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I have a full time employee who happens to be my cousin. She's incredible with the kids, so reliable it's not even funny, and I dearly love her. She's also expecting a baby in November. I have already told her I am giving her 6 weeks paid maternity leave, which I just feel is the right thing to do. It also happens to work out perfectly that we'll have room in our capacity table for her baby to join us at daycare. My question to the group is: what is a fair weekly rate to charge her for the baby? My normal rate is $175, but I couldn't charge her that. And would you charge her for daycare or just pay her less?
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I think I would pay her the same and charge for the spot. My main concern would be if she gives all the children the same attention with hers there. -
That's a legit concern. But she'll only have 4 kids in addition to the baby. They'll be between 2.5 and 3.5, and unless we have any turnover, they'll have been with her since last fall so they'll know our routine perfectly. Not to mention, she's just amazing with the kids. I'm confident she'll balance it perfectly.Originally posted by Thriftylady View PostComment
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I work at a small daycare center, and staff are charged 1/2 of regular tuition for their kids. It is taken out of their paycheck, and then they can take it off of income taxes.Comment
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Honestly, if I were her, I would quit and work somewhere that I could bring my son for free. Whether that meant starting my own fcc or being a nanny or working at a center where they had that option. I can't imagine paying for my child to go to childcare while I am providing childcare to him- and others. Many people do that though. I do know a lot of moms working at centers and they have to pay tuition- it just seems crazy to me. So, I can't guess what would be a fair amount. I have only worked where I had free tuition for my kids. And, yeah, that would be a waste of a valuable spot for you. I get that. I just can't get it from her perspective why she would be willing to pay at all. Really, it would be like you gave her a big raise (if she got free tuition) since having her work for you would be costing you that extra $xx per a week... IDK. I'd be interested in what you end up charging.... oh and I completely admit- I was terrible at dividing my attention when working with my first son as a baby, I felt like my baby really needed me and I had to put him first!
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I'd say it depends. Some states and provinces count a provider's own children in the limits and some don't. If her baby reduces available spaces by 1, I would give a discounted rate, maybe $125. If it doesn't reduce the spaces, I'd charge probably half of that.Children are little angels, even when they are little devils.
They are also our future.Comment
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Would have no clue how to go about this......but....
You also have to take into account if she will be nursing.
That will take more time for her to accommodate her own child vs the other children in care.Comment
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I do think it is nice of your to offer paid maternity and thoughtful of you to seek others insights on how to proceed once the baby is here.
I would not charge her for the space and I would not pay her less. I would consider it part of her employee benefits package. Perhaps call your accountant to see how you need to frame the benefit so the loss of income from that space can be a write off. (I would also put some limits on it, like no more than one child can benefit at the same time, etc.)
At my daughter's current school teacher's children attend tuition free K-8 which is a HUGE advantage when hiring (it's hard to compete with public school benefit and retirement packages) and also builds a long term teaching commitment so we retain our teachers and have very little to no turn over.Comment
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Years ago I would have answered differently....
What can you afford to do?
If you can afford to discount then discount.
I'd hesitate to go less than $100.
You are getting the comfort and security of a trustworthy assistant that fits your program well and she gets the comfort and security of having her baby at work with her and baby gets socialization with others.
Win-win for everyone.
If you can't afford it then dont.
It's business. Easy to understand.
I don't think there really is a right or wrong answer.
Its whatever works for you and your business.Comment
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I would charge the lowest you possibly could.
I would tread carefully with family. Have you had any discussions with her regarding this and what she thinks would be fair? What she is able to afford based on how much you pay her? I think those are valuable questions. If the cost of having her baby taking a spot and she can't make a living she will need and want to figure something else out.
We all know that having a baby is expensive and needing a livable wage is needed. I have had some experience with working with family and when if becomes unfair or presents hardship, that can make for a rift that could possibly never go away.Comment
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I work in a center and when my twins were little, I paid full tuition for both of them. I basically made nothing after paying. BUT it was worth it to me because I was getting a 401k match, paid leave and sick leave And contributing to my retirement pension ( I'm a government worker).
Ita with the other person on reducing the rate to $125 if your normal rate is $175. That's a $200 savings a month to your cousin.Comment
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Thanks everyone for the replies! The past few weeks we have been talking about what to expect when baby comes here with her, and I'm still really confident she'll be able to handle everything. Yesterday she brought up the issue of paying for baby's space, and I asked her for a few days to think, as I truly didn't know what to say. I checked with DCF, and while she would income qualify for subsidy, they (obviously) wouldn't give her assistance for watching her own baby. But if she put her baby in a different daycare they would happily help her. Crazy.
The question of what I can afford to do is spot on Blackcat. If she had completely free daycare for five years, it would cost me $45,000. But if she paid me $75 a week, I'd only be losing $26,000.
Thoughts?Comment
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I think that rate is really reasonable. I totally understand giving up a spot. But, if like you said, she is a great employee and is great with the kids, I wouldn't want to lose that. And, I don't know you're situation, but I'm assuming you need her based on the amount of children you have?
Not to say anything would go catastrophic but then you would save yourself time interviewing and training in a new employee if she decided to leave. And what you're offering her is invaluable, a chance to raise her child while being able to work at the same time.Comment
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I would definitely want to retain her as an employee if she's as great as you say, but her baby WILL occupy a spot that could otherwise be used for a full time child. So I don't think it should be free.
It's not about her caring for her own child and paying for the space. I've done it myself. It's about the actual space the child occupies. If you didn't charge something, she would be getting free childcare at YOUR expense.
But because she's so great and you have such confidence in her abilities, I would discount as much as you could comfortably afford. You want to keep her, but not go broke doing it. If your regular rate is average for your area, then I would suggest charging somewhere between $75 and $100. She would be saving between $300 to $400 monthly.Comment
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