CM- set fee for holiday or sick pay etc?

[sparkleshine]

Hey

on my journey to finding a CM for my DS I've noticed a few different fees for the CM and my own holidays and sickness

I did presume when 1st looking that if the CM is on holiday I wouldn't have to pay as being self employed that's one of the negatives, but obviously I've got this wrong.

Some CM said I pay half and others say full if she's on holiday and if I'm away I still pay full.
Also how much notice do I or does she have to give for holidays?

If my ds is sick I pay full and if she's sick, some say I still pay half and some say u don't pay.
Surely if she's sick that's not my fault and I would have to find other childcare or take time off so I lose more
money.

Can any CM give me an idea on what is the 'standard' procedure if there is one. And without being cheeky ask what u or your CM do

thanks

there isn't a set way to do it, each CM does their own thing

I charge for their hols if I am available

I charge if the child is sick

I don't charge if I am sick or if the parents chose to take their hols when I do (I issue my holiday dates in October for the following year commencing Jan)

Yep were are a law unto ourselves I'm afraid.

I do as follows

No charge for my holidays (I give a years notice)

No charge for parental hols (as long as I get at least 2wks notice, a max of 4wks a year allowable)

No charge if I'm sick / closed.

Full fee for mindees sickness, although I give 3 free sickies per year.

If for any reason a child does not attend for a session other than the reasons above I charge full fee.

cms can do what they want, but I would be a bit about a cm who charged full fee for their own holiday and if they were sick because I'd have to find and pay for other childcare.

Of course I expect to pay for my holidays and when my child is sick.

We are all different. I charge when I am available and do not charge when I am not available. Hope that makes sense. My notice period for holidays on both sides is 4 weeks.

Oh I see. I think the fact that I should pay when the cm is available sounds good. Maybe I should forget a few then

can I also ask .... I work shifts and plan to have 3 day for CM. 1 CM I spoke to over phone said I should expect to pay full fee for full time as I can't guarrantee which days or shifts I will work and she would lose the other 2 days for another she might have been able to get IYSWIM.
But no other CM I've seen have said this.

Is this normal?

Yeah when I interviewed that was pretty standard (I don't work shifts, but they mentioned this scenario). I'd go with someone who could be flexible, though.

The advantage is that, theoretically, you can pick the childminder that can meet your personal circumstances most effectively, e.g. a teacher might prefer to go with a childminder who charges a higher rate, but who doesn't charge during school holidays.

That's why there isn't a set standard for childminders.

You might need to pay for the full time for shift work with one childminder, another might charge half fee for the hours you don't use per week, yet another would only charge you for the hours you use.

Look at as many childminders as you can and choose the one that suits you best - and I don't just mean from a financial view. You may find that the childminder who charges for holidays is the one that fits so well with your ideas of childcare, you wouldn't dream of going elsewhere and consider the extra to be worth paying.

Again depends on the childminder, in 7 years I have only had 1 full-time, and wouldn't have any business if I waited for full timers. I also feel it is one of the major benefits of using a childminder against a nursery so you can be flexible with days and times. Although I can understand wanting a minimum amount of hours, but 3 full days to me would be fine.

If they were going to be the same 3 days every week, then I would only charge you for 3 days, but if they could be any 3 days, changing each week, then I would have to be available for you every day and would charge you for every day. CMs only have a limited number of children we are allowed to look after, so we can't just have different numbers on each day.

Lots of different ways of working sparkleshine, but it is a parnership between the Childminder and the parent and each will be slightly different. I set my fees according to the market rate in my locality at the time, so if most childminders are making a charge for their own holidays then if I step out of line and do not charge then I should be more "attractive" to a parent but I certainly won't be out of line if I do charge.

I charge full rate for any time the mindee has off (sickness, holidays, etc.) but currently do not charge for my holidays.

I admire those minders who are able to give a years notice of their own holiday dates - I normally try to give three months notice where possible.

Regarding the varying days, I am with HSMM and make a charge for any time/day when I might need to be available even if it is not used as I need to keep the slot in case the parent wishes to send their child.

if it was set days no problem. If the days changed then I would harge full fee for the week, as like others have said I wouldn't be able to take on another child.

I charge for any mindee absenses, whatever the reason and don't charge whenever I'm closed. The only way a parent wouldn't have to pay me if the mindee was on holiday would be if it was at the same time as me (I issue dates around October for the following year).

As for 3 days, if you knew the set 3 days and this didn't change, I'd charge you for 3 days. If you needed the whole week holding as the 3 days would change, I'd charge you for the whole week (I can't afford to just leave vacancies empty like that).

A lot of childminders are encouraged to charge for holidays (especially by NCMA) as a lot of childminders don't take holidays as can't afford not to (I know I didn't in my first year of minding and I was in a state at the end of it for not having a break). I personally get parents to pay me a set amount each month (will my hols, bank hols etc. knocked off) then I have a steady income (never was any good at saving some aside to cover it ). As for being paid sick pay, I think this is taking things too far and encourages sickness for things us childminders can't usually 'afford' to be sick for!!

If the ones charging for their holidays are a lower hourly rate, it might be worth working out the overall costs to get the overall picture (especially if you meet someone you really like and this is the only thing putting you off!

Good luck with it all

Be careful before signing up with someone who doesn't charge in their holidays ... there may well be higher costs the rest of the year to make up for it.

Also check out what extras you have to pay for. Some childminders include a lot in their fees, others charge for such things separately - meals, snacks, nappies etc, collection/pick up from your home or to/from preschool/school, trips & outings, regular visits to community groups ...

Work out what each childminder will cost you per year, rather than focusing solely on the holiday issue.

i do not charge for my holiday or when im closed due to sickness, but do charge if teir child is off ill, i only chrage for hours used.

i charge pounds an hour and provide meals for 1 pound each and expect nappies and supplies to be provided by parents and outings agreed in advance and entry fees and packed lunches to be provided by parents

Like ayla said - check the extra costs. I only charge when I am available and it is an all inclusive rate, with nappies, food, outings etc included in the price, so I may at first glance appear to be more expensive that hopandpop (for example - no idea what she charges, or where she is), but not when you add up the extras.

I'm the same as HSMM - I charge if I'm open but not if I'm not. I include all food, outings etc in my fees though that doesn't include nappies. I incorporate an allowance for 'paid' holiday into my fees and i charge a higher rate for Term Time only contracts. In the past I've worked for many shift families & I've normally charged a min number of days per month at full fee plus a retainer (25%) for the other days, but this has varied depending on what the families needed. I also work out what a parents fees would be over 12 months and they pay a fixed monthly fee to help them (and me) budget, if they want to do it that way - also helps those claiming Tax credits.