what the bleepity bleep bleep bleep shall i do now ?

[woahthere]

My main source of income comes from looking after 2 year old mindee. I have her at least 39 hours a week and have had her since she was 6 months old. The Mum is a student in her 2nd year. This year she will be finishing at the end of May and not going back until September. Last year she continued to use me throughout the summer, although at one point I did have problems with her paying as the student finance didnt pay her for a long time...in the end I did get the money though. Only 1 week ago she informed me that she wouldn't be receiving any money herself from the student finance and so therefore could not pay me, but she wouldn't bring mindee as she didn't think it would be fair to mess me around . This means that she expects me to lose 3 months of pay which totals to almost 2000 pounds. She still wants to bring her back in September though. I can't believe she is only just telling me this, and i don't know what she expects me to do. I don't know what to do! How am I going to cope with that. i work my bum off all year and take very little time off. i was just about to book a 2 week holiday, which we so much need and deserve and now i dont think i can afford to its so unfair.

What are the terms of your contract with her?

The summer holidays are a brilliant time to find temp childminding for slightly older children whose parents work and only need help in the holidays. How you find them however, I'm not sure. If you sold yourself as summer cover round my way, I could think of several people who'd snap you up - the ones whose children go to after school clubs in term time (so in fact advertising in the after school clubs could be a start).
Being mercenary, I would think you could also get away with a slight uplift in your fees for temp cover (I'd probably pay it)

Terms of contract are that she pays me if she is on holiday, that I take up to 4 weeks holiday per year that she doesnt pay me for. It is a full contract, not a school term one. This is her 2nd year with me and she never mentioned it before. I do term time contracts for my after school kids wherby if they do not use their hours up during the holiday they pay 50% of the normal fee to retain the place and accomodate the fact that I would otherwise lose money. However, this isnt really something Im willing to do with the under 5's as I lose too much money. She herself is going away with her children for a 6 week holiday, and she said in her e-mail please could i be understanding, because she cant afford it because of her travel costs .

She's taking the p op. Refer to your contract and make her stick to its terms. Cant afford it because of her hols, whereas you can't afford one full stop! Bobbis idea about holiday care is brilliant but start now - people like me are starting to plan!

She needs to pay you the notice required in your contract and then you are free to look for other work, which hopefully will be reasonably easy to find over the summer. If you have a vacancy in September (and you want her back) she can come back then.

You are in no worse position than if she just announced she no longer needed childcare, which would be inconvenient, but surely not that unusual in your line of work.

Its not exactly that simple though is it, because if she pays me the notice then is she going to risk not having a secure place in September, or is she going to go to another childminder. when she gets back from her holiday she needs to know that she has childcare in place doesnt she. And another cm might be prepared to say yes we will start in September. I might then be in the situation wherby I dont have anyone filling that place, and know she is going somewhere else when she could be with me :( To be honest, it is quite unusual to suddenly have someone announce they no longer need childcare with the little ones. Usually Im a bit more prepared as I have some idea what they are going on to or doing next way more than 4 weeks in advance. it actually is quite unusual to have someone ask for 3 month respite!

It is that simple. What she does in September is not your problem. Not being able to fill the place is a risk you take when you're self-employed. I don't think you should allow the 3 month respite unless you want to, so that isn't an added complication as you can ignore it.

I don't mean to be heartless, but that's how it is. It can't be that unusual for parents to lose their own jobs/ decide MIL is going to have DC/become SAHM

I have to try and figure out whether its worth offering her some kind of retainer type situation so I at least get some money, because I run the risk of not filling that place for 3 months AND not having her back in September.

She is just taking the piss in expecting you to "be understanding" about missing out on 3 months money.

Howeve, the choice is yours.

1. Agree to her request and lose 3 month's money.
2. Hold her to the terms of your contract and insist she pays over the holidays or lose her child's place.
3. Give her one month's notice and start looking for replacement child.
4. Come to a compromise and agree a 50% retainer to cover the holidays.

Actually, have a question for childminders here. If she went to look at different cm's and they agreed to have mindee in September, wouldnt they charge a retainer to keep the place open until then. I know not all would and it would depend on their situation, ie if they couldnt take anyone until September anyway, but if they were going to charge a retainer...would they make it 50% anyway. Im just wondering because if she was going to end up worse off, she may be more willing to consider pay me the retainer instead. Hope that makes sense.

Yes woahthere good point and agree.

She's a cheeky mare but I suppose she may not know your financial circs so she's put her cards on the table.

It's part of the business to loose children( iucwim) so u need to keep her to her contract, tell her u can't afford to keep her place open and seriously advertise in local schools and usual places.

That may give her a kick up arse and pay u for hols or may not, either way kids don't stay minded forever so get your advertising up and running and good luck.

Are you sure she not receiving any money from student finance..
Are you able to call them and check what she is telling you is true..
Sorry if this seems a bit over board..
Just my mind working overtime..

You could advertise now. See if anyone wants the space in the Summer?

That's a tough one. I would explain to her that you just cannot afford to keep the space without a charge till September as you still need to pay the bills and feed your children. If she doesn't agree to pay I would advertise furiously in hope to pick up two part time children. If I am lucky and find the replacements immediately I would then terminate her contract. For me this is a business ... as much as I love my job and the children I look after I do it to pay my bills and feed my children. I'm not a charity as kindness and good will will not feed my children and pay the bills for me.

If it was me I would use this as an opportunity to look for other clients that need holiday cover as well as term time if that is what you need, but I would also ask her to contact you in august to see if the place is still available.
Explain you can't hold the space without a retainer but if she is prepared to take the chance then you can contact her over the summer if you can fill the space she then can offer to pay or lose the space. Also perhaps use the time to increase your hourly rate in september so covering some of the loss over the summer.

Tell her you are not able to guarantee the September place without at least a retainer. If she is happy to take her chances then that is fine, but you will need to advertise your vacancy in the meantime.

Agree with summer temp work. Lots of parents need help while children on school holidays. If they're over 8 they don't come under your numbers, either. What area (roughly) are you in?

Thank you for all your replies. I'm on it already...done loads of advertising for both new Early Years and summer holiday care. I have told her that she needs to continue to pay me for June, and that the best I can offer is 50% retainer throughout the summer holiday, otherwise she has to give me notice of 4 weeks and this must be paid and then she can see if I have still got space in September but that we will renegotiate contract. Nothing else I can do really! Was having a look at summer holiday clubs though and some of them are bloomin cheap! Quite difficult to compete with 21 quid for a whole day and 18 quid for sibling plus 12% discount if booked early!

Not sure if she could get away with tricking the student finance people as I have to fill in a form to say she has paid me for that time.