Charging on Holidays

[Unregistered]

The daycare provider I use charges a full-time monthly rate. Although I only take my daughter to the provider 3 days/week, I still pay the full-time amount. In addition, I pay on holidays. All of these were in the agreement we signed. I would be curious though, since I ended up in an argument last week with her, others' opinions on the issue of charging me when she takes time off for illness. There have been 3 weeks in the past 6 months that she was out and she continues to charge me (with no backup provider). She states in her pamphlet that she takes 1 week unpaid off each year, however when I asked her about pro-rating the month where she took 1.5 weeks off she became very defensive. She guilt-tripped me, after telling me rudely to keep $50, by then saying "I hope I can pay my bills this month". Needless to say, I left all of the money for her and left crying because I was so frustrated!

Once again did you or did you not agree to the terms of the agreement? And knowing that she didn't have a back up, why would you not have your own? If you don't agree to the terms of the agreement, put in notice and leave. I charge a flat rate and whether your child is here or not (by me myself having to take vacation, a holiday or I'm sick) I still expect to be paid! Personally if my provider said she was taking a month off paid to have say surgery, etc. I would put in my notice and find someone else! Its as simple as that!

[pingaa3]

Switch providers

[mac60]

While I do agree that parents need to make sure they understand the providers contract, and if you don't agree to it or don't like it you can move on. I don't agree with "just switch providers". Just like the parents, the providers can get sick, need surgery, etc, and may need to take time off to recoup. Why is it ok for a parent to have surgery, take off 6 weeks, and be guaranteed your job back, yet as providers, your answers are to "switch". Yes, it would be an inconvenience to find a sub for a short amount of time, but it can be done.

I don't believe you should have to pay your provider for the time she is off, but I do believe you should sit down with her and discuss the situation. That is if you like her as a provider and don't want to lose her.

I think it is sad that people are saying "switch" if the provider is taking time off due to sickness/surgery. Parents need to understand that we are human too, if the parent was sick they would expect to be entitled to time off from their employer. If you like the provider, you need to talk with her.

Bottom line, providers are human and get sick, have emergencies, etc. Gees, with my parents, if I "missed" as much work as some of my parents do, I wouldn't have a job.

[Unregistered]

I just called my daycare provider and although my kids are only going to be there for 2 days for the Thanksgiving holiday, they are going to charge me for the full week. This is a complete rip off! I understand that they need to pay their staff for their vacations and all, but they should factor this into the weekly tuition costs. I am already paying an arm and a leg for substandard care to began with.

Finding a better daycare is obsolete at this point. I am in Atlanta, GA, and they have horrible daycare centers in this area. My kids are at one of the better centers out of the 4 that I pulled them out of.

[Unregistered]

I just called my daycare provider and although my kids are only going to be there for 2 days for the Thanksgiving holiday, they are going to charge me for the full week. This is a complete rip off! I understand that they need to pay their staff for their vacations and all, but they should factor this into the weekly tuition costs. I am already paying an arm and a leg for substandard care to began with.

Finding a better daycare is obsolete at this point. I am in Atlanta, GA, and they have horrible daycare centers in this area. My kids are at one of the better centers out of the 4 that I pulled them out of.

Well then i guess your just gonna have to feel ripped off then huh!..........Know you know what a rip off is...............taking care of your children for substandard pay!!!!! I'm entitled to charge for holidays and charge for at least 2 personal days. Its funny how the holidays don't ever seem to be a problem until the week of. Any other providers have this problem. I find myself having to break out the contract over and over again.

[lilbiddapopcorn]

Too defensive?

I think people need to deal with these issues on a case-by-case basis. Not everyone is in the same situation and there isn't a "one size fits all" answer to this question. It depends on what you signed when you started working with your provider. Some providers omit holiday pay in their contract and then it becomes a problem later. Other times parents sign a contract saying they have no problem with it, and then come time to pay it suddenly becomes a problem. Still others providers (there's an example above) have providers who put something in their contract and then change it later to accommodate themselves (such as taking off x amount of weeks for surgery and asking for full time pay when they stated in their contract they wouldn't do that.) Whatever the situation is, I suggest you first try communicating with your provider/parent. And I can't stress enough that before you sign a contract READ IT and know that you understand it. Ask questions if you don't understand something completely and make sure you're both on the same page. If you don't agree to pay for holidays, find one that doesn't charge for holidays BEFORE you settle down with a provider. Don't sign up with one, complete the contract, and get your kids used to a particular provider and then rip them from one daycare to the next because the holidays came around and you don't want to pay for them.

[Unregistered]

I understand, and can except, paying for a holiday. But paying for the days around a holiday, that I can not understand. I work in retail... ever heard of Black Friday? Well, I have to take that day off to stay home with my kids. This is an unpaid day off, in which I also loose my Holiday pay because my employer does not pay if we take the day before or after off. So, all in all, I am out one day of pay, one holiday pay and I still have to pay for daycare for those two days. This is going to cost me half of my mortgage! We do not have any family in the area, and no other daycare will take them for just one day. Is it really right that I will have to get a aditional part time job (and loose even more time with my kids) in order for my daycare to have a "holiday" that I don't even get? Please, keep in mind that not everyone has subsidized daycare, not everyone gets those days off (or paid off), and not everyone is able to go without large sums of money (especially in this economy). I love my children dearly, and would love to stay home, but we are not able to afford it. We are barely scraping by as it is, hours are shrinking, expenses are going up... how am I to foot the bill for someone to get better benefits than I do?

[lilbiddapopcorn]

Communicate

I'm sorry for your situation. My contract states that I understand not all parents get holidays off, and i'm willing to work with those who don't. I normally take holidays off (not the day before or after though) and I tell the parents unless they let me know in advance they need care for a holiday I'll assume they don't need it and I take the day off. The only exception here is Christmas Day, I don't provide care that day because I have my own family and I can't see that working out well. Have you tried talking to your provider about your situation? And if he/she's absolutely not going to work with you, maybe you should find someone who can so that you aren't forced to take another part time job. After all, time with your children is priceless...and it's important that the childcare you have for your children works for the provider AND for you.

Hope that helps a little...

[CharlesReese]

Honesty and Integrity

I personally don't own a day care, nor do I ever plan on it. However, I do understand that it is a business, but any business should know what is ethical and unethical or does anyone have a conscious these days.

After reading some of the post that had been written some time ago, I wonder how you think you should be paid for holidays and for inclement weather when you don’t watch children.

My problem is this, if you watch a child then you should be paid for those services. If you don’t then there should be no charge. My wife and I have to deal with her brother and his wife. They don’t have a day care, but they sure do operate their home like it is. (Of course there home can be treated as such.)

Earning my Master’s and learning more and more about businesses and how they operate helps me understand what is ethical and not ethical. So again let me ask the question, why should daycare’s be paid for services not rendered for bad weather, holidays, or when children can be watched by their parents?

Just saying, “you get paid holidays why shouldn’t we” is not an valid argument.

It’s dishonest to charge parents when you don’t watch children. I do agree that policies should be up front and in writing. But again are your policies honest? If they are, then I’m sure parents will enjoy doing business with you, if not your probably still going to have that migraine.

Companies still have to take out federal income tax, state income tax, health care fees, retirement, S.S. fees, and disability. Of course some of these are mandatory while others are voluntarily. So as a daycare are you doing all of this? Do you offer retirement for your employees, paid holidays, paid time off, and sick leave?

Again, why should parents pay a daycare for services they didn’t provide?

If someone on this blog can give me an honest and valid argument then maybe you can persuade me to understand why you should be paid for services not provided?

[Unregistered]

So you having the education that you do........you do understand how salary pay works right! My daycare is a flat rate on a yearly bases and you can either pay by the year, month or i break it down for you on a weekly basis, which is how most parents pay. I pay my taxes every year just like you do. And i have no employees, its just me, I work 6 days a week and sometimes 18 hours a day! I have dedicated my life to caring for and teaching other peoples children and i think that entitles me to some paid days off! Whether it be a hoilday or not. Not to mention by law i can take up to 10 paid days off a year! Oh but please understand I'm not trying to persuade you into understanding this! But this is a business and i run it as such! Understand this........what would you think if your boss called and said , well don't come in for the next week we don't have any customers to service and oh by the way were not going to pay you for that week either! Would you be ok with that?

[Unregistered]

So you having the education that you do........you do understand how salary pay works right! My daycare is a flat rate on a yearly bases and you can either pay by the year, month or i break it down for you on a weekly basis, which is how most parents pay. I pay my taxes every year just like you do. And i have no employees, its just me, I work 6 days a week and sometimes 18 hours a day! I have dedicated my life to caring for and teaching other peoples children and i think that entitles me to some paid days off! Whether it be a hoilday or not. Not to mention by law i can take up to 10 paid days off a year! Oh but please understand I'm not trying to persuade you into understanding this! But this is a business and i run it as such! Understand this........what would you think if your boss called and said , well don't come in for the next week we don't have any customers to service and oh by the way were not going to pay you for that week either! Would you be ok with that?

Hi,
You can take as many days off as you want and still charge the same flat monthly rate. There is no set amount of days you can take off in your own business, you might want to look into it : )

Merry Christmas

[Unregistered]

Hi,
You can take as many days off as you want and still charge the same flat monthly rate. There is no set amount of days you can take off in your own business, you might want to look into it : )

Merry Christmas

Thanks for that info. I usually only take major hoildays off and 1 week(paid) and 1 week (unpaid) for vacation a year! I just don't know how to make these parents understand that just because Your child didn't attend today, does not mean i have to day off. I'm still working and i expect to be paid for that!

[NEDaycare]

Paid holidays

When I had my children in daycare, I had absolutely no problem paying my provider for holidays. However, I did choose not to take my child to a provider that wanted pay for holidays as well as two weeks of paid vacation. It was my choice. I have never had my children with a daycare provider that did not charge just a flat weekly rate, anyhow. And that is fair to me. They have to budget for daycare expenses related to their business and personal expenses. They are not "on call". They have a certain number of slots alloted to them by the state if they are licensed, and each slot is worth a certain amount of money each week. They have to determine how to manage their business appropriately, and successfully.

Now, as a licensed child care provider, I created my business contract with what I felt was fair. I am not paid for my vacations or my sick days. I am paid for major holidays, but if I take a day off before or after a major holiday, I do not charge for it. It's not a matter of ethics. It is a matter of creating a business contract, and offering the terms and conditions of my business available to all parents that inquire, and having them choose whether or not they agree with those terms. If not, they find alternative arrangements. However, at $90 per week for full time care, my rates are extremely, extremely reasonable for this area. Plus, giving parents several free days off per year so that they dont have to pay for some of their child's sick days and possibly a vacation that they would like to take is my way of compromising payment for emergencies and for life plans, while not putting myself out of business. Like Liddabitapopcorn said, there's no single answer to the question. But those of us that do charge for holidays are not unethical. It's a matter of choice by the parent whether they enroll their child or not. And I would hope they'd think enough of us (who spend more waking hours with their child per day than they, themselves do) to want to keep our businesses successful.

I personally don't own a day care, nor do I ever plan on it. However, I do understand that it is a business, but any business should know what is ethical and unethical or does anyone have a conscious these days.

After reading some of the post that had been written some time ago, I wonder how you think you should be paid for holidays and for inclement weather when you don’t watch children.

My problem is this, if you watch a child then you should be paid for those services. If you don’t then there should be no charge. My wife and I have to deal with her brother and his wife. They don’t have a day care, but they sure do operate their home like it is. (Of course there home can be treated as such.)

Earning my Master’s and learning more and more about businesses and how they operate helps me understand what is ethical and not ethical. So again let me ask the question, why should daycare’s be paid for services not rendered for bad weather, holidays, or when children can be watched by their parents?

Just saying, “you get paid holidays why shouldn’t we” is not an valid argument.

It’s dishonest to charge parents when you don’t watch children. I do agree that policies should be up front and in writing. But again are your policies honest? If they are, then I’m sure parents will enjoy doing business with you, if not your probably still going to have that migraine.

Companies still have to take out federal income tax, state income tax, health care fees, retirement, S.S. fees, and disability. Of course some of these are mandatory while others are voluntarily. So as a daycare are you doing all of this? Do you offer retirement for your employees, paid holidays, paid time off, and sick leave?

Again, why should parents pay a daycare for services they didn’t provide?

If someone on this blog can give me an honest and valid argument then maybe you can persuade me to understand why you should be paid for services not provided?

[Texasjeepgirl]

When I had my children in daycare, I had absolutely no problem paying my provider for holidays. However, I did choose not to take my child to a provider that wanted pay for holidays as well as two weeks of paid vacation. It was my choice. I have never had my children with a daycare provider that did not charge just a flat weekly rate, anyhow. And that is fair to me. They have to budget for daycare expenses related to their business and personal expenses. They are not "on call". They have a certain number of slots alloted to them by the state if they are licensed, and each slot is worth a certain amount of money each week. They have to determine how to manage their business appropriately, and successfully.

Now, as a licensed child care provider, I created my business contract with what I felt was fair. I am not paid for my vacations or my sick days. I am paid for major holidays, but if I take a day off before or after a major holiday, I do not charge for it. It's not a matter of ethics. It is a matter of creating a business contract, and offering the terms and conditions of my business available to all parents that inquire, and having them choose whether or not they agree with those terms. If not, they find alternative arrangements. However, at $90 per week for full time care, my rates are extremely, extremely reasonable for this area. Plus, giving parents several free days off per year so that they dont have to pay for some of their child's sick days and possibly a vacation that they would like to take is my way of compromising payment for emergencies and for life plans, while not putting myself out of business. Like Liddabitapopcorn said, there's no single answer to the question. But those of us that do charge for holidays are not unethical. It's a matter of choice by the parent whether they enroll their child or not. And I would hope they'd think enough of us (who spend more waking hours with their child per day than they, themselves do) to want to keep our businesses successful.

Very well stated.

I do believe that each situation is different, for all of those who are posting.
In 1992, when my daughter was 11 months old, I enrolled her in a small REGISTERED Home Child Care.
I was provided with a 1 page CONTRACT that stated I would pay a FLAT WEEKLY FEE regardless of whether my child attended or not.
I signed it. However, I didn't actually READ AND COMPREHEND.
After only a few weeks of using this provider, I only took my child in 3 days one week. I deducted the days that I did not use from the check I made out for her.
She did not correct me.
A week or two later, again, I only needed care 3 days, and again I PRORATED her paycheck. Again she did not correct me.
The third time was a charm.
I only used her 2 days in a week, prorated her paycheck, and she stopped me in my tracks.
She said that I had signed a contract with her stating that I would pay the same amount each week, regardless of whether my child attended all 5 days or not. I was SPEACHLESS. I could NOT comprehend that this woman expected me to pay for days my child was NOT IN HER CARE.
But, I decided it was my mistake. I should have read the contract before I signed.

One year later, I began my own REGISTERED daycare. Then I began to understand the concept of paying full time fees for a full time position in my child care business.

After 17 years, and switching from being a REGISTERED provider to a LICENSED provider, the PARENT HANDBOOK I provide to a parent is very clear.
Full time fee is required whether your child attends all 5 days or not.
I list the NATIONAL HOLIDAYS that I will be closed for the year, with full pay.
I do state that if a holiday falls on Thursday, such as Thanksgiving, I will also be closed Friday.
If a holiday falls on Tuesday, I will also be closed on Monday.
(to all providers, it is very important to think ahead, and have this clearly stated in your handbook from the beginning, you can't decide it as an afterthought and expect a parent to agree to this)

I also state that although I will not charge a parent if I close down for a full, Monday-Friday week, I do reserve 10 days per year for PERSONAL USE, ie illness, family emergency, weather related closing or other.
In the event of an emergency closure, I will notify the parents as soon as possible, but, if I am going to take a PERSONAL DAY, I will notify them several weeks, if not several MONTHS in advance.

With all of that said....
because I DO NOT charge parents for a full week if I close down, in 2007 I had a hysterectomy.
Because I could not afford to close my daycare down and loose income, my sister came and ran my daycare for the 3 days I was in the hospital.
I worked Monday, she worked Tuesday-Thursday, while I had surgery, and returned home.
On Friday, with the help of my husband and 4 teenage daughters, I was back to work, following MAJOR SURGERY...not smart...but I did it...CAREFULLY.
The daycare was never closed, and the parents were NEVER inconvenienced.
Fortunately, I had no complications. After 2 weeks I was back to working with no assistance from my daughters.

I think the main thing I'm trying to relate to all readers of this thread is this:
A quality provider, regardless of the size of her business, should provide a parent with written operational policies in the beginning.
For all TEXAS childcare providers that are LICENSED OR REGISTERED, this is a requirement of MINIMUM STANDARD OF CHILD CARE LICENSING, and your child care licensing representative will check you on this standard.

Any time I interview a prosepctive new client, I give them a tour of my daycare, I answer all questions they ask of me, then I provide them with my PARENT HANDBOOK. I very clearly tell them that they must read it in full before making the decision of whether to enroll their child in my daycare. I further explain that although they may like what they see, and like my personality/qualifications as a child care provider, I do have certain operational policies that they must understand and agree to before we can begin our partnership as PARENT/CHILD CARE PROVIDER.
If, once they read my handbook, they do not feel that they can live by my PARENT HANDBOOK, then they are free to move on and seek child care from another provider.

My daycare is open 6:30-5:30. 11 hours per day.
Fortunately I am rarely sick. Although I list in my handbook that I allow myself 10 personal days per year, I think I used 3 last year.
I pride myself on being reliable. My clients depend on me.
However, I am ONLY HUMAN...and I am a 1 woman show...so if I am sick, or have an emergency...my parents must be understanding of that.
They understand from the beginning that I work alone. If they choose me as their provider, they are choosing an individual, not a facility. I don't have employees that can take care of things if I am ill.

For all parents, if you are searching for child care, be sure you discuss all of these issues from DAY 1 with your child care provider.
These are important issues.

[tymaboy]

Companies still have to take out federal income tax, state income tax, health care fees, retirement, S.S. fees, and disability. Of course some of these are mandatory while others are voluntarily. So as a daycare are you doing all of this? Do you offer retirement for your employees, paid holidays, paid time off, and sick leave?

Because we are a business we have to pay taxes like everyone else. We also need to pay in more cuz employers pay some of SS.

I just recently went to a weekly rate cuz at an hourly rate when a family decides at the last minute to not bring their child then you now have a day that you could have more children but can not fill due to the fact that you need to keep that spot open for the family that is paying an hourly fee that changes their schedule when they see fit. As a weekly fee the parents are paying for the spot & is more convenient.

I found this that I think explains the weekly pay pretty well & will be handing it to may parents when they sign up

*Do you pay for a whole month of cable-even if you only watch it 24 days a month?
* Do you pay full price for your VCR if you only use it twice a week?
* Do you pay full price for your meal even if you don’t finish it?
* Do you pay the same rent/mortgage even when you are at work 5 days a week?

In my child care, you pay per “position”, which means that the position is held just for your child and is not based on attendance.

Your childcare fees provide my income including the taxes, which I pay into. Your fees pay for food, paper products, cleaning supplies, play equipment, baby equipment, art and craft supplies, utilities, nap mats, pack n plays, special chairs and furniture, strollers and car seats. Lots of repairs and wear and tear, entertainment expenses, paperwork and supplies, special events and all the other things that your child will use.

Like other self-employed workers, family childcare providers do not receive the benefits many employees take for granted. These include, health/dental insurance, retirement/pension, paid personal days, personal vacation time, maternity leave, workers comp, flexible time off and unemployment insurance. These benefits often amount to as much as 35% of a person’s wages.

Family childcare is a blessing to your family, in that your children will have much more individual attention and opportunities for learning, and much less illness than a center. There is also much less staff turnover, as your child will have one person caring for him or her only, and will not be transferred from one room in the center to another. This kind of ongoing relationship between child and caregiver has been shown to be the very healthiest situation possible for young children.

Unlike other forms of self-employment, family childcare is very restrictive in that there is no room for growth. The state dictates the size of my business. I cannot take time off for appointments or obligations without careful planning. Most people have a 40 hour work week. Mine is 55 hours and up, and that does not include all my preparation, bookkeeping, paperwork, shopping or cleaning time.

I hope this gives you a better understanding about all the ways in which your childcare fees are applied.

I charge for 10 holidays but do not charge for for my sick days or vacation days. I tell all my parents that I am open during bad weather & it is up to them if they came.