To delay paying childminder

[Harmonyrays]

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?

Why should the cm have to wait to be paid until you are? It's their livelihood and providing childcare. It's a business.
Try that down at the supermarket.

AIBU to delay paying until the 30th?

Well, you could but don’t be surprised if she gives you notice and you have to find alternative childcare.

Yabu

I’ve always paid my childcare in advance.

Those who are saying they’ve never been paid in advance - have you never been paid for a full calendar month at some point before the end of the month?

I get paid on the 25th for the entire calendar month and I’ve been paid for the same on the 14th of the month before, so yes, I have been paid in advance as an employee too.

Check the payment due date which should be shown on the contract and on the invoice also. It’s possible the childminder has issued the invoice early for payment at the end of the month, but it’s normal for childcare providers to expect payment in advance.

You can argue the rights and wrongs however you like, but it’s what the client agreed to by contract that matters..... I’m dumbfounded that she seems unaware.

It is certainly not comparable with paying an employee because it’s not an employer-employee relationship. Anyone who wants that situation needs to employ a nanny. You’d then become an employer and be obliged to conform to employment law: not pay below minimum wage, pay tax and NI, grant sick pay, maternity leave, conform to Equality Act, etc etc.........

Childminders provide a lot of things for your child which amount to a sort of 'deferred parenting'. They feed the child for instance: nowhere else would you put of payment for meals for a month.

Ultimately the reason why childcare providers need advance payment is the small but significant number of parents who leave without paying or run up huge debts with nursery or CM. The alternative is to let these selfish parents ruin the entire industry until the point is reached where there are no childcare places for anybody.

Wages are paid for work already done, not for work you are going to do

Not necessarily. When I worked for a large public service company, we were always paid on 7th of the month -one week in arrears/rest of month in advance.

Now that I am self employed, I always charge 3 weeks in advance of my service being provided - I’ve had too many problems in the past with people not paying after the service has been given. Nobody has ever complained about this ( although I do make it clear at the time of booking). And it seems to be standard in the industry I work in.

OP, while payment in advance should have been made clear, it’s perfectly normal to pay for a service such s childcare in advance. You are effectively reserving your child’s space for the next months.

Thank god for my lovely childminder who bills me for hours used at the end of the month and then I pay mid month. This is because her hours fluctuate so paying in advance wouldn't really work. She's amazing.
But I've had some awful childminders, sometimes I think they forget that you're paying them for a service and act like they're doing you a favour, but I think that's the case with a lot of childcare providers.

‘Wages are paid fir work already done’

I work for a very large international company, & get paid in advance. It’s not unheard of outside of the CM community.

I pay my childminder weekly, for the following week. So in advance.

See if you can pay weekly (at least for this month) until payday & then you’ll pay monthly.

@bruffin you pay the money before you eat the bread though, don’t you....?

Childminders can be such cf. totally exploiting desperate parents.

who else gets paid in advance? And is so entitled about it? Nanny’s don’t. Cleaners don’t. Accountants don’t. Everyone has bills!

Op - practically I would check the contract and try to pay at the end of the week or month. Unfortunately once your child is settled in childcare it’s tough to move them.

Childminders can be such cf. totally exploiting desperate parents.

Eh?

Childminders can be such cf. totally exploiting desperate parents

They provide a service, which you can choose to use or not. Alternatively you can use a nursery (which will generally also ask for payment in advance).

*Childminders can be such cf. totally exploiting desperate parents.

who else gets paid in advance? And is so entitled about it? Nanny’s don’t. Cleaners don’t. Accountants don’t. Everyone has bills!

Op - practically I would check the contract and try to pay at the end of the week or month. Unfortunately once your child is settled in childcare it’s tough to move them.*

Is this a joke?

Childminders are not employed by the people hiring them, they are providing A SERVICE, therefore are self-employed! Would you really be happy to pay at least minimum wage, tax, National Insurance contributions, holiday pay, sick pay..?

We work long hours for mimimum pay, provide meals, look after people's children as if they're our own, take them on outings often paid for out of our own pockets, meet often unreasonable demands with no fuss.

How dare you call us cfs for doing our job on contracted terms? We're self-employed business owners, not bloody casual babysitters!

Yes it is normal to pay in advance.

We always paid in advance for child minders and for activities. Perfectly normal. Stops people being tears and suddenly switching with no notice after having child care.

You don't pay a cms wages, you pay to use a service they provide. When you sign a contract you agree to the terms of that service so yes if it says in the contract you have to pay by a certain date then you do.
Usually there is a notice period for a cm if you decide to leave (usually 4-6 weeks) paying in advance is to cover that notice period so people don't decide to one day just up and leave and the cm is left with half her income, well that's why I request payment in advance.

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

not true my heating bill, light, cooking, hot water use goes up when i have mindeds as does petrol use etc. If i didnt have little kids in house i wouldnt use them for myself.

OrcinusOrca we are not talking about a large company with 'cash flow' ffs. A cm has to buy food in advance for her charges, pay for activities, days out, pay for utilities (i wouldnt have fire/heating on if it wasnt for mindees) activities, extra petrol for the car etc etc . Too many people think cm should pay it all out of thier own pocket and not charge for it. £3.50 p/h doesnt go far by the end of the week and i still have bills to pay. Not the same as a large company at all. That was my income to provide a roof over my kids heads not a charity.

If you sign a contract you really should read it first.
Op perhaps cm will let you pay a week in advance till you get paid? Talk to them. Too many cm have been screwed by people who think they dont need to pay on time as cm are just doing it for 'pin' money. That they dont have hours of unpaid paperwork to do once mindees have gone home, that they should provide x,y and z free of charge for thier little darlings. That spending £100 on booze for a party on friday night is more important than paying the cm for a weeks work (happened to a fellow cm)

Good communication is vital with your cm and we usually bend over backwards for our clients. Hope it works out.

bruffin it’s normal to be paid in advance in all jobs. I hAve always worked for big companies and all will pay some element of advance (current company paid in 15th of month- 2 weeks in advance 2 in arrears)

Childminders can be such cf. totally exploiting desperate parents

I think you’ve got this the wrong way round. Some parents are cf, using a service then refusing to pay after, or clearing off with no notice, leaving the cm out of pocket. It’s this sort of behaviour that has meant childcare is often paid in advance.

My cleaner is self employed and I don’t pay her in advance?!
I’m with you on this op, I have 3 DC all minded by a childminder and I too find it ridiculous that I pay in advance. I provide all meals for my kids as this is how both childminders I have used work. However, as people have said, it is the norm and most follow the standard National Childminders Contract. Both childminders I have used have done this.

glint most certainly NOT in the NHS!

I get paid in middle of month 50/50 advance and arrears so it is not unheard of to be paid in advance. The 'outrage' on this thread is a little ott. It should have been made clear by the cm how her billing worked though.

My cleaner is self employed and I don’t pay her in advance?

Don't you? We leave the money on the top and she pockets it then cleans. If the money wasn't there she would message me to tell me. We certainly have never paid a cleaner after she has been.

I’m a Nanny, an Ofsted registered one.

I’m paid in advance by ALL of my families. Payment is due for the following month, right from the start.

So, if the date I started caring for your child will be October 15th (example), payment is due by September 15th. Then in October for November, etc.

I’ll be slightly flexible if you get paid on the 27th or whatever, and I’ll accept weekly payments in advance.

But if you haven’t paid by the last working day of the month, I will not be there to look after your child.

Every family pays in advance and all are absolutely fine with it. It’s totally normal!

We also pay the DD’s swimming lessons in advance, ballet lessons, gymnastics....

I too find it ridiculous that I pay in advance.

Really? Unless you are paying on a daily basis, someone has to be “in advance” whether that is taking the service in advance of the payment or paying in advance of the service.