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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Advice from childminders please

28 replies

Leics · 26/02/2019 13:27

Hi I am looking for some advice from either childminders or mums who's childminder has threatened to take legal action?

OP posts:

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jannier · 26/02/2019 13:39

I think you need to give more information, normally this is about non payment?

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 26/02/2019 13:41

Legal action about what? Are you a childminder or parent?

Original poster

Leics · 26/02/2019 13:47

Hi sorry new to this and yes it is about non payment of notice period.
My daughter had been with the childminder for 3 months and almost every week we have had to find alternative childcare as cm was sending her home saying she is sick when she was fine when she got home.
Three weeks ago my daughter had croup so she couldn't go in for a week which was fine we got other childcare but when I contacted the cm at the end of the week to see about the following week I was told to let her know on Sunday night. I can not leave childcare to last minute if I have to find alternative childcare so I then told her due to all the issues we have had that I was putting in my notice and that my daughter would not be back.
I dated the notice from the Monday although I handed it in on the Friday and now she is saying I owe her a weeks money because my notice is from when I handed it in but she got the notice for a whole month she never had to watch my daughter and also was advertising the free space on Facebook before I even handed in the official notice.

Where do I stand as she is threating legal action

OP posts:

PrincessScarlett · 26/02/2019 13:47

The CMs I know only ever take legal action for non payment of fees.

What is your situation OP?

Original poster

Leics · 26/02/2019 13:54

I'm not very good at this is what I am trying to say is I've paid a months notice as agreed by the contract and cm has not had my daughter for that whole month and because I backdated my notice cm is saying I owe her the 4 days my notice was backdated or she is taking legal action

OP posts:

PrincessScarlett · 26/02/2019 13:58

You cannot backdate your notice just because your child didn't attend due to illness. Your notice needs to be the full 4 weeks from when you gave notice.

Your CM will win if this goes to court as that is what is stated in the contract.

insancerre · 26/02/2019 14:01

You can’t backdate the notice
You do owe her for the 4 days

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 26/02/2019 14:01

It doesn’t matter what date you put on the notice if you hadn’t given it to her. So your notice period should run from the Monday

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 26/02/2019 14:03

I agree you can’t backdate notice.

Oogie · 26/02/2019 14:15

I used to be a registered childminder. I’m in Scotland so not sure if it is all the same.
The only experience of this which I had was that I took a parent to court due to her just disappearing and not answering calls and messages.
As she had signed a contract with me she was due the payment for the week she went AWOL, but a further 4 weeks to cover the notice period. I didn’t advertise the space during this time.
In the end it went to court and she ended up having to pay not only my costs, but court and solicitor fees as well.
I would strongly advise you have a look at your contact and see what it says regarding termination of contract.

Oogie · 26/02/2019 14:15

I also agree that you can’t backdate your notice period

user1483387154 · 26/02/2019 14:17

You can not back date notice. You are in the wrong

jannier · 26/02/2019 14:23

What do you mean about you paid 4 weeks notice and she didn't have the child? Your child was off sick no childcare will have a sick child and the fact she had croup and needed hospital does suggest she was actually off colour before being ill enough to go to A&E. It is normal for children to pick up bugs when they start childcare.
Notice must be the agreed notice period and you have to anticipate the time it will take to get there its not her fault you didn't deliver it earlier.
she is able to advertise a space whenever she likes, it may well be for anticipated vacancies or because she was worried you would leave doesn't matter as it takes time to fill spaces most cm's will keep adverts open even if they don't have a space for months.
Its your choice not to use the notice period pay up,

Original poster

Leics · 26/02/2019 14:27

Well I am not in the wrong as I haven't not paid her yet I have until the 11th of March to pay I was looking for advice not judgement so thanks for that comment for all the comments thank you I did think that I couldn't back date notice but with all the issues we have had with her I didn't really want to pay her anything else as I've had to find childcare almost every week she was there to fit in with her and when she said my daughter could go and couldn't go

OP posts:

DamonSalvatoresDinner · 26/02/2019 14:30

You can't back date notice because it is precisely that, you give a certain amount of days notice of intention of ceasing the arrangement.
You need to pay her those 4 days or whatever it is.
However, if she is overreacting and sending you LO home who is quite well and is not agreeing to take your child the agree hours until last minute leaving you to worry about childcare in case she says no, I would not hesitate to give her a fitting review wherever it applies.

Original poster

Leics · 26/02/2019 14:32

My child wasnt off sick for the 4 weeks she was off sick for 1 and she was fit to go back on the second week but the childminder said I had to wait till Sunday to find out if she would take her as I work I can not leave childcare till a Sunday night I thought this site was for advice as of yet I haven't not paid or done anything wrong so ur pay up comment and ur ur wrong comments are not helpful

OP posts:

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 26/02/2019 14:35

Are you sure the “leave it til Sunday” thing wasn’t to see whether your DD was better enough by then? She can’t really be expected to predict that ahead of time.

You have been given advice- it just may not have been the advice you were hoping for

Original poster

Leics · 26/02/2019 14:40

I never came on her hoping for anything as I have said I was wondering where I stood and the advice has been helpful and to be honest what I expected but people telling me I'm wrong etc when all I did was ask for advice dose not help

OP posts:

PrincessScarlett · 26/02/2019 15:53

Unfortunately, regardless of whether or not your CM is messing you around by sending your child home sick you still have to stick to the notice period and contract.

As PP said, you can address any other issues by not recommending her/leaving a mediocre review.

MegaBat · 26/02/2019 16:10

I would just pay up and ensure she acknowledges payment and that's the end of the finances

I would then reflect the service you feel you've received in the form of a review

SMaCM · 26/02/2019 20:16

You can't back date your notice. If your child was off sick, then that counts as contracted time. Your notice will be from the date you gave her the letter. Sometimes sick children do perk up quickly, but a CM can't take the risk with other children in her care. We're not allowed to.

Sorry you've had a bad experience this time. I hope you have more luck in future.

Your CM will have legal insurance to support her in getting any money contractually owed, so if it's in your contract, then you should pay.

SMaCM · 26/02/2019 20:17

Sorry. For some reason not all the messages showed, so I've repeated some information.

jannier · 27/02/2019 11:39

MegaBat Tue 26-Feb-19 16:10:10

"I would just pay up and ensure she acknowledges payment and that's the end of the finances

I would then reflect the service you feel you've received in the form of a review"

I wish we could review parents, the number who don't get that a child dosed up on Calpol will appear well until it starts to ware off but the underlying temperature of 39 is not a sign that they are now well, that a doctor not giving antibiotics because its a viral infection does not mean the child is well or it is not contagious and that vomiting then playing and wanting to eat dose not mean a child is not ill or infectious. The times I've heard but its not a bug they only were sick once, and then see posts on facebook about the parents or other family members being sick a few days later is ridiculous.

itsaboojum · 05/03/2019 14:51

As mentioned, you can’t just backdate notice for your own convenience, nor take earlier sickness absences as if they were part of the notice period.

"[she] was advertising the free space on Facebook even before I even handed in the official notice"

She is a self-employed sole trader; she has every right to advertise her business. Even more so when there is a clear and present danger of clients leaving unpaid bills behind them.

Your only prospect of getting backany money for a notice period is if the childminder can 'mitigate her loss' by filling the vacancy before the end of the notice period. Or by proving she has made no attempt to do so, and simply taking your money instead of working. You can’t prove this for the very reason that she is advertising, and #he is making every effort to work.

Any parent who genuinely believes their childcare provider is trying to exclude a well child needs to get a doctor's note to say that child is well enough to attend. It’s very common to see childcare providers accused of excluding children for no reason, but strangely you never see doctors notes to support the accusations.

MegaBat · 05/03/2019 15:06

@jannier oh absolutely. I bet there are some absolute piss taking horrors.

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