Cm club - holiday pay

[PhoebeMcPeePee]

I charge full fee for parents holiday & 4 weeks of my holiday if they are year round contracts (I take leave during school hols & don't charge a retainer for TTO children so this doesn't affect them).

However, I'd really like some more time off with my own DC during school holidays & want to amend contracts so I can take an additional 2 weeks leave but unpaid. I was also thinking about offering parents 2 weeks unpaid leave as well but only if is likely to be seen as a positive (this amendment will also accompany a price increase so don't want them to feel like a double negative!)

Good or bad idea?

I don't follow?

You want to have an extra 2 weeks holiday which will possibly leave the parents struggling to find alternative childcare and you want to increase prices as well .
Most people only get 4 weeks holiday so I do think that YABU.
I think if you are due to increase your prices then you should do so, but don't add the additional pressure onto parents of announcing that you want to increase your annual leave by 50% as well.

A better option might be for you to just take TTO children and then you can have 13 weeks holiday every year and enjoy some time with your own LO without messing about with contracts of year round minded children.

I did wonder if it made sense.

I charge full fee for up to 4 weeks of my holiday & any holiday parents take.

I want more holiday but don't expect parents to pay so proposing I can take 2 further weeks leave unpaid. Total holiday for me 6 weeks of which 4 is paid. All leave will be during school holidays.

Wondering whether it would be attractive to parents to have 2 weeks a year they too can take off unpaid (but bearing in mind there will be 6 weeks of my holiday to cover)

Most people only get 4-5wks so if you take more I think you'll lose custom whether you charge or not. The inconvenience of having to find other childcare is just too much.

If my childminder took 6 weeks off in the school holidays I would be looking for another childminder

Most people don't get 6 weeks off so how would they cover it?

Unless lots of your clustomers work in education. Most people can't just take another couple of unpaid weeks each year.

Ah rudeshit I did wonder if that might be parents response in which case how about I don't increase my holiday but offer them the 2 or maybe more weeks free so I still get 6 weeks (assuming they take the holiday).

I do have some TTO but 2 families are year round & I'm trying to figure a way that will mean they can stay with me but less holiday care (& I accept the pay hit of a few weeks unpaid leave)

One family share leave/take holiday at the same time/have family to cover & the other use holiday club/gym crèche.

If my childmimder took 6 weeks holiday i would need to look for a new Childminder! There's no way me and dp could cover that much leave. Then we wouldn't have anything left for our own holidays/weddings/emergencies.

You seem to be wanting the best of both worlds. The only solution i could see would be term time only contracts.

We only take 2 weeks of family holiday a year so offering us more time off 'free' wouldn't really help either because we probably wouldn't use it.

You are expecting too much. Families choose to use childminders because they are a home from home environment, but also because they can be more flexible and accommodating than a nursery setting. What you are suggesting is being less accommodating.
I don't understand what you mean by "offering them 2 weeks free so you still get 6 weeks holiday", surely that still means what you proposed in the OP?
I think you should stick to taking just 4 weeks holiday as that amount of holiday is standard in most jobs. If you really insist on having some additional holiday then it might be better to take the few days between Christmas and new year, if that works well for your mindee families (as some might be off work anyway so will appreciate some uncharged days). I really don't think it is a good idea to take any additional time during the school holidays.

If you have 2 year round families and you offer them an extra 2 weeks unpaid leave, unless both families happen to choose the same 2 weeks you will not end up with any extra time off.

I would say that you're going TTO but that you are available on xx dates for ad-hoc childcare if they need you. They will either have to find holiday clubs for the extra dates or a different CM. Some people can work from home or have parents/friends etc who could help out, so it may be ok, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is not whole-heartedly welcomed, especially in conjunction with a fee increase.

The 2 families are both pt & only 1 day overlap so whilst it would give me a week off it would be a couple of days plus 1 quieter day which would make a massive difference.

Tbh following reactions here I will have to just accept 4 weeks leave is my maximum & any more would be a step too far especially combined with a fee increase.

I'm having a meeting with both next week to discuss fee increase & will see if 2 weeks extra free leave for them appeals (in case they have more than 4 weeks hols) but will leave it up to them as to whether to include it as a contract change or not as I don't want to totally piss them off.

Thanks for the feedback.

The only way I can see this working if you sit down with the two families and explain in a very apologetic way that you want more holiday but also make it clear that you completely understand if they need to look for a new childminder. If they really like you and have friends/family that can cover then they might agree but I think you need to be prepared to lose them. It might also help if you take the same weeks off every year so that parents know exactly when you will be off. I wouldn't raise my rates at the same time though, if anything you need to offer a discount to compensate!

It is your business and therefore you need to do what is best for you and your family.
4 wks holiday never seems like much when you are a full time childminder!
Rather than changing your hours to term time only, you could try to look for new parents who only require term time only instead but may use you adhoc during the holidays and pay retainer to keep the space.

You could change your open all year round to 50 weeks a year instead. So for example you close for one week in August and one week in December then you still have 4 weeks holiday and not 6 weeks as the other 2 weeks you are closed for business. Are you with me?
It may or may not work for the parents you have at the moment but aslong as you decide and stick to what it is you're going to do and be certain! People will always need Childcare and eventually you will find families who will fit in with your routine and be happy with it.
The cost of everything is going up so if you do need to increase your prices I think you should as you don't want to be out of pocket. People don't realise how much it actually costs to buy all the necessary EYFS paperwork, daily diary for each child, food, snacks, travel, Playgroup fees, local trips and outings etc.