help childminder nightmare...

[nenni76]

Hi people this is my first post so please be gentle haha..... I have a ofsted registered childminder for my 5 year old for before and after school... last week i was offered by my employer a shift change which i have been waiting for since january i was so please it ment i could finally pick my kids up from school 8am-2pm i went that evening to pick my son up from the childminder and offer my 4 weeks notice of a change of hours for mornings only, and to ask if she could accommedate..However at the same time on this tue evening she told me she was moving in 3 weeks to a different village!... i said i would have to go home and think about the change in circunstances. This is just not viable as i do not drive and wanted local childcare especially with the 7am starts that he was already contracted for so the next day spoke with my childminder and stated i could not do this i said what notice would you like she said 4 weeks as per the contract i said well your moving in 3??? so she said ok 3 then so i proposed a comprimise, i start my new shift pattern in 2 weeks your off next week and and your collegue is looking after my son(which i was not make aware of the holiday till a week before via a txt) so why don't he finish at the end of next week so he can have a smooth transition from one childminder to another to coinside with my shift change. She agreed to this... Now i have had another txt saying although my son is not going next week i still have to pay. I'm angry because i would not have moved my son had her personal circumstances have not changed. she gave me next to no notice she was moving and states i'm lucking shes accepting 3 weeks. I've been asking for invoices since day one and have yet to recieve any i pay her cash and my contract is on an a4 sheet of paper stating hours fees and notice.. she said change of address is not mentioned in the contract however that contract has her present address on which i still have not recieved a copy of. any advice sorry for spelling its late i'm stressed and no spell check haha thanks guys x

I dont understand. You have a copy of the contract with her current address?

Also, your son is going to be looked after by a colleague next week, but your CM is expecting to be paid for the week?

The way I read it, she gave you three weeks notice, and you have responded by trying to give a shorter notice period. I may be wrong, but perhaps she is suggesting that she will accept one week's fees in lieu of notice. If so, it's not really relevant what the child may be doing next week.

I think you need to sit down together and clarify exactly who is proposing what and try to reach an agreement.

So you agreed to a 3 week notice period. You start new job hours in 2 weeks.
Childminder is off week 1 of that notice period, but has arranged alternative cover.

i proposed a comprimise, i start my new shift pattern in 2 weeks your off next week and and your collegue is looking after my son(which i was not make aware of the holiday till a week before via a txt) so why don't he finish at the end of next week so he can have a smooth transition from one childminder to another to coinside with my shift change. She agreed to this.

I am not sure there what she exactly agreed to.

Next week is what week number of the 3 weeks notice? Is it week 1, as that is how it appears to me.
What week was agreed as your child's last week... week 1 of the notice period (so he will go to the other childminder) or before then?

Now i have had another txt saying although my son is not going next week i still have to pay.

Is that the week which the other childminder would have been providing care? If so, that other childminder could well be expecting payment. It's not their fault that you are no longer wanting the care.

I'm angry because i would not have moved my son had her personal circumstances have not changed.

So you would have still used the other childminder for that week your childminder was having off?

change of address is not mentioned in the contract

No it may well not be but it is a major change I feel, for some people it may not be that major but for you it creates problems as you don't drive.

I am wondering what the payment being requested is for exactly. It could well be for the other childminder who has allocated your child a space which they are now no longer going to take up.

Also it looks as though 3 weeks notice was agreed but is now only asking for payment for 1 - is that the case?

Surely as the childminder is moving house in 3 weeks and the mum can't get the child to the house as she doesn't drive then the childminder is the one who is at fault here.

Surely she must have known she would be moving sooner to this????

I have got totally the wrong end of the stick?