Is this a lot of holiday?

[PseudoBadger]

First off, let me state that DS and I love our childminder. However I keep getting questions from my parents and friends about the amount of holiday that she takes.

She takes 24 paid days a year (and every year charges for 5 paid sick days just in case). The holidays are the week between Christmas and New Year, week at Easter, may half term, 2 weeks in summer, and October half term. And obviously Bank holidays.

Is this a lot? I pay full rate for any holiday that we take and any of ds's sick days.

She's self employed so can charge for what she likes. You.have the choice to accept her terms or walk.
What's her hourly /daily charge ? It may be that she has a lower hourly rate than others who factor in holiday and sick by having a higher rate.
Do you live in an area with plenty of good child care or are they like hens teeth?

Nevertheless it does seem like a lot esp the sick days. Her choice of holiday dates won't make her very attractive to parents of school aged children.
Ask yourself the following questions-
Are you happy with her overall ?
How difficult do you find it to cover her holidays?

If its too much of a pain or if you feel like you are paying over the odds for what you are getting then give notice and find someone else.

in a word

yes

you pay her for almost 5 working weeks you cant use her

yes a lot

obv cm can charge what they like and if the parents agree to her terms then they sign the contract

but

from what i read on here, many cm dont get paid for their holidays or they get half rate, def not paid in full

I take 10 days holiday at half rate, and certainly don't charge for sickdays, but as others have said, if you sign the contract then that's what you're in for.

She charges for 5 days sickness 'just in case'...I am confused...
does she plan her sickeness? does she not have 'emergency cover' just in case she is sick?
if she is not sick does she refund you her 5 'healthy days'?

I know that we have 57,000 c/ms with 57,000 variations but this one beats me!

The holiday is standard for many CMs, but charging sick days 'just in case'? In case of what? In case she needs more spending money?

Mine charges 50% for her hols and 50% for our hols

sick days we pay full if off and nothing if she is sick - she has only been sick once and like many self employed people dont go off sick unless really have to as dont get paid.

Mine takes 2-4wks holiday a year and generally this is a week near easter, a week in summer hols and a week at xmas and then sometimes another week or odd days - we only use 2 days a week and use nursery 2 days so either we can take time off as well (normally do that) or ask for extra nursery session (although thats not most cost effective option).

I wouldnt choose a childminder who charges for own holidays and takes 5weeks as leaves me no choice of own annual leave really or very limited and unless signicantly cheaper per hr than others then think its a little cheeky.

I would say yes its a lot of holidays to be paying for. But if you look at am employed person they get 5 weeks holiday if full time . Which wrks out 25 days . So it is the standard amount so not to many in that sense. I don't charge for my holidays but and I take about that amount. 2 weeks xmas , 1 week Easter, 2 weeks taken between June,July August and 1 in the October week.

She is taking the piss-I have 2 weeks holiday a year UNPAID that is all apart from the bank holidays which I also take off UNPAID. As for charging for 5 sick days I am speechless......

I have 20 days unpaid and 5 days for adhoc stuff (not used together) and rarely need them.......all unpaid :0) If my setting is open I charge if closed I don't :0)

I'm assuming by sick days you mean she can take upto 5 days sick leave and still be paid. At 1st I read it as you paid for that ontop of your fees.

Does she always take the 5 days sick leave . I assume if she doesn't then you just pay her as normal and she wrks as normal

wow, thats a lot of holiday!! most cms i know take 4 weeks maximum paid per year and don't charge for their sickness. it is standard to charge for child's sickness and holiday.
i would never charge someone when i'm not available so i only get paid when i work, simple as that - but that's my choice!!

but yes, that is excessive,how come you signed a contract with her? most parents wouldn't have imo

MrsThomson - yes, the sick days are in the contract as being permitted to take 5 days paid sick per year, sorry for being unclear. DS has been there since January and she's had one day sick.

We pay £55 per day (London). It had been fine to cover the holidays until this half term. I've now realised that covering next year between Jan and April (when my leave year starts) is going to be tough!

Her setting is fantastic, DS loves her and she loves him. I was so naive when I was looking for CMs that I had no idea of what was normal or acceptable in a contract tbh. I was considering keeping DS there whilst I go on ML next summer, but I'm not sure now.

I pay my childminder 4 weeks holiday per year, no sickness though, if she is sick she doesnt get paid, but she has great cover so rarely an issue.
Tbh i adore her and so does ds2 (she also looked after ds1 for 4 years) and its worth any conditions because she looks after my child just as i would and i never worry about ds which is worth every penny

Well that's the thing. I trust her with DS, she's trying to make a living in tough times - if childcare costs/cover are killing me it's my choice not her problem.

She doesn't have cover for sick days, we have to cover it.

I think it's something you just have to continue or leave. I expect in London ( depending on area), that she can fill any places pretty easy if she is a good childminder so has the choice of adding those terms in

£55 also seems pretty fair

2 half terms out of 3 seems a bit much to me.

It depends on the whole package she's offering, to be honest. At £55 per day in London, that sounds like a good deal, especially if you're so impressed with her setting and her care. No doubt those holidays offset the cheaper daily cost. While one parent may be unhappy with those holidays, another might easily cover them and prefer the cheaper rate.

So no, I don't think they're excessive for what this childminder is offering. I also think that up to 5 days sick a year, and only one taken, really is a just in case scenario and I don't see a problem with it, especially as illnesses are so often brought in by the minded children. She's just covering herself, imo.

I take 6 weeks plus bank hols-and I don't charge for any of them. I've never had a day off sick-in 13 years of minding-but if I was ill,then I wouldn't charge for those either.
6 weeks may sound a lot to some people BUT I never have time off for anything else-doctors/dentist/hair appointments are all made out of work hours-I work 11 hours a day without a break and only had 2 weeks off when I gave birth to my daughter.But,none of the families who use my service have ever complained about my holidays and,as I don't charge for them,they then have the cash to use other care if they need to.
...don't understand the 5 sick days though.....if she's not available due to illness then I don't see how she can charge you???
We all work differently though,and if you've signed a contract with all this info on then there's little you can do.

If you think the setting is fantastic and your son loves her then I think that's the key.

However, £55 isn't necessarily cheap just because you're in London, it depends on supply and demand and housing costs in the particular area you're in. I am admittedly on the outskirts but the range in my area is £35-£50. I am with the most expensive childminder in my area because I liked her the best, however she doesn't charge for her holidays...

Most cms where I stay dont charge for their own holidays but charge full for parents holidays.

Most people that have full time jobs get the same amount of paid leave - why would you expect a CM to have less?

A lot of parents would want the CM to take their leave in the holidays so if they are looking after their own children they are at least doing it in the holidays and not in term time.

She has a 'In case I need it 5 days sick leave' in the contract, she has used one day this year, so she's hardly taking the piss is she?

Some CM's will say they only ask for 50% when they are on holiday, some nothing - but it's the overall cost you need to look at, not how it's broken down.

£55 per days seems reasonable to me.

Most people that have full time jobs get the same amount of paid leave - why would you expect a CM to have less?

I don't have any expectations - a childminder is perfectly free TO PAY HERSELF from the profits of her business while she is on holiday, exactly the same as any other self employed person.

It is pointless to equate self employment with employment, the whole balance of risk and reward is totally different - a childminder is free to earn as much money as she can looking after other children at the same time as mine, unlike an employee.

Do you pay your window cleaner if she doesn't clean your windows?

It is semantics. It doesn't matter whether she 'charges' for her holiday or not or whether she charges for your holiday or not. What matters is whether you are prepared to pay the over all cost of the childminder for the hours she is offering.

People seem to think childminders should work 52 weeks of the year and not charge them when they don't want to bring their kids in.

It is semantics. It doesn't matter whether she 'charges' for her holiday or not or whether she charges for your holiday or not.

It may not matter to you but it definitely does matter to your customers, the people whose money pays for you to go on holiday. The majority of your customers agree that it is fair that you charge when you are available to look after their children, but they do not think it is fair that you charge when you are not. It doesn't matter that "it all works out the same over a year", it is the perception that counts.

No business should be so arrogant that it ignores how it is perceived by its customers, not even a childcare business.

People seem to think childminders should work 52 weeks of the year and not charge them when they don't want to bring their kids in.

I don't know any people that think that, and noone has said that here; which people are you referring to?