implausible.

What the others said - YANBU. She's being ridiculous, but you need to be clear and firm that only two days are scheduled either from now on, or from as soon as any terms or contract permit you to make such a change.

My maths has always been shocking, but -

Have you seriously paid £280 per week for 13 weeks holiday, when you rarely send her??

No, that can't be right - can it?

She is really, really expensive anyhow (am also in London and going rate here is £50) and is taking the mick expecting four days pay for nothing when you don't even want to retain four days. Put it in writing that the two days is effective from the end of nursery, just to be superclear, but given that you barely use her over the hols anyway, I doubt she can have misunderstood and assumed you needed those four days saving. ime even when retainers are paid during the hols of term-time only mindees, it's not usually full-price.

In September, she will drop to 2 days with the childminder, as for two of my working days I finish early enough to pick her up from school at 3.30. This has been discussed with cm, she knows it's happening, is fine with it etc.

Sorry to me that is as clear as can be you are expecting the 2 day per week arrangement to start in September, not July. There is no reason why it can't start sooner if you give the appropriate notice now but until you do and that period has expired you should be paying 4 days.

If when you told her of the change of hours you said from September, then she is clearly in the right. If when you renegotiated the contract you specifically said you wanted to change hours from July then you are right. You could give her the minimum notice required from now to change you hours. I doubt that would lower your rate for July but you might get a couple of weeks of August at the lower rate.

You need to get all this in writing. If you only want to retain two days with CM over summer then that is all you should pay for but you really do need it in writing for your own peace of mind.

£70 per day is ridiculous, you need a new childminder!