Childminder terminating contract

[hoolahoolay]

Surely I'm not being unreasonable. So my son is due to start with a childminder next week when I go back to work after maternity leave. We have settling in sessions this week

So she sent the invoice for January out early December and she said to let her know if there were any errors, the due date on the invoice was 1st January. For one reason or another we haven't paid it and instead of reminding us she has messaged this morning to say she's terminated contract as invoice is 5 days late.
Surely she could have sent a payment reminder.

WTF can I do now?

@Golaz is that you OP??😂

You say communication would help, @hoolahoolay , but did you communicate with her at all?

Wow you sound very rude and entitled. I hope the childminder sees this thread and sticks to no longer agreeing to look after your child.

If you basically ignored the terms of the contract and then ignored the invoice then I'd guess she's assuming you'll be a late payer, and she doesn't want the hassle.

Wouldn't you go mad if your payroll dept missed your pay day and paid you a week late?

People don't take childminder (and other SE people) seriously, and they can't afford the risk in this financial climate. She probably has a waiting list, and doesn't want to risk working with someone who a) doesn't read or care about the terms of the contract and b) doesn't pay her on time.

Nope your childminder is not your PA. Not their job to remind you for payment.

Spare clothes in your baby's bag yes. Admin no

You lost my sympathy when you said it was not a priority, I assume you would not take that stance if your employer paid your salary late.

They can grasp it, they just don't want to pay til the absolute bitter end, as the child minder or nursery getting paid isn't important to them...until they have no child care! Only matters when its a problem for them!

There's no real "should" about it. If she's not in demand then she may have to take shit off entitled types like you and remind you to pretty-please pay what you owe. Presumably she is in demand so can pick and choose clients. In that situation she will de-prioritize you in favour of someone who has a decent payment record. It's business - or did you think she was running a charity?

her baby hadnt even started! Did your employer pay you two weeks before you even did any work? 😹

You do have to wonder

If you are in the first few months of a business where you are still building your business and reputation you might be accepting late payment at a pinch in order to build your business, gain recommendations etc.

If you work for local or central government and other orgs where it is the usual to wait for payment then you will make sure you have the capital to accept late payment. You will know they are always later than they say, it is built into the business model.

If you are a small established business you do not need clients who pay late because it costs your business time and money to sort out. It is about protecting your business not about seeking the perfect clients. When you have to chase money it takes you away from the core of your business, your earnings are lower and you stop being in business because you can't make ends meet. It's not about being snooty at all, it's actually caring about your solid clients so you can give your best service to them not a half arsed service because you allow clients to flake on you.

Were I the childminder in questions I would not be making the call, just a short message to say thanks for choosing us but I'm sorry we can't accept your child, I hope you find another service soon.

Those are the terms. The OP was not unclear about them.

Do you want baby to eat...I guess you would be happy to work a month and be feeding a child for the parent to run off leaving you unpaid....which is why it's standard practice to pay in advance.....we're hardly going to keep the child until you pay.... there are a few parents that would happily do that though.

@hoolahoolay Do you pay in advance?

Hang on… she gets paid BEFORE she does the work? Wow 😳 Is this normal in childcare land? I’m just used to providing services where I get paid… afterwards 😿 In fact, doesn’t everyone everywhere get paid after they do work? So 5 days late seems harsh. Especially when you get an extra £50 and don’t have to work for it.

I can’t help myself here. My underdog self is feeling sorry for the onslaught from the pitchfork mob of Mumsnet in full throng on this net. I must be from another universe because I don’t get the level of hatey/shamey comments. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I wonder how many people on this thread work for companies which routinely find excuses to not pay their suppliers on time or at all.

I have to say being late to pay a first invoice does seem like a bit of a weird reason to throw a child out - I think you'd go 2-3months before going nuclear like that. I think there's more to it. Maybe she has been asked by a friend to look after their child and wants the space.

Yes invoice said 1st but I thought that was just the generic date on it.

Why on earth would you think that? Do you think people put dates for payments on invoices just for the fun of it?

but the Christmas period is expensive and we've had lots on and it just hasn't been priority.

Your childcare provider receiving due payment was not a priority? That says an awful lot about you and none of it good.

I'm not a stupid FTM btw

You are not coming across as very bright and somewhat entitled too.

Me neither and I do some freelance work. However, I am ruthless in chasing invoices and would have chased the invoice on day one of it being late. Not just terminated the contract.

And I do think childcare is a bit different to say web design services. The impact of kicking out a client is pretty severe.

Yes. It's normal for childcare and plenty of other sectors. Read the thread for more details.

Yes OP you need to learn right now, on this thread, that paying bills has to be a priority. Even at, (and especially at) Christmas.

Now I've seen this update, I am wondering if you have a reputation locally for late paying.

Oh gosh, you should have been absolutely begging forgiveness not this - I hope you find a new childminder and treat them better.

Also you might not be a FTM (who aren’t stupid by dint of being FTMs) but you most certainly are stupid if you don’t realise that an invoice saying pay by 1 January means it needs to be paid by 1 January 😂

It wasn’t down to her to chase you and I can’t believe you tried to blame her for not communicating when you’re entirely at fault.

Good childminders are worth their weight in gold, most have waiting lists (they do in our area). Our youngest went to one when 9 months but didn’t settle at all, our other 2 went to nursery so wasn’t sure if that was common or down to his personality. We tried another who luckily had a space come up, before going down another route and she was amazing, she took such care of our little one, he adored her and was quite sad to start school meaning he didn’t go anymore.
I always used to set up the payment from our childcare account as soon as the invoice was received, it’s standard to send them out for the month ahead.
Hopefully she may give you another chance if you apologise profusely, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t. She probably has a waiting list, and the fact she doesn’t have a long standing relationship with you meant that by not paying the very first one it doesn’t make you look reliable.

Hmm I think the cm should have sent a reminder before ditching you. Your assumption that it didn't need paying till he started halfway through the month wasn't completely unreasonable.

The general impression created by the OP is that the Childminder should be doffing her cap and be grateful that the OP pays her at all. Clearly a busy social life trumps any need to make sure that the woman looking after her child gets paid. Errr no. If I were the CM and I read this, I would not do business with you.

Invoice says 1st
That's when you pay
She'll have kids starting at lots of different times
Yes Christmas is expensive
It is for her too