CM Club: Notice periods during school holidays for term time only family??? Help!

[KaySamuels]

I have a set of siblings I look after, who I only cm for term time only (been having some probs with younger sibling, you may remember).Anyway found out that they are looking after themselves during the summer hols instead of relative looking after them.

I am kind of getting myself prepared for that fact mum is going to give me notice, saying they are old enough to be at home now.

So if mum gives me four weeks notice during the school holidays - does she still have to pay her retainer fee for 4 weeks??? Or if she doesn't give me four weeks notice, just rings me on say Sept 2nd and says they are not coming back, how do I know how much to charge er for four weeks, as her hours vary, and she writes down a months worth of hours for me at a time, and these are what she pays me for??

I know this is all speculation, but would like to know where I stand in advance so I am not manipulated into her not paying me my notice period if I am entitled to it! [confused emotion] !

call ncma and ask advice maybe?

lol! yes maybe I should!

just bumping to see if anyone else had any thoughts

The NCMA's handbook says that the notice period should not include booked holidays but that they don't mean this to apply to school holidays. So if the parent gives notice at the beginning of the summer holidays and doesn't usually pay in the holidays the NCMA would expect you not to charge.

If she gives notice at the start of term -then what would you have charged if she was taking a longer holiday and didn't need you til October? Or if she suddenly dropped, fro example from 25 hours to 3 hours a week ? If you don't have a minimum charge written into your contract then you have a problem. However you could work out an average based on the number of hours she's previously booked and hope she agrees to pay it.

if you are only contracted during term time, then the notice would only run in that time, not while you are not working for them ATM, IYSWIM?

Yes she pays a small retainer fee in the school holidays (a standard weekly amount), and on any weeks off she has in term time. So I guess she would either use childcare and pay for what she boked for four weeks, or not use me and pay retainer. Am pretty sure she would want childcare if she had to pay something, which is fine. Ah think I've got my head around it now!

Thanks for your help all! Hopefully it won't come to it! However if they are staying on I need to review contracts, which is whole other problem, but will have to wait and see.

good luck then