If mindees make me ill should I charge?

[SueBrom]

I was thinking of adding a clause in my Pol& Proc that if a child makes me or my DD's ill and unable to work, they should pay for loss of earnings from all other mindees. Do you think that is cheeky or will it stop them sending the nibblers when they know they have the lurgy?

[hellywobs]

30 minutes is not long enough for calpol to work - it takes an hour with my ds.

And are all the nurseries with policy sure they have an accurate thermometer? I once was told my son had a 39 degree temp and when I took it it was 37 something.

I don't think you can enforce such a clause as it would be considered an unfair contract term and you can't change your terms and ocndtions unilaterally either - you cannot, as someone suggested here, change your terms and then give people notice to quit if they don't like them - not enforceable either and parents could sue for breach of contract. After all - presumably most of the kids will catch their bugs from your setting in any event?

And remember that lots of bugs are not infectious - or are infectious before the children show symptoms. You can't ban the kids for everything - the parents are using you because they need to earn a living.

If I have a cold I go to work. I may do a shorter day but I turn up. I send my son to nursery with a cold - and pick him up early. It may sound harsh but you can't keep them off with every minor thing. I have done on several occasions and he bounces around the house in full bloom of health!!

And surely after a certain amount of time working with kids you become immune and it's all academic anyway?

[Caligula]

LOL, your first post does sound mad, but you're obviously not.

These parents are taking the piss and I pity their child - how horrid to be sent to a cm's when you're ill and want your mummy/ daddy.

A clause about 38 or over is the way forward, rather than trying to prove mindee made you ill. Most parents would consider that reasonable anyway. I would hate the thought of my DS or DD being ill at a CM's and wanting me, while the CM is trying to look after all the mindees in her charge.

[sunnyjim]

okay read the more details post:

If the GP has said the kid is okay then its probably a mild virus. Did the temp go down and kid cheer up once paracatamol given? At DS nursery they have a policy that if child seeems otherwise fine but has a temp of up to 40 they give calpol - if temp goes down and child is still okay (ie eats, sleeps, plays) then they keep them.

If temp doesn't go down after 30 minutes they ring parents, or if child seems unwell in other ways.

If kid is unwell get parents to take her home and then rewrite your policy.

[sunnyjim]

I'm with the 'bit cheeky and alot mad' mob.

how do you prove it?

and as others have said what about if the parents started charging you if their kids caught soemthing at your CM house?

I work freelance so if DS had to stay home due to illness cuaght at CM I'd lose £90+ for each day. Can I charge that to the CM?

[SueBrom]

Thanks. The idea about picking mindee up if temp goes over 38 is definately a good idea. Guess what I am doing tonight!!

[3andnomore]

Have just read all the other messages now, sorry, what I had said had been said lots already, lol.
Anyway, I htink Katymacs policy about temp, etc...is good, and put it in calsue if they fail to pick the child up then the notice will be handed to them...

[Themis]

You could get a letter of permission from parents that you have permission to take child to Drs but thinking about it it just gives the parents another excuse not to come and collect , so I would bosh the idea of taking child to Dr.s yourself on the head .

I think a letter from the dr saying that child is fit and well to come to a childminder and partipate fully in activities eg playgroup , toddler groups etc is a good idea. Until you have that note then you fell that you can not accept her, the welfare of the child is most important not whether the parents can go to work or not.

Do you have any other mindess , if so I ber their parents wouldn't be too happy about this .

[3andnomore]

Sue, I htink that would be plain wrong...how would you feel if your mindees parents turned it round and start charging you for losses of earnings when their Kids pick somehting up at yours and maybe even give it to them?
Surely if you can't have the mindee, you are not the only one making a loss,the parents will either have to stay at home or will have to find shorterm care.

[Twiglett]

you can always amend their contract and ask them to re-sign it you know

if they refuse to then give them notice

if they sign it then it should specify stuff like KM just said

[Eleusis]

Perhaps you should revise your sickness policy. If you have to give parents one month's notice, then there is no reason you can't revise the contract and notify parents that the new contract takes effect in one month. Surely, as a business owner, is is your right to change your policies whenever you want (assuming you give appropriate notice of course).

[Katymac]

As part of my contract I make parents sign to say if a child's temp goes up to 38 degrees then they have to collect the child

One parent didn't and when they arrived 3 hrs later they were handed their 4 weeks notice - they didn't come back

I have to protect the other children I mind - I am quite strict about this

A bit of a temp because of teething or a cold etc are fine - but a high temp or D&V and they go home

Funnily enough since I gave that parent notice - no-one has argued about collecting their child when ill

[sandcastles]

I'd think that getting sick was part & parcel of working of children, surely?

[Twiglett]

a child with a rash is potentially infectious

a child with a temp is potentially infectious

I really think you should advise them that if the child is not well you are unable to take her

if they continue to flout this then give them notice

it is not their fault, but really a sick child should be with a parent

[shosha]

Message withdrawn

[ssd]

well suebrom I think your op is a great idea.

I recently had a very ill mindee and the following weekend I had exactly what she had and lost a weeks wages cos of it.

But how can we prove mindee gave us the bug - impossible.

TBH I think a lot of parents know their kid is too ill for the cminders, but if the parents phone me and say they won't be coming cos of illness they still have to pay for that day. But if they turn up at my house in the morning and I refuse them cos I think their kid is too ill, then they think they shouldn't pay me (cos I've refused them)

sadly I think a lot of it is down to money

[colditz]

ring them and tell them if they don't come and collect her, you will leave her with the emergancy contact or failing that you will have to inform Social Services, as you are not able to take care of her, and they are refusing to.

[Themis]

Next time they say about getting to the Dr's take the child yourself ( easier said than done I suppose) then you may well be able to have a chat about the child to the doctor. You may then have a better leg to stand on.

A day care nursery wouldn't put up with this and I dont see why you should .

If she has a rash I wouldn't be happy about excepting the child at any childcare setting.

Good luck !

[SueBrom]

I would love to but my pol & proc only excludes mindees with contagious stuff.They just see it that if mindee doesn't have something on the list, it's ok for mindee to come.

[simplycontrolfreaky]

that's not mindee making you ill (save with worry perhaps)... that is parents taking the piss. tell them you will not care for mindee when she is ill.... which means has a temp / a rash or whatever.

[hunkerdave]

You could give notice to the parents - but they'll do it to someone else who might not be as kind to the child as you

[SueBrom]

Aaaaa. Please stop shouting at me! It's just that I have a mindee who has been ill since Sept, in hosp for a week with febrile convultions, and been on 3 lots of antibiotics.
The parents in the morning just say "she was a bit warm last night so I have put some paracetamol in her bag. Give it her if you think she needs it". By the time I have got my kids to school/playgroup and checked her temp it has been 38.7 degrees. I then phone parents, who say they will book doctors, can I take mindee to doctors or should they take her when they pick her up after work. They say if anything happens to mindee I have been trained in first aid and should be able to handle it. They haven't been trained so they feel better if mindee is here.
Mindee has had a rash over last few days. They said they took mindee to docs and it is "nothing" Eh!!!
They are sending mindee to me ill on purpose. I am not talking sniffles, I am talking serious stuff. I am not petty, I am quite a pushover really.

[SherlockLGJ]

So how do you police it ..??

And would you pay for the tests needed to establish which one of the litttle blighters was the disease carrier.

[Greensleeves]

This is barking

[KaySamuels]

thanks dejags!

[Themis]

Surely this is a wind up !

If not I think Sue you may have lost the plot.

When working with children it is an occupational hazzard that you pick up their bugs. What kind of illnesses do you want covered ?

Sorry to be blunt but this has never crossed my mind, although not a CM I work in a playgroup.