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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To challenge childminder on holiday charges?

53 replies

Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 14:24

I'm feeling a bit miffed. I've just had my third child who is going to be starting with the childminder soon. My other two children have used the childminder for the last two years. In her contract we are entitled to 4 weeks annual leave a year as is she. The way she works it is that we pay half normal pay for her holidays and half normal pay for ours. We have 3weeks holiday of our own choice and 1week is fixed at Christmas.

The main problem is that my husband and I get 6 weeks annual leave per year. For the extra 2 weeks that we have off, even when she isn't minding the children, she charges full term time fees. From 830 to 615pm on one day. With 3 children this means that for our extra 2 weeks holiday we are paying £575 for her not even to have our children!
I understand that childminders and nurseries charge during holiday times but surely the rate should be reasonable and fixed?

OP posts:
afrikat · 07/09/2017 14:53

I think this is pretty standard and fair. Our nursery closes for 2 weeks over Christmas so we don't pay then. Otherwise we pay full rate whenever we take them out for holidays (4-5 weeks of the year plus random days if Grandparents visit etc).

Goldmandra · 07/09/2017 14:57

She has her 3 hours a week in term time as she is older and does after school stuff so I need less childcare provision for her yet in holidays she is charging me for 10 hours for her

Is she charging you for ten hour days during the holidays when you aren't using them for a child who she normally only has for three hours a day?

strawberrygate · 07/09/2017 14:59

during the holidays would she normally have her for the full day?

Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:03

I expect to pay a retainer for holidays, of course I do. I understand she relies on my income during the 2 weeks in question. What I honestly don't see is how charging more In holidays than her standard rate is acceptable. For my daughter in holiday times she is 3 x more expensive.
I'll try and explain this better. She is looking after my daughter 1 day/wk from 1515 to 1815 in term time. During my holidays she is charging from 0830-1830 I guess as she is saying this is not term time. This is what I meant in my initial post when I said sure there should be a fixed number of hours to pay for a retainer fee
I'm not going to fall out with her over it it's just experience of this childminder is very different than the previous childminder I had when we lived in a different area

OP posts:
Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:04

Yes goldmandra exactly that

OP posts:
strawberrygate · 07/09/2017 15:08

But would she normally have your older dd in holiday time?

Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:09

strawberry On last years contract she would have my daughter from 0900- 430 so I'm a bit confused as to why she is charging her full day now. I was on maternity leave last year I wonder if that's it I guess I'll have to diplomatically bring it up with her and see what she says

OP posts:
strawberrygate · 07/09/2017 15:10

but this year will she be having her in the holidays for a full day?9am till 4;30 is a full day

Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:13

God I'm confusing myself now! Here is the contract

To challenge childminder on holiday charges?
To challenge childminder on holiday charges?
OP posts:
Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:14

Forget last year as it's confusing due to maternity

OP posts:
Goldmandra · 07/09/2017 15:15

I was a childminder for many years and only ever charged for the hours covered by the contract that I was available. Therefore parents paid full rate unless I was on holiday or sick, in which case I didn't charge at all.

I would only have charged for full days in the holidays if a parent wanted to be sure that those days would always be available and they were therefore detailed in the contract. If they didn't want them in the contract, we would agree days in advance and I would feel free not to take their child for any days that didn't suit me.

If you want to be sure that the space will be available for your child throughout the school holidays for you to use when it suits you, you need to pay the contract rate for them.

If you don't mind those days being made available to all parents on a first come first served basis or the childminder simply taking a day off or a day with fewer children, it would be reasonable for you not to pay for the full days.

If she can't offer a place to other parents, she is entitled to charge for it.

strawberrygate · 07/09/2017 15:15

from the looks of it she's contracted for a full day in the holidays, so you'll be charged a full day rate, not term time which is just from 3pm

glorious · 07/09/2017 15:17

We paid our childminder in full for both her holidays and ours (though she often didn't take all 4 weeks ). Frankly given how wonderful she was and the fact that her daily rate was reasonable I think she was underpaid! Childminders have all sorts of different terms.

Danceswithwarthogs · 07/09/2017 15:19

Nursery would not even offer that much....

Ours close for one week at christmas (we don't have to pay anything for this) they give us 2 weeks where we can take children out for holidays at half the cost. The other 49 weeks are full price whether they attend or not.

You might be able to find childminder/nursery who do term time only.... but then you would have to find alternative childare on the weeks you don't get annual leave.

We sometimes use the nursery days on leave weeks if we don't go away for a "date day" out without kids... since you've paid for it anyway Wink

Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:21

Goldmandra thank you that information is really helpful. In my profession I do have to ensure I have reliable childcare and she certainly is that. I don't know ifher hourly rate is reasonable or not but I'm certainly not wanting to look around elsewhere I just wondered if I were to negotiate with her whether that would have been a reasonable thing to do or not. It seems not from the responses here! Grin

OP posts:
Dinosaurgalore · 07/09/2017 15:25

my cm charges me full price for all holidays or days I do not take him in, whether illness or a day out etc. but she does take 2 weeks off every summer which she doesn't charge us for at all. So we make sure to try and take the holidays at the same time or know we will be paying full whack.

NKFell · 07/09/2017 15:36

OP I think it's always best to check with these things because when I read your post I agreed with you tbh but now reading the responses, I've changed my mind!

Very useful thread I'd say Grin

Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 15:43

NK I know! I just re read my email to her hoping it didn't come across as being ridiculously cheeky but I don't think it did. There's an expression where I live "shy bairns get nowt"!

OP posts:
prettybird · 07/09/2017 15:47

I still paid full whack when we were away on holiday. However, we were fortunate in that the childminder was more like a mini-nursery and also the house next door Wink because she ran it with her mother and MIL, so there were only two occasions when she was "shut" (and I didn't have to pay): over Christmas (when I was off work anyway) and for the "Works' Weekend", when they, plus her sister and SIL, all went off for a long weekend together.

Because there was more than one person looking after the kids (and she never took on too many), it meant that I never had to worry about her being ill and dh or I having to find emergency cover at short notice.

At the end of the day, it's a business. If your child(ren) isn't aren't there for short periods, it is highly unlikely that she can get someone else in for that short period. Her only other option would be to charge a higher hourly rate throughout the year.

Allthebestnamesareused · 07/09/2017 15:50

At £4.40 per hour that is only £44 for a ten hour day.

You probably need to read the thread where someone else is asking whether £62.50 a day is expensive and generally it isn't!

purpleprincess24 · 07/09/2017 16:25

I had to pay in full for 50 weeks of the year, she also charged double for Bank Holidays

yorkshireyummymummy · 07/09/2017 16:31

Newbie you must live in my area, I use that saying regularly!! Would it not be cheaper to get a nanny from an agency or even - if they are still about- an au pair? Obviously, not a hot Swedish one but I'm sure a girl I once knew came here from Prague as an au pair. This would be so much cheaper for you and you could give her holidays to go home when you have your holidays. Or I would certainly be looking for a nanny. Sometimes when I see what people pay for childcare I think that it would be cheaper to have a Norland nanny and also I think I am mad for not opening a nursery as it must be money for old rope!!

Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 16:32

allthebest yes I saw that but I pay for & provide all food Plus I live up north !

OP posts:
Original poster
Newbiecat · 07/09/2017 20:10

yorkshire i'm afraid it's once bitten twice shy with the nanny option! I don't know if you read further up the thread we had a nanny and she fell pregnant with the first two weeks of working with us. Not only did I have to pay for her OFSTED registration, agency fees, first-aid course and payroll company, I also had to pay maternity pay which was very slow to be reimbursed by HMRC so I had three months of paying doublechildcare costs. Honestly I'd never do it again and that was finding it through a recommended company

OP posts:
ElizabethShaw · 07/09/2017 20:27

Surely if you take holiday in term time, you will only pay for 3 hours a day?
If you take holidays in the school holidays, you pay for the full day.

You are paying for the place, she is open and available to care for your children, its your choice not to send them.

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