Pay retainer to CM during holidays yet she's not available...

[sammisatt]

I am a teacher and have leave my twin babies with a cm 3 days a week. I pay four weeks holiday which she takes during the school holiday and then the rest of my holidays when I am not working, I pay her half pay.

I want to go into school on Wednesday and have a revision session with my Year 11 students whose exams are next week. I asked the childminder last week if I could leave them with her a half day as I assumed the place would be free as I am effectively paying half pay as a retainer. She said of course that wouldn't be a problem. I asked whether she'd charge me, she said no as it was a half day and I am paying for half a day anyway. So the agreement was that I would drop my kids off for half a day on Wednesday.

She called me today saying she had hay fever and a cold and did a lot of coughing down the phone. I'm no idiot and she was very obviously faking it mainly due to the fact she knew so far in advance she'd be ill on Wednesday even though it was only hayfever! Plus the dramatic coughing fits were a give away. I asked if I could come in on Thursday then instead of Weds, she said she'd check with the doctor and get back to me. I'm now sat here fuming about being lied to about her taking a sicky when she's very obviously having a day off whilst still expecting me to pay 62 pounds for a half day (I have twins, hence the huge cost) when she's not available to work. In fact not available to work on any of the days this week that I'm paying her for. Even if she were ill, which she isn't, would it be fair for her to charge me for days when she's not available to work?

Now I have to tell 25 kids not to come in and I'm pretty cross. I really like my childminder and don't want to fall out with her but I feel she's taking the piss. Any advice on what to say to her?

Why are you so certain she's lying?
"would it be fair for her to charge me for days when she's not available to work?"
that depends on he terms of her contract. I don't think most do - they charge if they are available to provide a service. I don't pay a retainer to my CM though in the hols.

Because she coughed down the phone a lot, said she had hayfever then said she had a cold then said the doctor said she needed to rest for a whole week. Also, because she'd told me previously that she would never ever take a day off and if that happened, she'd provide alternative provision. It's just too suspect that she should fall ill during the Easter holidays when she knows I won't be demanding alternative provision as I don't officially have to work.

What I actually think is happening is that she's taking on the older kids she normally provides wrap around care for during term time and is looking after them whilst charging me. Or maybe I'm over thinking this and being completely unreasonable?

What does your contact say about paying her when she's sick?

It says she would deduct the pay from the end of month invoice. Would this apply to the half pay during the holiday? I feel a bit petty bringing it up though but I feel I definitely need to say something.

If your contract says you don't pay when she's sick and she can't take your child because she's sick then she should be refunding.

I don't take days off sick for colds or hay fever, if I did I would be forever off sick.
It's only Monday so can't understand how she can say she can't work on wed, not a bad back or such like??
If she's sick and can't have your child she isn't offering a place and so u don't need to pay her.

Most cms on here bend over backwards for parents and most parents are fantastic to work with, Shame if some give us cms a bad name.

I agree with TheBody. I too teach, and agree that if CM is taking the retainer, with reasonable notice she should be available.(I've never paid full pay for the holidays btw - the advantage of having teachers children is that you get almost 13 weeks holiday - bar the odd day here and there - whilst still getting 1/2 pay for all of it.) I fail to see how a cold and hay fever means you know you won't be able to do 1/2 a day's work on Wednesady though. These things sometimes leave you a bit weaker, but hardly incapable for a whole week.

Sorry for the hi-jack but I just wanted to ask a quick question ref retainers. CM charges me a 50% retainer during the holidays, I assume to hold the kids places. Last summer I had given her some dates for our summer holiday in advance. However they ended up shifting back by a few days right at the last minute. One of the days that we were meant to be on holiday and so being a charged a retainer for, I asked her if she could have the kids as there were some last minute things that I needed to do. Obviously I would have paid the full amount for that day rather than just the retainer. However my CM told me that she couldn't have the children, had made other arrangements and was no longer available. But surely that is what I am paying her for, to be available to me? Should she have charged me a retainer if she had made herself unavailable to me?

If your CM charges you a retainer, she should be available for you for that period of time.

Now that I think of it CM openly requests that we let her know what our childcare requirements are for school holidays so that she can plan her availability and know what spaces she can offer to other families. This suggests that if we are not planning to use our spaces in the holidays that she intends to fill them with other children. This then means that she is receiving a retainer for me but also full payment for any other child that take my childs space. This isn't right is it? She shouldn't charge me a retainer if she uses my spaces for other people?

I don't think you can expect her to be "on tap" as it were, so I think it is reasonable to ensure you give some notice of when you want her to have them rather than just 'last minute'. After all, just looking after my own family I like to know that this day we are all going on a trip so I need picnic food in, etc., etc. so if she takes advantage of not having her mindees for a couple of days then that's fine, but she does need to be available by arrangement if she's taking a retainer IMO.

I fell out with a CM over this some years back. I was going to be on maternity leave for 3 months with dc3, and she expected me to pay a retainer (1/2 fees) for not bringing dc2 - fair enough, but then she was openly telling me how she'd get a child or two from the local college who were always looking for local CMs to take on short term mindees while their parents did courses. I pointed out that if she was using my dcs places, then she could hardly expect me to be paying her (albeit 1/2 fees) to hold the same spaces!

I don't think that is totally fair, Backforgood. You withdraw your child for three months and your CM says she needs half fees to guarantee to hold the place for his/her return. She is still down half her income for that place. I don't think it is at all unreasonable for her to try to pick up some short term work to try to top up her pay, and I imagine she would have taken into account the prospects of topping up her income when she reached the decision to let you reserve the place. I doubt she would be lucky enough to get anyone to fill the space for three months on end. Surely you would not have expected her to hold the place for nothing and turn away other enquiries? If you would rather have not paid anything and taken your chances, presumably you could have done that?

But I do agree with your previous point, BackforGood, that if you want to use a place for which you are paying a retainer, you should be able to do that with reasonable notice, and on payment of the rest of the fees.

I agree reasonable notice has to be given. As the childminder may make plans to do a tripped aimmed at older children so if at last minute you needed her to take your baby then that woukd muck up plans. So although she has to keep your space available at short notice it might not be able to be used, but if lots of notice given childminder can make plans either around or to include your child

I give at least a months notice for holidays as that is what it states in the contract. For the instance in question she couldn't have my children as she had taken other children that day and would have gone over her numbers if she had had mine too. However she still charged me the 50% retainer.

minder - I did! I found someone else (It wasn't just that, it was the culmination of things that swung it for me in the end ), the point being, if she'd taken on other child, then she couldn't have had my child at the same time because of her numbers, so I couldn't have used the place I was paying 1/2 fees for day after day, week after week.

For one reason and another, I've spoken to a LOT of CMs over the years, and a regular comment is that they love teachers children as mindees because they do get most of the holidays free to spend with their own children but are still getting paid 1/2 fees for it- win win it would seem.

I have children who mum is off in the hols but still sends them, if anyone else needs their place mum keeps them and I refund her. This suits her as it saves her money. Obviously if she has made plans i still have the mindee. Would feel wrong if I charged twice.

I once childminded for a term-time only family. Charged half rate through holidays. For me it didn't work out. The family benefitted paying me half rate while they were away, but then demanded my services during other weeks of the holidays. Although they paid extra for my working weeks I never really knew where I was.

If you don't feel happy find someone else! worrying over childcare when you need to work is horrible.