Question for Mums who use Childminders

[lunavix]

Hi! Was wondering what your childminder does about holidays, how many weeks they take and what payment they ask for it. Also what do they do about bank holidays, and your holidays.

I'd like to ask mums, as they obviously are happy with the arrangements and think it's fair!

Thanks in advance

4 weeks at half pay, advance notice of at least a month. we tried to sort out our holidays at the same time, otherwise we would pay full pay for our holidays

bank holidays didn't count as paid but she also wasn't available for childcare

haven't used a childminder for a couple of years now though

Our childminer has about 4 weeks off a year with Bank Holidays on top of that. We pay her while she's off. I also insist on paying her sick leave - I think she's taken about 1 day in 2 years.
She's a complete godsend and I believe in reflecting that financially.

Crikey welshmum - did she say those were here terms when you started? I'm new to childminding so I can't offer experience/references, so I'd be uncomfortable asking for so much (even though people have told me to!)

Depends on childminder I think. Mine did not charge for any absences - sick, my holidays etc. Didn't charge at all for her holidays (usually tried to have holidays at same time as her). Current childminder is term time only agreement. Hope to be able to have this arrangement with new baby as well.

Also, what does she do for you that's so great? I'm wondering how CM 'go the extra mile' so to speak.

my cm only takes 2 wks holiday a year, and she gets full pay, like everyone else who has a job! she has the odd day here and there off, all full pay, as anyone else would who has a job!

2 wks notice for random days off, and she takes the same 2 wks every year anyway

i only use her 2 days a wk, dont know what the other parents do who go to her

nailpolish - how many random days would you let her have? or is it just one or two a year you mean.

How lovely to be appreciated (I am a cm, but not Welshmum's!).

my dd loves the cm, because she is very big on cuddles.

random days maybe every 2 or 3 mths. im lucky cos if she wants a monday off (my days are mon and thurs) i will take dd's a tues instead, or not bother, but thats up to me.

i use the rules i have at my work, i get full pay for holidays and sick etc, so i think others should too

These weren't her terms just my idea of treating someone fairly. I thought I was giving her the biggest job in the world (still do)
As for going the extra mile she will do swaps with me at the last minute so I can make work meetings etc I think it's mostly that she genuinely loves dd and that means the world to me.

we pay our childminder for four weeks holiday (we tend to take the same two weeks as her in August and then time at Xmas); I pay her the same amount per week regardless of bank holidays; I don't have to pay her sick pay, but do as in two years she has had about 3 days off sick - I get paid when sick, so why shouldn't she. She is wonderful, and full time.

Holidays usually advised at the beginning of the year.

A friend of mine pays her childminder full when she (friend) is on hol (ie cm available to work) and half when cm is on hol (ie cm not available to work).

What makes her wonderful? difficult to pin down: my ds is loved, stimulated, well looked after, she genuinely likes children. We consider her and her family to be friends now.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Do CMs normally take hols in the school hols or in term time or just whenever?

my CM takes time in school holidays as her two children are in school. We take some time out of school as my ds isn't in school yet.

same as catgirl, her children are at school so thats when she is off. im moving soon and i wish i could take cm with me

Good childminders are so fantastic. Ours now has my niece (our dd is in nursery and now only does one afternoon with the CM - because they have such a good friendship mainly) and then when this one I'm expecting is 6 months old she'll have him/her too. It's fab to have the continuity - as catgirl says she's a family friend now

catgirl - does she work the bank holidays?

I'm undecided what to ask! Obviously I'd love four weeks off paid, but I'm new to childminding and obviously I'd like to not put off any customers.

Before I worked term time only, I was paid 52 weeks of the year. I would give the families my holiday date for the year. They gernerally took theirs at the same time. They had 6 weeks a year from their employers and I had likewise. We all ski, so we tended to want the same times anyway.

Now I only work for teachers, I charge 36 weeks full fee and 16 half fee, (independent school ) I am not expected to have them in the holidays, but if they wanted me to, I would, for example I am always around for A level day, GCSE not so important. I am off to saaudi Arabia for amonth this summer, but I will make sure that I am back for A level day.

I then do not charge any extra for that day,as I feel that I am paid well enough to be 'generous' although they always ask me if they owe anything.

I had three weeks off sick last year for my kidney op and 2 weeks a couple of weeks ago, I was paid without question, so when late nights come up do not charge. Having said that I did book myself in for the ops dduring school hols, just both ops went wrong!

I include all meals except baby milk, but make up bottles etc. I cook from scratch everyday for all the children, babies get the same, mashed or pureed.

today we had fish pie, made with cod loin and a piece of natural smoked haddock, with broccoli, carrots and green beans, bananas and custard and fresh fruit.

Tea for the baby (11 months) as mum has a lacrosse match scrambled eggs with ham, tomato and grated cheese.

I take a months deposit, refunded at the end of the contract and charge a month in advance, I also set up the scheme for childcare vouchers at the school ( they all work for the same school) so I am paid direct to the bank.

I have just achieved accreditation so will be able to draw down the nursery grant from April for two of my little ones. I have 4 under 5, all at the same time because of continuity of care for siblings. So 4 girls, 16 months 2 years 2.11 and 3.3 years. I also have a 10 month boy in the afternoons when the siblings leave.

I still also do a schoolrun three morning and three afternoons for 2 boys that are in their 4th year with me, so most days I am 7 up in the car!

I love my job!

lunavix - sorry just seen this,no she doesn't work bank holidays, neither do I (I work for a bank ).

My CM charges half rate when she is off, full rate for bank hols (she did once say I could pay half rate for those as I'm self-employed, but quite honestly I don't want to quibble). If I'm off, that's my decision and she still charges. If the kids are sick, she still charges.

She tells us her holiday dates at the beginning of the year, and has hardly ever been sick.

She's fabulous. Yes, she gives them more sweets than I would but quite honestly every social grace the Inferiorettes possess comes from her.

This was very timely, as I was about to post a question about this myself!

My CM has changed her arrangements a couple of times and I wanted to try to get a sense of what was 'normal'. I think, from reading this, that actually she was undercharging us beforehand, and is now working up to charging us 'fairly'! (Not that I actually WANT to pay more, but you know what I mean... Also, I think she's brilliant, so don't begrudge her a penny of it!)

She started out not charging us at all for bank holidays and days when she wasn't available (rare, except for holidays agreed in advance). From the start of this academic year, we've paid half for bank holidays and any days which we take off. We are now about to re-do the contract, because my dd1 is about to go to school full-time, and she is now asking us to pay her the full amount for any occasional days which we take off and half for bank-holidays and any days which she takes off. We have 4 weeks holiday a year, which we are trying to take at the same time. (She actually moved hers this year to fit in with us... basically the woman is an angel!) After reading all this, this seems completely fair to me.

when we were paying an hourly rate it was full pay for bank holidays and 2 weeks per year, 1/2 pay if we took holidays at a time she would have been available. Although now in practice I am paying a weekly rate all year round whatever happens (assuming she doesn't take more than 4 weeks). Sounds fair to me.

we pay the same amount every week for 52 wks a year regardless of hols, sickies etc. at the beginning our childminder worked out how much a week and then deducted bank hols and her hols and averaged it out over the year iyswim.