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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To delay paying childminder

301 replies

Harmonyrays · 12/09/2018 05:47

On day two of my ds being with his new childminder I receive an invoice for the entire month. Is this normal? I'd expected to get it at the end of the month. I've only just gone back to work and don't get paid until then.

AIBU to delay paying until the 30th?

OP posts:
BloodyWorried · 12/09/2018 05:49

It’s normal to pay for the month In advance - look at your contract.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 12/09/2018 05:50

Oh my gosh has this not been discussed?

Yes it’s normal and should be in your contract. You need to speak to her/him asap. I would not be happy to wait until the 30th and if you didn’t speak to me about it I’d suspend care.

glenthebattleostrich · 12/09/2018 05:54

Of course you are being unreasonable. Payment in advance is normal. This is the childminders wage. As a childminder I need the money to take the kids out, buy food and consumables for them and, you know, boring things like bills!

I had several clients pay late this month because they were skint after the summer holidays. They will all be getting late fees added because I've had bank charges.

EleanorRoseM · 12/09/2018 05:54

Very odd to receive in the middle of the month. Check your contract - it may be you are contracted to pay in advance.

Ywbvu to not pay it. You could ask the cm about it though. They may arrange something with you if you absolutely can’t pay it all yet.

But non-payment can very quickly equate to suspending provision of care (and you’d still be liable to pay.)

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 12/09/2018 05:58

Very odd to receive in the middle of the month

Not if the child has just started. Plus the op doesn’t actually say when the due date is.

bruffin · 12/09/2018 05:59

I never paid in advance . I paid weekly at the end of the week. I cant believe your being expected to pay in advance when you will not have been paid yourself.

Original poster
Harmonyrays · 12/09/2018 06:00

Due by the 17th sept. I will recheck the contract

OP posts:
bruffin · 12/09/2018 06:02

This is the childminders wage
Wages are paid for work already done, not for work you are going to do.

The more i read about CM nowadays , i am so glad i dont have to use them any more.

RedHelenB · 12/09/2018 06:02

I always paid mine weekly but the rest of us get paid a week/month behind so I don't think yabu as she hasn't done a months work yet!

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 12/09/2018 06:02

I cant believe your being expected to pay in advance

I pay for lots of things ‘in advance’. My shopping, kid’s clubs, fuel I use, rent, holidays, cars... none of them care when I get paid.

QueenOfCatan · 12/09/2018 06:06

Depends on your contract. Check it and see what it says. I charge in advance (though I do weekly or monthly) and it seems that the majority do these days as we can't risk non-payers, especially when if we get to court and they "can't afford to pay" then we're lumped with getting it back at a very minimal rate which won't pay our bills.

LellyMcKelly · 12/09/2018 06:10

It is usual to pay in advance, not just as a salary for the childminder but to secure your child’s place. The childminder is providing food, heat, light, etc. and should not expect to fund these out of pocket.

QueenOfCatan · 12/09/2018 06:11

At the end of the day a cm provides a service, you agreed to pay her for that service in the way that she stipulated when you signed the contract. refusing to pay her is going to break down the trust before your son has even had a chance to start and you may find that she terminates the contract rather than hold out. Talk to her and see if you can pay a week at a time or something. Some will be willing to bend their usual rules for a person returning to work.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 12/09/2018 06:13

op do you have a contract?

bruffin · 12/09/2018 06:14

Wueenofcatan,
So you go to the petrol station and pay them for the fuel you are going to p
ut in the car next , or go to tesco and say I'm going to buy bread next month, here is the money now Confused

Wages are not paid in advance. I get my money at the end of the month not hefore ive started

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 12/09/2018 06:20

No but Tesco don’t allow you to eat all the food you like and pay at the end of the month!

A childminder isn’t an employee. They are providing a service. You don’t have to use that service but if you do then you abide by their payment schedules. Just like any other service. I actually think you’re deliberately missing the point bruffin ...

bruffin · 12/09/2018 06:23

The childminder is providing food, heat, light, etc. and should not expect to fund these out of pocket.
Apart from the food all those are what they have to pay for whether they cm or not
I

bruffin · 12/09/2018 06:26

Im not deliberately missing the point. Mine expected me to pay at the end of the week.

Toddleoo · 12/09/2018 06:29

Apart from the food all those are what they have to pay for whether they cm or not

You could say the same for Tesco, doesn't mean I can pay only after I've eaten my chicken curry next Monday! And childminders have to pay those anyway, so that's why they go and get business, get parents who want care and invoice them, so that they can pay them. They don't sit around hoping a child will drop by before the electricity bill needs paying Grin

reluctantbrit · 12/09/2018 06:29

We always paid in advance, childminder and nursery. I get paid in the middle of the months, so 1/2 of it before I conclude my actual work.

All DD’s clubs are paid in advance. Lots of school fees are paid termly in advance.

In my view perfectly normal.

If you contract states that you pay mid months then you risk loosing the place very fast.

OpenThatTrapDoor · 12/09/2018 06:30

I’ve only ever come across childcare where you pay in advance, childminder, nursery, holiday clubs etc. Our nursery invoices at the end of one month, due by around the 10th.
It’s a like booking a holiday or activity, hiring a car etc as I see it.

nannynick · 12/09/2018 06:32

Few childcare providers will do payment in arrears. You can ask but this should have been discussed before agreeing the contract.

It is similar to how you pay for other things that you need for work - you pay for your transport to/from work before you get paid by work (some workplaces give an advance or have a loan scheme for things like rail season tickets).

QueenOfCatan · 12/09/2018 06:36

bruffin I'm protecting my earnings, having been burnt by one of my first families (and in the process of taking them to court knowing I'll likely get nothing back) I decided to change to what the majority do as I can't afford for that to happen again.

SocksRock · 12/09/2018 06:37

I’ve had that this month. £550 upfront for half a term wrap around care but I don’t get paid until the end of the month. We are having a very frugal month, but that’s life I’m afraid.

OrcinusOrca · 12/09/2018 06:39

I work for large public sector organisations and the response is usually one of laughter if we are billed for anything in advance. Incredibly rare that it would be paid. It's funny how different sectors/types of service have different rules which are so widely accepted. I wouldn't be pleased if I was paying in advance because the company had such bad cash flow they couldn't survive being paid in arrears. I half wonder if it's because some parents can't afford it and it is too hard to go after funds owed. I think we all know how crippling childcare costs can be.

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