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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Childminder holiday fees

58 replies

mugelbbub · 20/07/2010 18:27

I am a teacher and will not be requiring the services of my childminder for the school holidays. Her rate is half pay over the holidays, which I understand to be the norm, but she also requires an additional 2 weeks full pay as her holiday pay. All the children she minds are teachers children and she makes it policy not to work in the school holidays as she has her own children. The half fee I understand is the retainer, but I already paid a retainer fee of nearly £2000 when I decided to use her service back in January. Does this all seem normal? It all seems alittle excessive the cost of looking after the baby myself!

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kitkat2507 · 21/07/2010 20:45

If i do the calculations and reduce the figure, she might refuse to have the girls! there are not that many childminders in the area, im due to go on maternity leave soon with the plan being to send the new baby to the CM too, but im really not sure how this will affect our relationship.

skidoodly · 21/07/2010 22:15

She's planning to continue charging you the incorrect amount?

Even though it is more than has been agreed in your contract?

When she's already overcharged you for every week so far this year??

If I were you I would start looking for alternative childcare immediately.

There is no way I would put up with that kind of shit from anyone, never mind someone I trusted to look after my children.

Once you've got something else lined up you can take her to the small claims court.

"I completely missed charging a family for a whole week once ... didn't notice it til my year end accounts and never asked them for the money."

This is more my experience with my DDs' CM. She is bloody awful at figuring out how much I owe her. I've frequently had to explain to her why I've paid more than she was expecting.

I really hope though that she'd tell me if a week had been missed as you describe. I would not want her to miss out on money I owed her. It might take me a while to get the money together, depending on how much it was, but I would certainly make sure she was paid.

StarExpat · 21/07/2010 22:40

Maybe it's time to consider nurseries and afterschool clubs truly shocking the way she is behaving.... Most cms are not like this, truly. From the things I've read about her in your threads, she doesn't seem like a very good cm.
I get really irritated when a cm does stuff like this. It is my childcare of choice and I think there are some really brilliant cms out there. I don't like people like her giving them a bad name

kitkat2507 · 22/07/2010 07:33

I am so sad at the thought of having to change CM, the girls really love going to her, but i cannot look at her in the ame way again after the last coupleof weeks, my opinion has really gone down hill, today I will start looking for a new childminder. The girls are not with her this week they are on a holiday week and next week she is on a holiday week (she will be expecting her pay to be in the bank for these weeks though) at a higher rate than she is actually entitled too! where do you think I stand with the months notice period? baring in mind she is not inline with her contract and it was only last week I found she had left the girls with her mum and husband while she "popped" out.

kitkat2507 · 22/07/2010 07:36

Yes Skidoodly she is planning on continuing to overcharge me! until September when her new increased rates kick in, at which time she worked out new figures, which are correct, however although my daughter will drop from a full time place to only 3 hours a day, the rate is only going down around £20 per week!

HSMM · 22/07/2010 07:57

Kitkat - If she has breached the contract by charging you a different amount, I think you are in a much stronger position than she is, to negotiate whether you pay her anything else at all.

skidoodly · 22/07/2010 10:36

Figure out what she owes you, deduct your notice period from that, and then don't pay her a penny more until you are quits. Ideally you will find new childcare quickly and bill her for the rest of what she owes you.

StarExpat · 22/07/2010 12:55

I know it is sad to move to a new carer but really once you're in a new situation as long as it's a good one, your dds will love it as well.
When I was changing from my friend looking after ds to a cm I was devastated! I couldn't see sense... This happens when a bug change is about to take place. He loved my friend was so happy there it was perfect ... Etc. And it was perfect for the time we were doing that. But you know what? When we swapped to a cm, it was ALSO perfect even better, in fact! You will find the same.
I would end the contract based on her popping out and leaving your dds with other people without telling you. That alone is reason for immediate end of contract.

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