childcare in holidays payments
 

i will be finishing a school run soon for a parent who i look after there 4 children but they still want me for holidays only starting from Sept. i told them they will have to pay a small fee for the places to be kept open as it is 4 children ages 10, 9, 6, and 4. Am i being greedy as i did tell them that i will loose alot of money if i only do holidays only and i could fill there places with children who want me every week. The parents don't want to pay me if i am not having there children in the week but want garrantted places and they said they will give me at least 4 weeks notice if they require me. i told them i don't work like that but unless they don't pay me a small fee in the week i can't garranttee there places. Any suggestions please i have had these children for 12 months now and i thought i had a good relationship with the parents up untill now as they have asked me to do cash in hand (i wont) but i told them this doesn't solve the situation as this is my business.

Hi, you raise some interesting points, have you joined Chilmiding help forum ? they have a huge number of experienced members that work in partnership with parents and may have a few ideas that can help you overcome your problems.

Enjoy Silkysteps.

thanks i will copy and paste my question, sorry new to posting my questions

If they want the place guarenteing they must pay- they can't expect you to only get paid for 12 weeks of the year!

if they re not willing to pay then dump them, they re players and the relationship you have with them is only good if you play THEIR game. your a business not a charity. find new clients and pay attention to your contract.

I agree with 2 above - they MUST pay to retain you or you are fully entitled to seek other employment. :soapbox:
Suppose they decided 4 weeks before the summer holidays that they didn't need you! They are really pushing their luck and showing the lack of respect many people have for Early Years practitioners.:thumbsdow

I wouldn't hold the place for them unless they paid me, if they decide to go somewhere else they'll probably find most other childminders say the same.

Have to agree with the other posts. They should be paying a retainer to keep the place open otherwise they will need to look elsewhere.

I have a childminder but i am contracted to term time only !! I dont pay anything when the children are not there . However i do pay a retainer to 1 of my childminders as i use 2 at the moment . The retainer is 50% of what i usually pay and i pay this every time i break up from school half term etc then the 1st week back i pay the other 50 %

Does this make sense ?