Childminder holidays

[mrsmalcolmreynolds]

We are looking at moving the DC to a childminder in September as DD will start Reception then and we have found a CM who provides wraparound care for the school she will be attending. The DC currently go to a private year-round nursery so holidays have been v straightforward and I'm a bit lost on the usual practice with CMs.

The CM has school-age children of her own so the vast majority if not all her holiday will be in the school holidays which of course suits us fine. She's also already said that her policy is not to charge for her own holidays, but if we take the kids out for holiday when she is available to look after them, we would pay for that, which is also fine. A couple of other points though that I guess we'll need to discuss with her:

• amount of holidays - is it acceptable/normal practice to put a maximum number of days that she can take in the contract? If so how many - five weeks plus bank hols?

• notice - as we'll have to take time off work (and might well want to arrange at least some of our holidays away from home at the same time) we'll need a decent amount of notice of her hols. Would two months be reasonable? Three?

Any other advice on pitfalls to look out for would be gratefully received!

Hi,
The cm will set her own terms and contract re. Holidays and notice as she is self employed.
You canalways try to negotiate a deal that suits both parties but it is the cm who writes thecontract not the parent

Yes. The CM will write the contract. Mine says four weeks notice of holidays, but I generally give more. What about sickness?

Won't you just hire other childcare when she takes holiday? Since she isn't charging anything for her holiday, why does it matter when she takes it?

I guess you need time to sort alternative arrangements. But she might be able to point you to another childminder who could take your children when she is not around.

What notice period are you going to give her that you are taking holiday? If you ask her for a notice period, she might ask you for one too.

CM can take as much holiday as they like. Some will plan a long way in advance others may not. Ask them how much notice they give of their holidays. You may need to look at other short term childcare to cover CMs holiday if you or your partner are unable to get the time off work.

I'm a cm and in my contract it states I will take 4 weeks holiday each year and these will be unpaid. I will also give at least four weeks notice of holidays and days off, however if I am ill, the best I might be able to do is a phone call in the morning. I'm not ill very often, but something to bear in mind. Very often I give far more than four weeks notice for my holidays. I gave a list out in January of my days off up until August and apart from one extra day in October, that will be all I take.

I am the same as your cm, I don't charge for my own holidays/days off, but charge full fees for your holidays/days off.

Thanks all. I do appreciate that it is the CM's contract, so I guess my question really was what it is reasonable to expect in there in terms of holiday - whether there is some sort of market standard really. Sounds like four weeks' notice is pretty standard (although in practice CMs might often give more notice) and that at least four weeks holiday provision is reasonable too.

Someone made a point about us giving her notice - I don't really see why that would be appropriate/necessary, given that any holiday we take which doesn't coincide with hers, we would be paying her for anyway? Also on alternative childcare, I guess we are hoping to avoid that as much as possible as (particularly for our DS who will only be 15m in September) getting him settled for a week or so with someone different hardly seems worth it. So we would probably aim to cover the CM's holiday with annual leave ourselves wherever possible, which obviously is more feasible if we have a certain amount of notice...

On sickness I completely accept that notice is not usually going to be feasible and that's just one of the drawbacks you have to live with if you go for a CM.

A pretty standard childminder contract is 4 weeks holiday plus bank holidays with 4 weeks notice, although I have heard of some who have up to 6 weeks holiday in their contract.

I take 4 - 5 weeks holiday per year (depending on bookings - I do a bit of ad hoc care for a couple of families). I shut for 2 weeks in summer and 2 weeks at Christmas, sometimes take a week at easter or in May. In my contract I state I'll give at least 4 weeks notice but in practice I email parents my planned holidays in January when DH fills in his holiday planner at work.

I ask parents to give me notice of holiday for two reasons:

I can make plans for the children I know I have and

If another child wants to book the day, I can refund the holidaying parent a day.

It depends on the CM and how many other children/families she is working with.

I state 4 weeks + Bhols in my contract, but if I'm around I am happy to take the children anyway. That's the great thing about being self employed, I can be flexible.

However, I think that if you expect the CM to give you a certain amount of notice and not to be flexible then you should abide by that yourself. Obviously it isn't as intrusive when you take holiday, but it is still easier for her to plan if she knows when you are likely to take holiday - she may even be able to plan her holidays to coincide with yours if you give her plenty of notice, but if not, as someone else has said, she could get other children in and perhaps even refund you.

It's about having a good relationship and mutual respect. You sound a bit like you expect her to bend over backwards to accommodate you, but that she will have to take notice as and when you decide. Bear in mind she doesn't work for you, she works for herself and you are a customer. She will do all she can to accommodate you and your child, but you're not her boss.

Thanks again all. Just to be clear, if the CM wants us to give notice of hols that's fine, I was just a bit surprised at the concept given we would be paying anyway.

If I sounded like I expect her to bend over backwards and us to swan about as we please that's not what I expect to do at all! I completely agree that mutual respect and a good, understanding relationship will be key - indeed one of the reasons I posted was so that we wouldn't go in to contract discussions mobhanded and jeopardise the relationship from the off.

Thanks again.

Holidays are something you need to clarify when you meet your CM. There are endless threads on here where parents have not discussed this adequately and feel aggrieved that the terms and conditions aren't what they thought - even though they signed the paperwork. So OP you are very sensible to ask.

I know some CM's who take set holiday weeks. Some who are TTO. Some who are variable. I know friends who take the same holidays as their CM in order to save money.

I take off October Half term, I work upto Christmas Eve but then not until the children go back to school, I will take a week at Easter or Spring bank.
And 2 weeks in the Summer.

I also only work 3 days in the holidays.

Luckily I have a lot of TTO children, and parents who can find alternative care. I am seriously considering going TTO.

I refund charges for meals if I have sufficient notice of parents' holiday so that I do not shop/cook for their children. If they do not give notice and I waste food, then they pay for it.

I also think it is considerate to give notice of holidays where possible so that I can plan activities for the children I will have, and not prepare/waste craft materials etc, or at the extreme, pre-pay entrance fees or tickets that do not get used. Advance notice benefits everyone, as perhaps the older children will get a special outing or activity on a day when the young ones) are away, or I will plan something specifically for the younger ones if the older ones are away. or maybe something for the girls if the boys are away or vice versa.

The other reason it is good to know is that we do some "projects" or themed activities which might run for several days or even weeks, and the children get upset if they miss out bits or can't finish their part. If I know about holidays I can plan around them, but it is hard when parents take the attitude that they have paid for the time so they can do as they please.

On a similar theme, I have sometimes had parents who turned up early as a "surprise" and then wonder why their child cries and doesn't want to go home! Much better to let your CM in on the change of plan so the child does not get involved in something they will need to be dragged away from.

Just an update - the prospective CM has sent through her usual form of contract which provides for five weeks holiday and four weeks' notice from her, a month's notice from us of holiday. So all fine.