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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

CM CLUB: Do you charge a late fee? Am I just a big old meanie?

28 replies

TinselHockey · 14/12/2007 17:45

I charge £10 if parent is more than 10 minutes late. I've done this twice to two different parents but have felt terrible doing it. We were told on our CM course to charge an extortionate amount to prevent it happening again.

Just wondered what others did!

OP posts:

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LOONEYplayingachristmasTUNEy · 14/12/2007 18:00

I have it in contract but never charged it - would if they did a few times and seemed to not care but mine get stuck in traffic and panic like mad and I'd feel awful charging it. I do make a point of saying 'don't worry, I won't charge it this time'

dustystar · 14/12/2007 18:01

Its in my contract now too but the only parent that i had a problem with was my first and i didn't have it in then.

boHOHOhemianbint · 14/12/2007 18:02

Wow, I don't think I'd use a CM who did that. If I ever am late I always call, and will make up for it by picking DS up early another time.

And she's getting a lovely Christmas present for being so understandin.

Original poster

TinselHockey · 14/12/2007 18:04

I don't think it's harsh really. It's my free time they are impinging (sp?) on. And might mess up plans I have.

OP posts:

dustystaronthechristmastreeMSC · 14/12/2007 18:12

Its to stop people who take the piss bohoho.

Everyone is late soemtimes through circumstances out of their control and i doubt many minders would charge every single time but some parents are a nightmare and are constantly late either dropping off or picking up and late with payment too.

boHOHOhemianbint · 14/12/2007 18:15

That would be very annoying if it happened often, I can understand that.

But it seems an awful lot of money for ten minutes, and sometimes, stuff just happens, traffic, anything. I would find it prohibitive if there wasn't a bit of leeway on both sides.

But then I am rarely late and always pay on time.

MaureenMLovesmincepies · 14/12/2007 18:21

You are exactly the type of parents we are encouraging, BOHO!

I've got a late fee of £5 per 15 mins, I've only had to charge it once or twice to the same parent and since then, she's never done it!

I give my parents the benefit of the doubt for 15mins, after that its as above. Some parents find it far too convenient to take the micky out of the fact that we don't have a home to go home to, because we're already in it, iyswim!

SweetSnowflake · 14/12/2007 20:12

my fee is hourly rate for every 15 minutes theyre late if no phone call(if they ring to say im stuck at work/in traffic id be more lenient), i give mine 10 mins grace but tbh Boho, collecting early another day doesnt really(for me anyway) make it good as they are prob still working anyway with other children, but the lateness(in my cisrcumstances) of collection go's into my free time(to be clear i have a parent who sometimes colelcts early, but then will turn up 40 mins late-on a night i had to pick dd up from aprty!- with no call, didnt answer texts or even say sorry!..that is what late charges are for, but even then i didnt feel i could cos for the next 2 nights they came 30 mins early

dmo · 15/12/2007 03:14

picking up early doesnt work for me eirther as i still work till 6 with other children anyway.
one parent whose child starts at 7.30am arrived at 8am one morning (sometimes this is worse than the child being pick up late) so the morning after she arrived at 7.10am cause i had to make my hours up

RudolphtheredROSEreindeer · 15/12/2007 11:29

thats a bloody cheek DMO!

Mum2Luke · 15/12/2007 16:18

I do charge them if they are late and they don't bother to phone and let me know. I do have family commitments such as our own children's swimming lessons and certain training evenings that I have to attend such as safeguarding children and first aid which starts at 6pm and if you are late for them they tell you off which I think is very unfair when you have driven in bad traffic, not had anything to eat and are tired.

Its in my contract too that if they don't pay me for that week they are told no minding until you are paid, its never happened yet! We are a business like anyone else, you cannot buy something without money so why should we work without pay!

ayla99 · 15/12/2007 18:27

I've been late for first aid, had burnt/dried up dinners and had evenings when I've barely had time to exchange a sentence with my own children before they go to bed. And this for people who were not stuck in traffic jams or had problems at work etc but situations like the mum who got her eyebrows done after work.

So I now charge £5 per 30 mins before 6pm and £5 per 15 mins after 6pm. I do work with some very considerate parents now - recently I asked to finish early as a one-off and parents refused a refund and my offer to make the time up by working late another time. So I'll "bank" the time and if they are unavoidably late sometime in the future I'll waive the charge.

If parents want to drop off late or collect early I don't have a problem with this as long as they let me know in advance to check where I'm going to be. Then they can choose to meet me in the playground, at library/toddlers etc or wait til I get back home. It can cause problems even if you've not going out eg, if child arrives at a time they'd normally be mid-nap or mid-meal but I figure these challenges are all part & parcel of what I'm being paid for. I know I'm probably in a minority in this attitude, I know childminders who expect parents to arrive within 10 mins of the contracted time and one who considered giving notice when the parent continually arrived late without phoning first.

ayla99 · 15/12/2007 18:28

My unwritten policy BTW is to waive the late collection fee for a "first offence" but I explain to parent that if it happens again I will enforce the charge as stated in the contract.

nannynick · 15/12/2007 18:32

Nurseries often have this sort of clause in their terms and conditions.

Eg. source £1 per minute for first 10 minutes, then £2 per minute thereafter.

It is important that any such charges are reasonable and are agreed prior to care being provided. Therefore it is a change to the contract to impose late fees on existing families and it is important to get them to sign a new contract which clearly sets out the fees they agree to pay.

If you charge too much, then if it went to court, the court may decide that the fee is unreasonable. What is and isn't a reasonable amount is not clear.

RudolphtheredROSEreindeer · 15/12/2007 19:00

yeah parent of one of my mindees said her old nursery charged £1 per minute for lateness!

vixma · 15/12/2007 19:09

yes as I sometimes have plans or other children to sit for straight after caring for children. Unless made aware of the lateness or cancellation it is only fair on the childminder etc that they are compensated for overtime.

milliec · 15/12/2007 22:23

Message withdrawn

HarrietTheSpy · 16/12/2007 20:47

Our daughter's nursery charges £1 per minute. This is really tough when you are dependent on public transport, as we are, which can break down/be delayed at any time. We always pay our nanny overtime if we're late, I would expect to pay her. But it does work out less than £15 for a quarter of an hour!!!

I think a warning is a good idea, and perhaps some flexibility if there is a genuine emergency or situation outside of a parent's control (ie. the bus crash mentioned above). But some parents will take the mick if you let them and it's probably really necessary to have this in the contract...

Flibbertinseljinglebells · 16/12/2007 21:07

Our nursery charges £6 per 15mins or part thereof that you are late.
Its in the contract. We have never had to pay it because just having it there in the contract is enough to get us there on time. I think its absolutely reasonable to pay extra if the childcare provider has to pay staff overtime, or you are taking up a childminder's own time.
If they didn't charge it I am sure parents would gradually turn up later and later.
Occasionally we have sat outside with ds's and their friend in our car when her mother was 5 mins late.

GloriaInEleusis · 17/12/2007 15:32

When DD was a baby I used a childminder instead of a nursery. And a big factor in the decision was the rigin nursery hours and charging system. I knew I had a job that would require flexibility in pck up time. This was of course discussed and agreed before we signed the contract.

If she had chaged me a tenner every time I was late it would have been unafffordable. Instead, we agreed that it would continue at the set hourly rate and then on Friday she would tally it up and tell me what I owed her.

I appreciate some childminders are interested in providing this kind of flexibility, but do keep in mind that this felxibility may be why some parents use you instead of the local nursery.

Mum2Luke · 17/12/2007 16:19

I undertstand but we also have commitments, I don't mind being flexible as long as it does not encroach onto my family time. They need me as well and my finishing time is 6pm because I often have courses I have to go on such as first aid (for the benefit of your children's safety)and these start at 6pm because we have to do a 12 hours course which is not always near our homes.

The only time I'd charge is if they were constantly late without a good reason. If stuck in traffic on either public transport/train or in a car they could text or phone via hands free and I usually listen to the news on the local radio to confirm whether their story is true!

We are not paid (well I'm not anyway) for our sick days off or holidays and alot of us are not valued either despite the work we do with the children.

RudolphtheredROSEreindeer · 17/12/2007 19:31

elusis, i have one psrent in similar position and thats what we do, one mum last week asked if i could have her ds ready so she could run back out as she needed to get to bank before it clsoed..i told her to leave her ds with me(i was still working anyway) and collect him when she was done(only about 30mins later), if people are honest and respectful i will help them out.

PanicPressiePants · 17/12/2007 22:16

Which I could charge for every parent who is late picking their child up from school. I'd be a millionaire!

But I've never been late picking up ds from the cm, nut if I was I know my cm wouldn't charge because a) I'd phone, and b)she'd know it was a genuine emergency and not me taking the p*ss.

I think it depends on the situation, the relationship you have with a parent and if it is a regular occurance.

I do think you have to give parent s the benefit of the doubt, but if it keeps happening then something would need to be said.

PanicPressiePants · 17/12/2007 22:17

Wish tut

saff · 23/12/2007 01:42

I have had a parent be three hours late before. The one i mind now has parents that think ten mins notice is ok. whenI politly asked that they pick child up on time, give more notice or get back up plan I wa told I was moody. How do you deal with people like this M tells people i am her friend who looks after her DD no i am her cm and had never meet her before. I have complained about lateness she offered to baby sit for me to make it up! what..........

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