****katymac**** or other cminders - can you advise me please?

[QueenEagle]

I use an excellent childminder but for financial reasons i will be terminating her with effect from the start of the summer holidays.

My boys are booked in for the May half term - i only use her for holiday times - and have given her verbal notice to take effect after this. I will obviously give written notice which is a month. As i have paid for the May half term up front already, will I need to pay her anything else? Given that I will be giving her notice of almost 3 months, would i be expected to pay for the month i won't now be using in July/August?

What is the norm? I have a feeling she will ask me to pay a month's fee which will include the first 4 weeks weeks of what I would have used her in the summer hols.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to fall out with her cos she is great but I don't want to be ripped off either.

If it's a normal NCMA contract 3 months notice would be fine

Were their any special conditions on the ocntract?

Not that I was aware of.....it recently changed from full time to holidays only. Don't even think I have a written contract now.

I am told that 4 weeks' notice counts as 4 holiday weeks so that would include may half term and then 3 weeks of the holidays. I can use those weeks so won't lose out.

Tricky - I wouldn't count term-time as holiday iswim

I guess she has her own system

QueenEagle - If your contract wasn't changed when you went from term time to holiday's only, you basically don't have a contract as the previous one is now invalid iyswim, so I would reccon if you are giving notice now 3 months in advance this is pretty fair, as KatyMac suggests think she must have her own system, did you pay a retainer / deposit or months in advance when you first started if you did then this would have a affect on your last payment - which I think you said you have already paid in advance for unless you plan to use CM again after May 1/2 term. I would imagine that most CM's who were given 3months notice would'nt charge.

I wouldn't charge under the terms of my holiday only contracts, but it depends if your notice has to count as holiday time, in which case you may be stuck for some of the Summer. (However, it sounds like you don't have a contract and you should be OK)