Childminder has given notice and wants a paid holiday during this period

[savanna]

Hi all

My CM has given me notice and is taking a holiday during the notice period. She has asked for holiday pay, as per the contract. However, I read somewhere on another thread that they are not allowed to take a paid holiday during their notice period and I checked with the NCMA and they confirmed that their contracts expressly state that childminders must be available for the period of their notice in order to be paid.

I have decided to tell the CM that I will not pay any fees during her one week holiday. It is possible that she might not like this. Any advice about how to handle her possible objection, would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Get something in writing from the NCMA or there might be a bit on the back of your contract which you could copy and highlight

That way you can do it all in a letter

Thank you. Unfortunately, although my CM is a member of the NCMA (I checked this when interviewing CMs as it was important to me), she has not used their standard contract which has this information. The NCMA said they would not support any CM who takes a parent to court over non-payment of holiday pay during their notice period. I had thought about doing this in a letter and referring to the NCMA contract, but then my CM could say her contract is not the standard one.

Just refuse to pay her and see what she says. I would not hold a parent to this at all and think it is very unfair of her to do so.

Thanks, Babydales. I have given her a letter stating the NCMA policy and she was surprised - she said she would read my letter and get back to me.

I'm bumping this to ask for more advice. I would particularly appreciate hearing from CMs on the board. I think my CM is not happy with my decision and I'm concerned that she might treat my child differently during the rest of the notice period. Thanks in advance for your advice.

I think that if you have signed a contract with her you should both stick to the terms of that contract. If she is entitled to a paid holiday then it is irrelevant that it is in her notice preiod.

It's a bit mean to deny someone something that most of take for granted. It comes over as being a bit petty tbh.

i wouldnt worry about her treating your child differently, that would be very unprofessional after all whatever has happened is not the childs fault and it would be wrong to take it out on him/ her. what about paying her half fee for the holiday period then you could leave without any hard feelings iyswim. (obv i dont know the full story so there may be hard feelings already)

did she give you notie of the holiday before she gave you notice of termination?

Jensmum, yes she did. However, the NCMA, of which she is a member, said that according to their policy, she has to be available to work during her notice period. I think that is only fair, as I have to make other arrangements when she is away which will involve additional expense, and I also have to find alternative childcare too. If I were to give notice at work, I would be expected to be available during the notice period. She could have waited until after her holiday before giving me notice but she didn't.

in normal employment your employer can stop you taking holiday during your notice period but would then have to pay it to you instead if you were owed holiday when you leave.

she should have started the notice period at the end of the holiday or extended it by the length of the holiday.

The NCMA does say that the notice period should not include a holiday period (either the parent's or the childminder's). They also say childminders should have at least 4 weeks paid holiday a year, I don't know any childminders who have that much paid leave.

Where the contract specifies a number of days paid holiday, some people have worked out the appropriate amount of holiday due for the part year worked/as you would with a normal job.

is she owed holiday pay.my mindee was moving they gave me 4 weeks notice and two weeks holiday pay they owed me.

When I read your first post I thought she'd given you notice of both at the same time.

As a childminder I wouldn't have asked for it and as a parent I'd be annoyed if I was in your situation.

Is she entitled to a weeks holiday? We're only half way through the year and the way I do it and most childminders I know do aswell is we accrue them (I think thats the right word) at 1 week every 3 months working out a 4 weeks for the year. The NCMA recommend doing it this way if holiday pay is not in the hourly rate.

I agree with the others that have said she should have started the notice period at the end of her holiday or extend it by this time.

She shouldn't treat your child any different because of your decision and if you think she has I think you should inform OFSTED

No, she gave me notice of the holiday long before she gave me notice that she is terminating our contract. I have told her that I do not think it is fair that she charges me for the week when she is away as that is included within the notice period. She claims that her contract is not an NCMA one and that she has taken legal advice and her contract is binding on me. My dh has pleaded with me that we should pay her for her holiday so as not to exacerbate the situation. I think I am going to oblige in the interest of peace and will probably pay her, albeit reluctantly, but would not recommend her services to my friends or anyone else. And the next time I am thinking of using a childminder's services, I will ask about holiday and notice periods and not sign a contract if it does not explicitly state that a notice period cannot include a holiday. We live and learn. Thank you everyone for your advice and comments.

sorry to maybe sound harsh but what the NCMA says is not very relevant. What's relevant is what's in the contract that you, as two consenting adults signed. the NCMA might not support her taking you to court over it, but that is a matter of their principle/choice (based on what they consider to be a good contract) - it does not mean that she would not have a legal case. You sign a contract you go by a contract. You can't wriggle out of it by reference to a different contract that you didn;t sign - even if that different contract is an industry standard. what's relevant is the one you signed.

sorry hadn't seen your recent post - I see you've pretty much come to that conclusion