Childminder pay

[Christmascaker]

Evening all. We’ve just received an invoice from our childminder for 100% fees for May. Just wanted to know if this was standard practice or if anyone had been offered a reduced rate? She seems to think she will be open again in May. I understand she has bills to pay but thought even a small reduction as she’s not providing for etc would be a gesture of goodwill? She’s great and we don’t want to upset her or lose our place but I can’t work out if we’re being unreasonable to expect a reduction however small?

@Christmascaker anybody can look at business accounts and it’s pretty expensive nursery and is full

She pays people national living wage also we have to pay for Christmas when she closed making staff use holiday

It’s a right money earner owing a nursery I don’t fall for that poor act from them

@mancity100 I honestly don't think you understand the difference between a childminder and a nursery.

It's not the point whether or not you have difficulty paying. She has broken the contract by not providing childcare. So you don't have an obligation to pay. That would be my understanding. She's being quite cheeky and relying on your good nature not to rock the boat and pay up. Not on.

Can you hold off on paying for now? The government have said they will review the lockdown on the 7th may. I think that's probably why she thinks she will be open.

I'm waiting for their announcement before I negotiate with our nursery. If the lockdown goes to the end of may, I will be asking to pay a retainer instead of full fees, which we paid last month.

I’m a childminder and as a general rule if I’m open I charge (child’s holiday or illness), if I’m closed (my holiday or illness) I don’t.
On this basis, as the child can’t attend because of social distancing AND because I can’t open, I’m charging half fees. OP could you put this case to your childminder?
Half of the parents have said as long as they are being paid I will be paid my usual rate, they don’t want to profit from the situation. The other half have happily paid the 50% fee. I’ve said that if their financial situation changes to let me know and we’ll reconsider.

I’ve also said going forward we will adopt half fees for days I am unable to open or they are unable to attend due to the virus. Looking forward we’ll all want to make sure money isn’t a factor in making decisions about our health.

I understand what people are saying about claiming the grant etc. but being a childminder is only profitable for some because of all the tax deductions we can make i.e use of home. This is the same with many small businesses. On paper, I don’t earn much at all. As this is not set up yet there’s also the problem of cash flow.

If I had a parent who wasn’t willing to pay anything despite still being paid themselves I’d be looking to end our contract, just as if I was a parent being told to pay full fees despite financial difficulty. This is not the time to use contracts against each other, in some ways this is a business but in others we love your children like members of our own family.

Personally I would not pay her, I might agree to pay her a retainer say 20% for goodwill. At same time I would be having a conversation with my manager at Work to explain I might have childcare issues if suddenly recalled to work.

It is possible more childcare spaces will open up due to fewer people needing childcare, in the event of massive redundancies. Equally there may be fewer spaces available due to social distancing. How does a CM do social distancing with under 3’s in their own home? It is impossible, surely. So there is no guarantee your CM will be able to resume Normal business.

So you could EASILY be in a position where you are back at work , are paying 100% for childcare you are not being provided... it is an absurd situation.

Have a frank chat with her, be kind, but don’t pay. She can claim UC if she needs support.

She can't claim UC if her husband's income is over the threshold

Your childminder will be able to find out today whether she is eligible for the Self-employment Income support scheme.

I've just checked online, not eligible despite meeting the criteria, clearly they aren't planning to make this easy. And the bounce back loans are virtually impossible to apply for too, been refreshing the page for days - no luck

@ChrissieKeller61 try again - there was a glitch yesterday and some CMs who were told that they weren't eligible have been told today that they are.

Our childminder hasn’t asked for anything - she even offered to pay back fees that were prepaid. I obviously didn’t ask for them back, it can just roll over to the next invoice. Honestly, she’s not providing a service right now so paying her would be a bit like giving charity - it would seem weird to offer it, and I highly doubt she would accept. The contract says that if she can’t offer the service then fees are rolled over to the next invoice - so for example if she’s been ill or had an appointment - and if DC can’t attend - so DC being ill, or deciding to take DC out because DH isn’t working and wants to spend the day together (happens fairly often because he works abroad and had time off when at home) then we continue to pay. She’s had to close, so at the end of the day can’t provide a service. It seems ridiculous though for the government to tell them specifically that they can’t work and not be given any compensation - I hope this isn’t correct as I had heard otherwise.