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.

If you were to travel from one office to another would you be paid or go out to attend a meeting or a conference? The childminders place of work is her home. If Op doesn’t want to pay her she could make alternative arrangements and have her child dropped off there.

But if you had to go elsewhere for a meeting or Something during work hours they they would. That's what this is. She's is leaving her place of work to pick up.

OP please can you clarify does the contract start time say 2.45?

Many childminders will not charge for 15 minutes or half an hour. If her time eats into another hour then a full hour will be charged. That's fairly normal in my experience.

For the sake of being charged an extra hour, I would seriously think about what is important here. There will not be many childminders who provide 1-1 care and those with other children to care for would not necessarily want to do a school run for one child.

Off topic, but she must be a very fast walker if she can walk a ten minute bus journey in just 15-20 minutes!

It’s an hour she won’t be able to use to charge someone else because a chunk of it has to be used to fetch your child. So I think it’s reasonable.

I also think £15 an hr is a pittance for what she does. I don’t know why you’d argue at all and think you could end up shooting yourself in the foot here.

The only thing she has done wrong is under pricing her services in the first place.

I'm missing something here.. I go to work on a bus, walk, train and tube.. my employer does't pay from the time I leave my house. If I moved further away same goes, down to me.

From a slightly different perspective.......if the Child Minder used her car she would you object to paying towards her using that vehicle?
The CM is providing a service, not doing it as a favour so naturally you have to pay her.

Presumably she has to do it all in reverse to bring them home yes but she'd already have the children under her charge on the return journey so that would be paid time already.

I think it is reasonable to pay a travel time of 20m before picking up the children if that is the longest journey time it takes. A whole hour is not necessary for a 20.in journey.

Her place of work is her home and not the school. She wouldn't be going to the school if she didn't have to collect OPs child. Plus the OP is not the childminder's employer, the childminder is providing a service to the OP which needs paying for.

Her place of work is her home.

When she goes to do.a school collection, she is then working to go and get the child from school. So it's work time

Could you get a childminder closer to the school?

I think it's reasonable for her to travel travel time to school as it it's part of her role in caring for your child . However if she also picks other children up she should share that cost between you.
But ultimately as she is self employed she can decide what she wants to charge for. It's up to you whether you want to accept it or find someone else.

The school isn't her place of work though, her home is. If I'm called to a meeting at a client's site my timesheet starts when I leave my own place of work to travel to them. Do you think she is maybe leaving the house at 2, to be at school well in time?

Of course you should pay it.

If she only has your DC, she's making far less than she could be even with your enhanced rate. £15 less expenses she will be earning less than minimum wage. She has obviously decided it isn't worth it for what you were paying. She is self employed, she can charge what she likes, you can decide to pay or not.

You offered £15 and she accepted it as care is 121 for thur child so she can’t earn more money per hour so you can’t quibble and say leaves Bad taste in your mouth

as many said it’s her work place and she is charging travelling time / same as I charge mileage as a se mn

in the end it’s her terms. She is se

so you accept or find another cm

you say lots in the area

equally most will have other children and not want to do a 19min bus journey or 20min walk

most cm pick up locally from a school

It's not travel to work though it is travel from work. Her workplace is her home and she is bringing your child back to her workplace. So you are hiring her from the moment she leaves her home to get your child.

She’s taking the piss to be charging you from 2 when school pick up is 3 and it only takes 20 minutes to get there.

I’m not actually sure if she’s reasonable to even charge for the 20 minutes. I don’t charge my employer for travel time to my place of work.

She's not going to the school for fun. So I'd say her paid time should include the length of time to get there. As often the child is dropped at their house, they are taking time away from doing something else (potentially paid time) by making their way to the school for your kid.
So I'd say it's reasonable. Though I guess if she's picking a few kids the cost could be spilt?

Charging for the travel in general

• it’s a service she is offering, not travelling to work. So this is ultimately her choice but seems reasonable to me to charge as she wouldn’t otherwise be travelling.
• 30mins is totally reasonable, keeping in mind a 20minute walk is probably 30mins minimum if she has any other children with her, plus getting their coats on etc
• 1 hour, I’d be a bit miffed but I’d also rationally weigh up the cost/hassle/disruption of if she just withdrew the service.

She is not an employee though. She is a business person offering a service. She can offer a service and OP has the option to accept or not the service terms and conditions.

She's not travelling to work. She is traveling from her place of work, for work, and back again.

@SamPoodle123 Because her workplace is her home not the school. . If you were at work and had to leave the office to go to a meeting outside the building you would be paid for that time.
This is exactly the same as that. The minute she leaves the house to pick up the child she is being employed by the OP.

My childminder charges for travel time, but she lives 5 minutes from the school so only charges from 3pm. Previous childminder didn't as was collecting her own child too. However £15 an hour is really cheap for 1 on 1 care (especially for a SEN child), and surprised you found someone who agreed to it. My childminder charges £7 an hour and has an average of 8 children, so is making considerably more than that. My autistic daughter started there after she couldn't cope with after school club, it seems to be going ok so far but if she can't cope with the other children my only option will be to get a nanny at considerably more (if I can even find one).