Childminder charging for travel time to school?

[FlyingTigger]

Advice please and if this is the norm?
Childminder wants to charge travel to DC school (so when going to collect). When we signed contract I’d already included 15 minutes grace in case it was easier for her to collect DC earlier but this is NOT required by the school. Contract includes this 15 minutes.
childminder is charging for an hour, then changes this and said it’s 30 minutes. School pick up 3pm but her timesheet starts from 2pm. Journey takes 10 minutes by bus and 15/20 minutes walk.
is this the norm? For CM to charge travel to school when the child isn’t with them? Says she’s always done this.

@AmpleRaven sorry not new
think she’s hoping to retire as been CM since early 90s

Given your updates op, what you need to consider is if it's worth quibbling about.

She may be finding it much harder than she anticipated, and is trying to get out if it now for example.

I have one NT child and one ND child - the difference in looking after them is huge.

Autistic yes but not NV.
DC seems happy when I collect her but thankfully mostly a happy child!

Reading updates I would query it and maybe compromise on 30 minutes.

I think you’re right!

Might be back to the drawing board for me and definitely a lesson learnt. I’ll keep my big mouth shut and can always increase the price after a bit 😭

If she's only doing your child, £10 per hour is under NMW so you did the right thing offering more but maybe £15 was too much more and stretching what you could afford? However she's found that it's taking her longer to get to your son and unless she lives right next to a bus stop even that 10 min bus ride isn't an accurate reflection of how long it would take (plus cost of bus fare) so I think neither of you are really BU and you need to find a way forward together that doesn't jeopardise your only childcare option currently.

Yes, no other children apart from her own grandchildren.
she’s registered with OFSTED so all official!

As a home based worker (but totally different industry) I charge travel time plus .45 per mile travel expense when I have to attend a meeting. Once your CM leaves the house to
collect your child she is working, there is no other reason for her to do that journey. I’d say that’s perfectly reasonable

Yeah I'm not sure about this, sounds more like a nanny that you're just calling a cm.

Best of luck.

If you have a salaried job you don’t get paid for travel to work.

But self-employed people do charge. Plus, she’s not travelling TO work but travelling FOR work.

If you can think of a way she can magically be at the school for the sole purpose of picking up your child without having to spend time getting there, that’s great. But otherwise, the time involved in caring for your child begins the minute she is facilitating the process of caring for your child, including the time it takes to travel to the school.

Yes, my childminder did this, from when she left the house to collect from school.

School’s not her workplace, she’s travelling to a third location because she works for you. So as soon as she leaves the house to do that, she’s working.

Could you remind her you've already allocated an extra 15 mins, proactively offered an enhanced rate and you're struggling with the cost, and ask if she could compromise? If not, could you pick up any earlier?

Ultimately you're getting closer to a nanny service than a childminder so although it's an extra £60 per week (assuming it's an extra 45 mins not a full hour), you'd struggle to find that elsewhere.

Also note it's usual for childminders to charge for bank holidays even if they're closed.

It is a reasonable request .... you should pay it.
She is not travelling to work. She is travelling FROM her workplace and back as part of her job.
It is like any job that involves a home visit ... you are still paid while travelling from your workplace.

TBH I find this odd. Work does not pay us for our travel time into the office....so not sure why someone doing child minding would do the same.

I appreciate £15 an hour sounds like a lot. But you couldn’t pay yourself min wage on that if you were to consider holiday pay/ Ni costs so it maybe trying to bump up her salary. It’s seems a bit much though to charge a full hour. Can you claim any money back, I work full time and still get a bit of UC when you take into account child care costs.

Then read the 50 replies that explain that her workplace is her home, she's not travelling TO work but FOR work.

@SamPoodle123 but if you travel from workplace to another location for work they would pay? Just happens that CM’s workplace is her home

If you’re self employed, you do charge for this time.