Is it normal for a childminder to have paid holiday time?

[newstart2010]

I am trying to find a new childminder and have spoke to one that says she needs 4weeks paid holiday. No other childminder has mentioned this beofore so wanted to check if thats normal?

See Is it usual to pay childminder when they go on holiday

Do you have paid holiday from your job?

fiordgirl, CMs don't have jobs. They are self-employed, and each will decide how they want to handle this issue.

it is pretty normal but generally self employed people do not get paid holiday pay - holiday pay is a perk of being employed

As is sick pay, maternity leave etc. However, it is (apparently) increasingly common that CMs do expect 50% holiday pay, but they generally only expect 50% holiday pay when the child is on holiday too, rather than the 100% which was common In My Day. (With 0 holiday pay when CM not available.)

I'm still self-employed (though not as a CM these days), and I get paid when I work. That's it.

im a cm and i do charge 1/2 fee when i am on holiday, alwys have done and its always there on contract for parents to read through and discuss if needs be.
however as most of my children are part time i can usually fit them in on a different day to avoid them having to use one of my holidays. Every cm i know (other than some on here last night) also charge half for their hols, it was advised to me from ncma /training when i first began.

Depends on the area - round here yes - 4 weeks full pay when CM on holiday and parents also pay full when they're away.

I don't get paid holiday. I am self-employed. I think that is normal. If I rang my clients and suggested that they might like to pay me to not translate a document for them for a fortnight, I imagine they'd be more than a little amused.

Childminders are self-employed. Why can they not run their lives like any other self employed person?

I wanted to add that it would seem normal for CM to charge the parents when the child is away, 100% or 50% or whatever, because that is the parents "fault". When the CM goes away or takes leave that is her "fault" and may be an inconvenience to her clients, so to be charged for it as well would not please me at all.

i have stayed clear from childminders who charge for holiday as I don't agree with it - to each their own, if it's in their contract you can't argue, just find another one

this will open a very old can of worms, but IMO as i get paid £3.50 per hour well below min wage and much less than most other SE tradespeople, this is why i have them in my contract.

childminders run there own business and set own contracts, r entitled to hols like everyone else, if parents take different hols to cm then need to pay to keep place, if child at day nurseries, u pay 52 weeks of year. most cm now charge same

I agree with CM charging when parents are on holiday, as in affect you are paying to keep you place, same as nursery's. However if the CM charges when she is away, then i think this is wrong. When i CM'd i only charged when parents away, and also tried to find alternative minder when i was away so parents didn't have to take time off.

I also agree that when we are on holiday we should pay to keep our place.

But I have worked in a job before that I was down as being self employed and if I was on holiday I did not get paid.

But mandy - when nurseries charge they are open. They don't tend to charge for time when they are not open, therefore making the parent pay double for childcare while they are closed (besides xmas - but most people have a holiday themselves then as well).

You pay 52 weeks a year for a nursery but it actually takes into account the time the nursery is closed and spreads the weekly fee throughout the year.

Of course the fact that nurseries set their fees somewhat arbitrarily renders that slightly irrelevant.

I pay my CM for her holidays but she lets me know at the beginning of the year when they will be and I try to synchronise mine with hers. I don't begrudge her those days - she doesn't get paid much and she takes fabulous care of my DS. :) I couldn't wish for someone better to look after him to be honest and frankly it's a small price to pay for what she brings to her job.

Agree ladybiscuit but some of us don't have the flexibility to choose our holidays, so can't synchronise. I just flat out wouldn't be able to afford double childcare for a week or a few days even.

Frakkin, yes but all nurseries around me are only closed around xmas holiday time, when a lot of people easily have holiday time already anyway. Some don't I realize, but around me at least, it's only 1 week. They all get holidays but it doesn't cause the nursery to close completely throughout the rest of the year.

I don't begrudge cms holiday time at all. They work very hard and mine is amazing with my ds. I just can't afford to pay for a service that is not available to me. Fully agree I should pay for my own holidays.

You get paid £3.50 per child/hour, not per hour. Most childminders have 3 or 4 children at a time, and anything up to 6. Not £3.50/hour, which is potentially what some of the parents are taking home after paying for their child's childcare. More like 3x3.50=10.50, or anything up to £21/hour. I wouldn't feel sorry for someone on £21/hour, although I do acknowledge that the work if done properly is very hard.

Duchesse
Last year I worked an average 50 hour week including paperwork. I had 3 under 5's 4 days per week, and occasionally (with a variation from ofsted to allow it)4 under 5. I also care for 1 child after school 2 days per week till 7pm. I took 5 weeks unpaid holiday. I charge £3.85 per hour yes, BUT nearly 1/2 of that is eaten up by expenses (utilities, food, mileage, insurance, registration fees, training, professional organisation membership, 'uniform', consumables like loo roll & wipes, craft materials, entrance fees for outings, ink & paper & other stationery etc etc. I've just done my accounts for last year - my gross income was £15000 (for a 50 hour week!), the most I've ever earnt in 10 years of CMg but £7000 of that was expenses - so £8k before tax & NI which works out at £3.40 per hour

Incidentally, whilst in the past the NCMA have recommended CM's charge for holiday (because we provide an 'all year round'-exc holiday obviously- service as opposed to most SE contractors who provide one off's albeit on a regular basis for some clients) I think more & more childminders are recognising the business sense of not charging for their holiday but charging when the child is off in full. As a support minder for new cm's I am recommending doing this but putting some of each weeks money aside to cover for when the setting is closed

Another way of covering yourself for time off is doing what I do and that's working out a set monthly fee which takes into account holidays (incl b/h). I was never very good at putting money to one side to cover time off

childrenatheart - couldnt have put that better ..i DONT earn £21 an hour lol, would love to!, i must start charging my parents FULL when im off to compensate

looney - I do that with 2 sets of parents and it works really well. With the others I worked out what it would be if we had annualised their money & put all my cm into one account. i then withdraw a fixed amount based on those calculations each month like a salary. Works great till someone leaves!

I used to pay my CM 5 weeks 1/2 pay for holidays and full pay for my leave.

She is entitled to paid leave same way as I am, she is fab I hope to use her again when I return from mat leave!!!

The value of someone caring properly and fully for your child is truely pricesless, for me a CM adds value in respect they are generally a mother themselves and therefore unlike nurseries they have life experience aren't going to be a group of 19 yr old girls who gossip and bitch! give care and love in a family home environment, personally for me this sort of set up is important in early years, my dd1 was 12 months when I returned to work, when dd2 goes she will be 13months I wish I could spend mroe time off however my mental health (god damn kids asking 100 questions plus a day!) and I need adult conversation/need to work for my own sense of wealth!
for me staying at home is harder than being at work! however my mum was a cm when I was a kid and I think it was easier 20-25yrs ago! Less controversity!

My childminder charges me for the hours I use. I wouldn't use a CM that charges for her holidays.

Not because I don't value what she does, not because I don't think she is entitled to it. She is worth every penny.

However I simply cannot afford to pay twice for childcare when she is off, and I do not have the luxury of choosing my annual leave to match hers. Of course I pay her for those occasions when my child isn't with her that are of my choosing.

CMs are welcome to do what they like regarding their fees, but IMO need to be transparent about their charges and have it clearly put in their contracts.