Childminding Contracts

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I know childminders are self employed and can set their own rates/terms but I just wanted to see what is generally done as our CM has only just registered and is a bit unsure herself.

1. DS will be at CM's 2 days a week and CM has stipulated she will have 4 weeks holiday a year. I'm curious whether this is normally pro-rated when the mindee is PT? I'm not saying she shouldnt have 4 weeks, but should she only take 2/5 of 4 weeks on our scheduled days? I'm thinking about a scenario where she could potentially take all 20 days on the two days she minds for us meaning upto 10 weeks without care rather than just 4 weeks. I'm worried about this as she's suggested she will take odd days here and there rather than weeks at a time.

1. Unfortunately one of the days is a Monday which means we'll have lots of bank holidays to deal with. She has stated up front that she will more than likely be open for work as her husband works these days. But on bank holidays she is time and a half. If we decide not to send DS in we pay normal rate. If she chooses to have it off, we pay nothing. Again, my concern is that she could just say she will be working knowing full well that it is cheaper for us to keep DS at home that day, thus securing a paid day off.

I know I'm being cynical but I'd like to ensure that we start off on the right foot and if this is unusual I'd appreciate knowing. As I mentioned, we're her first CM client (she was nanny before) so she's not got much experience on the contract side.

1. I pro-rata my holiday. So although the contract states 4 weeks, if a parent is only using me for 2 days a week then I would only take 8 days a year.

1. It is fairly common for childminders to charge for bank holidays this way. I am closed on all bank holidays but still charge the normal rate so your childminder is being more flexible than me

1.Its up to her when she takes her holidays :) as you've said. I take up to six weeks a year, four of them as two weeks at a time and then the others are just there in my contract if i need them i.e dentist, midwife, long weekend

1. Thats what i do with bank holidays too :) Its your choice if you send the child or not, do you get bank holidays off?

If you are not happy with her terms then do not sign a contract and find someone else.

Thanks for the replies - it's interesting to see what others do. That's all I'm after really - an indication of what is 'usual' in the industry. I'm very happy with her and will be signing up regardless :)

I'm self employed so bank holidays are not really an issue for me as I can work or not depending on what I fancy. I'm trying not to look at the cost on a 'per day' basis but more on what it'll cost over the whole year balancing out the bank hols etc. I think that's going to be the best way for me to get my head round it all :)

You're right Cat - I wish I could have avoided Mondays but unfortunately although I am self employed and can choose if I work BH or not, this doesn't apply to non-BH mondays. I teach a parent/baby class in term time so need CM cover for these days. I can offer (and until now have offered) classes in holidays and BHs to keep me occuppied - may have to do a little rethink now...

As it currently stands, the holiday entitlement doesn't affect me too much financially as I don't pay for her holiday days - it would just be a PITA organisationally, but I'm thinking ahead to a time when she may decided to change to contract to have paid holidays and then what could happen if she then decided to take all 4 weeks as individual Mon/Weds... Extremely unlikely I know but all the same I think I'll approach her about pro-rata'ing the days. Thanks for the input.

The 4 weeks should be pro-rated. So the equivalent of 4 contracted weeks ie 4 Mondays & 4 of whichever the other day is, though I guess technically unless specified in the contract it could be any combination so long as it doesn't exceed 8 days.

I don't charge for BH's but many do so not unusual, just unfortunate

I think it's a bit much to be charged for every bank holiday Monday when you are only part time. It's a bit different if you use the CM full time, but if it's only 2 days a week, then anybody using a CM on a Monday really gets whalloped for those days. And if they are employed part time they only get them on pro-rata basis, as well so the argument of 'well YOU get paid for bank holidays' doesn't really work, as the extra days come off the rest of your annual leave.

When you say 'should be' childrenatheart, according to who/what? It would be useful to know...

I get what you're saying chitchat, I may propose this to her and see what she says :)

whoops, random use of bolding!

Convention & previous experience as an employer I guess (though I know CM's are SE before anyone jumps on this). Holidays are normally stated in terms of weeks, where 'weeks' refers to contracted weeks, so if your contract states 4 weeks & specifies 2 named days within a week its 4 lots of those named days, ie 8 days per year, just as it would be if you were a part time employee. She would need to coordinate her holiday to make sure she did not take more than 8 of your contracted days in any year. If the contract says 20 days rather than 4 weeks then that is different obviously and there is no reason why she can't ask for 20 days (being SE) but I can't imagine any parent signing a 2 day per week contract that included 20 days PA holiday lol.

I'm not sure where you stand on the BH front. I guess if Monday is your day you have to accept the fees she charges on that day ie a premium rate for the BH's. I'm curious as to how she regards closing on a BH however - ie is this separate to closing for annual holiday? If it is then potentially you could lose out as she could take an additional 4 Mondays as holiday. Something you need to clarify/negotiate with her I guess. I personally don't charge for BH's as I don't want to work them, or for holiday either (up to 6weeks inc BH's)