Have you ever or would you cancel a contract to suit your business??

[weekendgirl66]

I've had a couple of inquiries that has left me wondering,, what is the right thing to do from a business sense.. Its a sad fact but I have had parents that have not given it a second thought to do what suits them best, which of course i can totally get. However Im A Business so it makes sense to make the most financially of my under 5 spaces has anyone else ever felt or been in this situation?? if so how do you deal with the guilt or tell the parent ?? TIA.

I would not feel right cancelling a contract I had offered just because a better offer came along. But that only applies in my mind where the parents also stick to their agreed contract. I have in the past been quite up front when parents have decided to change/reduce their hours/days that I may not be able to find a new family to fit in with their new requirements, and that if I can only find a full time replacement or one who needs some of "their" hours, they may lose their place. I think that is fair. That said, it has never actually come to that.

I have cancelled a contract once. I took on a family with two after school children, which took me to six under 8. Another child then had a sibling who they wanted me to have full time. Financially i couldn't turn a full timer down, (40 hours a week) for 2 children six hours each. I had hoped to find a solution but ofsted were very strict and wouldnt bend the rules (even for a couple of months until one of the children turned 8).
I did feel very guilty and I didn't come to the decision easily.

Slightly different angle, but Nursery keep changing the contract that they will do.
First they stopped two of the school runs, leaving several sets of parents in the lurch, without much notice.
Now they have announced that after school won't take the oldest kids, and they won't accept any more kids for after school - inc siblings. So they are slowly closing down the after school provision.

Given sufficient notice, I would think you can hand notice to parents, but if you get a reputation for it, you might struggle for business.

I've done it once in 16 years, when parents cut their hours back to a few hours, one day a week and someone wanted full time. It was a hard decision though and I helped the parents find alternative care.

I work three days a week and one of my parents gave notice from 3 to 2 days. (nanny for 2 other days, one of which previously covered by a nursery). Fine for now, but if I can't cover the shortfall with schoolies, I'll wait till somebody who wants three days to suit me to come along and give notice.
Harsh, but I am a business.