To tell clients to just leave

[selfemployedwwyd]

I"m self employed with clients who pay monthly. I work 12 months of the year and take 4 weeks a year holiday which are unpaid - this is all explained upfront.

This year I've had an unprecedented number of clients who've informed me that they're not prepared to pay for my services over the summer as they're 'going on fancy holidays' and won't get the use of my services.

But they want me to take them back on in September once the summer holidays are over and the children are back in school.

AIBU to tell them they're free to go in June but I won't be giving them their space back in September?

I simply cannot afford to not be paid for 2 months. When I go on holiday (unpaid and only UK) I still pay all of my monthly bills (swimming, nursery etc)

I realise the cost of living affects even the wealthy, but it's the wealthiest clients who are doing this to me! For context, last year I earned £15k if that matters. I can't afford to take my children abroad (not that that's their fault I might add, but it does irk!)

AIBU to feel really pissed off and a little bit used/undervalued?

Great advice here but I will add, it sounds to me like you are undercharging. Not only does this mean tut earn less, it means your clients value you less and treat you accordingly.

yes advise you need notice of termination in writing and will take on again in September if there are still available places, after those on the waiting list have been contacted.

You don’t need to write it in by the sounds of it. Just confirm that this will be taken as their notice and you will not be able to keep the space open unless they pay over the holidays

Surely when they say we will call you again in September. You say as per my contract holidays etc still need paying...and to not do so means I can no longer hold your place.

By all means call me back in September but I cannot guarantee I will have places.

As I will now be advertising this as a free space.

We use a GCSE Maths/English tutor for DD but the agreement I made upfront was that we wouldn’t do holidays as I believe in down time for DD, Tutor is fine with that, but I also know that during the summer hols she puts on intensive 11+ tutoring, group sessions etc so she’s earning in other ways - is that an option ?

Tell them that's fine but then take a big non-refundable deposit to hold their place for September

Just say you can’t hold the spot and then don’t take them back. It’s absolutely not worth the hassle if you’re fully booked/have a waiting list.

It sounds like you need to charge a bit more though, if losing one student for two months is going to make it financially difficult for you. I’m an instrumental teacher and my fee includes a bit of a buffer for school holidays and such like. Doesn’t entirely cover it but just enough to keep me going.

I do a similar job with children, also self employed. It does annoy me when families choose not to have holiday sessions as it’s a huge knock to my income but I do hold their slot as I tend to have very good relationships with my families. I also take some time off in holidays to be with my kids and sometimes it works out that their holiday plans are on the weeks I’m working and the combination means that they miss weeks on end of sessions. I tend to offer summer holiday sessions to new clients that enquire and say to them I can see your child over the summer but I won’t be able to continue when school starts. That way I still make money over the break.

Apologies I didn’t realise there were 2 more pages so haven’t RTFT. Too desperate to get my important experience in lol

I agree that you tell them that they can give notice to cancel but there’s no guarantee that the place will be available in September as you will look to fill it immediately.

And that you have new prices/T&Cs for new starts, so even if they can come back, they will need to pay more etc.

That’s how these things work. If they value your services, they will accept that.

That said, if it’s the sort of business that is likely to be affected every year by the school holidays, then it is sensible to plan your pricing/T&Cs to reflect that. You could look at offering a range of different contracts and pricing structures.

For example, term time only contracts with a higher rate per session (vs year long contracts that offer a saving). Or an option to pay half fees over the long summer holiday to retain a place. Would there be a marker for offering holidays-only provision of some kind to counterbalance the people who need term time only?

OP every tutor I know (including me) factors a 2-month break into their pricing structure. Any work you do get over the summer - and if you cover any of the 11+ subjects there is plenty of it around - is then a bonus. There are also often Year 10s and 12s around who have just had rather alarming mocks and suddenly realised they have catching up to do before September.

(And I do see it from the clients’ point of view; one of the things I value hugely about my childminder is she lets us take holidays without paying as long as she has 4 weeks notice 😊)

I always expect to be dead quiet in the summer and always end up with work.

Why dont you charge per term? Both my daughters groups do this now using a site called class4kids. You would set then dates of the 'term' around your own holidays and the payment is made before the tern starts. If any sessions are missed in that term it is the parents loss.

Perfectly normal that lessons would go on during the year. Parents are trying it on and being cheap skates. Need to make it really clear to them that you are perpetually fully booked, and that when notice is given you then offer that available slot to a child on your waiting list, and as such they will lose their slot. They will pay. No parent wants to be the reason their child lost a good tutor, trying to find one is hard enough in the first place!

*during the summer.

Even if you earned three times as much I'd support you in not taking them back.

DH is a tutor, £50 an hour and it’s going up. Waiting list is 2 years. Up your price!

This is the first year I've had clients saying they want to take the whole two months off.

well then.. you just have to accept this is the way it is and won’t change with different clients OR you make your contract watertight (but then you’ll put people off anyway)

My daughters tutor is so in demand she can do what the heck she likes.

If she was to tell me to jump off a bridge but she would still tutor my daughter… I’d be running for that bridge

you could make one more explanation: they pay you each month and that covers all your services for the period of the contract, holidays are paid (in the way teachers are) which brings down the monthly price.

You could offer monthly contracts, to be ended also with 4 weeks notice to the end of the month at a higher price? (this will be handy if come September you can't fill the slots?

I paid my childminder and tutors when I was on holiday and when they were on annual leave for 3 weeks.

@Brefugee

I paid my childminder and tutors when I was on holiday and when they were on annual leave for 3 weeks.

was this a contractual obligation or out of the goodness of your heart?

Just say you can't hold the spot, you have a waiting list and as per pp that if they leave and a new spot opens up they will be charged as new clients on a higher rate, if they want to retain their spot at curreny rate then they need to continue their contract.

And new clients will do the same in all likelihood

Op Even says this is the first year this has happened

change in economy and people’s finances

Due to the nature of how it works. There is no reasons why clients can’t discontinue services and restart. The downside to that is you might have other work and not be able to fit them in.

Some people won’t want to lose their place. Some people will see you as a service which they can pick and choose. Neither of these are wrong because you are offering a service. How people value that and feel they can risk losing that service is unique to them.

When working for yourself you are responsible for managing your income, clients and making sure you cover your costs. It’s business and many will treat it as a transaction.

I would send a letter, stating that you accept the cancellation and that the last day of tutoring is the dd.mm.yyyy.

Then say that you can be contacted to enquire of free spaces but you will already look into filling spots/have a waiting list.

Maybe offer to change the pricing schedule and offer term time only contracts with a higher fee, if they ask for extra sessions they have to be paid extra.

if it's all in the contract I can't see a problem. Just say, thank you for giving me notice. If I have availability in September it will be lovely to see X again.'