Working out charges for sickness/holidays etc?

[chloemegjess]

Hello. I have my first official interview with a family interested in useing me as a childminder next week, so I need to get a move on with all my charges, fees, policies etc.

Anyway. Whats the norm to do about charges during the following:

Mindees holiday
Mindee being off sick
Temperary contracts (i have also been asked about looking after 2 chilren for 2-3 weeks
CM holiday
CM sickness
Outings
Food (I am going to provide all food, but didnt know if I should include it in my fees?)
Sibling discounts

I have decided I am going to charge £4 an hour for a full time child. How should I adapt this for part time or tempory children?

Any advise would be appriciated!

As you will see from the various threads we have had on here recently about holiday pay, there is no norm.

Seems to me that many childminders choose to charge fees for when the service is available, even if the parents choose not to use it. So if mindee off sick, or mindee on holiday they pay. Whereas if childminder off sick, or childminder on holiday, they don't pay.

I know childminders who charge for outings and charge for main meals.

Discounts - why discount? Some childminders do, others don't.

Keeping pricing simple is what I do (note: I'm not a childminder, see profile for what I do).

As Nick says childminders are their own bosses so can charge how they like. These are my charges

Mindees holiday- full pay if not taken at the same time as me.

Mindee being off sick- full pay

Temperary contracts (i have also been asked about looking after 2 chilren for 2-3 weeks)- £1 an hour extra

CM holiday- no pay

CM sickness- no pay

Outings- included in hourly rate

Food (I am going to provide all food, but didnt know if I should include it in my fees?)- Included in hourly rate

Sibling discounts- 50p an hour for the eldest child

Im sure others do different. Its what works best for you :-)

LS

Loads of ways of doing it, it's a matter of doing what is right for your own business.

Here is what I do:

No sibling discounts - they are taking up a full space, so why?
Same rate for ft as pt as temporary ( but I don't do temp anyway)
Minimum 10 hours per week contract
CM sick/holiday no fee
Child sick/holiday/days off full fee
Food - I charge seperately £1 for a cooked dinner, 65p light tea, 50p Breakfast - snacks and drinks included
Outings - included in rate if small large day trips would be charged seperately

Hope that helps