cm club retainer fees could some one explain this to me

[dorset]

Hi I took on mindee to start 2 days a week which will increase to full time in 4 weeks. I have a current vacancy available for the other 3 days but I am not allowed to charge a retainer for those 3 days as NCMA say she is currently using my services 2 days a week. Why? If the parent then decides not to send her full time I have lost out on income and could have filled the space. I can't see anyting in writing about this but I always thought if the space was available you could charge.
Anyone got any thoughts on this ?much appreciated

you only lose out on income if there is someone else knocking on your door wanting the space. leave it until it gets to that point.

So the mindee has a current contract for two days a week atm.

They will be changing to 5dys a week in 4wks time.

Are you reviewing the contract to take into account the extra days or doing a new one?

I would have thought that if they have booked a space for future use then you should be able to charge a retainer, regardless of whether you have a waiting list or not. It sounds a bit odd, perhaps someone who has been in this situation will be able to say why NCMA don't think you should. But then at the end of the day does it matter what they think, I doubt that it would affect anything insurance / contract wise.

FWIW I had a family book ft for a baby, I left the space open for 3mths (without charging retainer) they phoned the day before they were due to start and said they only needed 2dys one week and three the next. I refused, I had turned down others to keep the space, in the end they used the ft space, but it was very annoying at the time. So you are right people can and do change their minds at the last minuite.

The contract will obviously reflect payment for the 5 days as I put on contract full time would be taken from x date and fees would be x
I started to charge a retainer for the 3 days of half fees but then parent got funny about being charged every week and rang NCMA and said I couldn't do this. I have to credit back the money. But I still don't understand. Thanks for your replies.

ncma contract section 6

Retainer fees: A retainer fee usually half the normal childminding rate may be paid in circumstances where a placement is being reserved for future use....

ring NCMA think they might have made an error

Or is Mum pulling a fast one?!

I would be charging a retainer and allowing them to use the extra 3 days when they wanted.

Sally

Erm "the parent got funny and phoned NCMA" why didn't she talk to you about it first?

This would ring alarm bells with me, I would feel that the parent thought I wasn't trustworthy enough, kind of going behind your back. I would phone NCMA and quote the contract clause, however it sounds as if you are well within your rights to charge what you like, NCMA do not dictate your Terms and Conditions of trade, they have no responsibility for how you run your business.

If you and the parent agreed in the contract that she would pay a retainer for the extra 3 days then it has nothing to do with NCMA, it is between you and the parent. NCMA cannot dictate what we arrange. TBH I doubt that NCMA would have said this. I would not refund the retainer already paid.

Hi Thanks for all your replies. I did ring ncma and they clearly say i can not charge the retainer as the child is using my services. The parent won't back down either.
She says she didn't realise it was going to be paid every week. although i specifically said it would be x every week. I'll put it down to experience as she is full time from mon and make sure everything is written down properly.

This sounds like another reason not to use NCMA for contracts.

maybe she only has her in for 2 days at first because that's all she can afford until she sends her full time and was taken aback when you charged a retainer for that whole time? Maybe she's embarrassed to say that she can't afford to pay that retainer?
A possibility. Some people will do anything to protect their pride when it comes to money.
I was just honest with my cm and told her I couldn't afford a retainer. I found her a month before I needed her and reserved a space but no one else was taking that space as she's just starting up iyswim. She was very understanding and said as long as I pay the month in advance each time, no retainer or deposit in case of shortened contract would be necessary. I just would not have been able to afford that... I can't create money, I only have the money in my bank account and that's it. A couple of years ago I would have been too embarrassed to admit that - I would have just gone into debt to pay the retainer or whatever.
Just trying to offer another possibility and perspective.