Charging on Holidays

[Interested]

Is it legal to charge for day care for days the children are not at day care or days the day care close because of weather or holidays.:(

[michael]

Most facilities have something in writing that describes services rendered. Make sure you ask when first interviewing the facility. Most will charge a flat daily/weekly/monthly rate that will not result in any reduction because of bad weather, holidays, staff vacations etc. Most are private businesses and it is up to you to make sure that you inquire before paying.

[Unregistered]

Yes it is legal.
Why should you get paid for holidays and not us?

[Unregistered]

Exactly my thoughts *Interested*
Sometimes I think parents whine more than children. You are paying for the slot, not for the hour. If you want it spelled out.... you have a yearly flat rate. It is broken down for your convenience. Or would you rather pay by the year?? The only thing to change this is what the policy makes exceptions to. Have you ever heard of salary pay? No matter how many hours you work, it is a flat pay. It is the same principle. Got a problem? Start your own day care and see what we are talking about, then maybe you would understand better. If we catered to everyones whims, we would watch your precious for free 24/7.

[Unregistered]

Exactly my thoughts *Interested*
Sometimes I think parents whine more than children. You are paying for the slot, not for the hour. If you want it spelled out.... you have a yearly flat rate. It is broken down for your convenience. Or would you rather pay by the year?? The only thing to change this is what the policy makes exceptions to. Have you ever heard of salary pay? No matter how many hours you work, it is a flat pay. It is the same principle. Got a problem? Start your own day care and see what we are talking about, then maybe you would understand better. If we catered to everyones whims, we would watch your precious for free 24/7.

Very well said. Yes, you are paying for the spot, not the hours you use it, unless you EXCEED the hours agreed on.

[Unregistered]

Originally Posted by Unregistered
Exactly my thoughts *Interested*
"Sometimes I think parents whine more than children. You are paying for the slot, not for the hour. If you want it spelled out.... you have a yearly flat rate. It is broken down for your convenience. Or would you rather pay by the year?? The only thing to change this is what the policy makes exceptions to. Have you ever heard of salary pay? No matter how many hours you work, it is a flat pay. It is the same principle. Got a problem? Start your own day care and see what we are talking about, then maybe you would understand better. If we catered to everyones whims, we would watch your precious for free 24/7. "

My, you sound like a provider who really doesn't like parents or children... Maybe time to find a new profession? I am a healthcare professional and think it is completely fair to provide my childcare provider for the same paid holidays that most other professionals receive.. These would be Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.. But, we had one who wanted paid time off for every school vacation day, including the 2 weeks off at Christmas paid! This is an extreme hardship on parents who must pay "double" and find someone else to cover those days. Many of these parents aren't lucky enough to be getting ANY paid holidays of their own... Of the ones who are, only parents who happen to be school teachers are getting as many paid holidays as this childcare provider. (We found someone new). If this woman wants so many paid holidays she should go back to college and get a teaching degree.

[Unregistered]

Yes it is legal.
Why should you get paid for holidays and not us?






Daycare home from NorthCarolina.
I like to be fair to my parents, If I am closed due to holidays, my parents are not charged for that day. I am getting paid through subsidy any way for that day, & I am not working, why charge my parents....

[AC23]

If it was in the contract you must honor it or give notice and leave. After seeing what all goes into becoming a provider they deserve these days. Back ground checks, many inspections on safety, fire, public health conducted. Trainings in CPR/First Aid/Rescue breathing along with many other areas to include depending on the state a minimum of 6 or more training hours a year. The list could go on criteria that must be met and the pay that many home providers are much less than someone working in a child care center. For instance a home provider may charge for arguement sake $200 a week for up to 50 hours a week. That breaks down to $4.00 an hour. Gee that means that you or anyone paying that a week is paying less than minimum wage to someone that is watching their child. I think paying for holidays or other closures is more than worth it. I think most people under estimate what goes into child care profession along with the importance of this area. what price tag are you willing to put on your child? I know I wouldn't think twice about paying that or more for my infant. Currently I choose not to work so I can stay home with her because I would rather scrap by than allow my child to be put in child care with someone I don't know.

[Unregistered]

Do you get paid for your holidays? please consider that we have to pay the daycare staff for holidays too! Your getting paid for your holiday and you get the day with your child, huge bonus. If we are to keep our center open we have to have a pro rated system where by the year is broken down to daily manageble amounts. If this did not happen the fee's generally would be higher. Enjoy the holidays with your little one your being paid for it.

[Unregistered]

Considering the average home day care provider works an average of 10.5-12 hours/day with no breaks and no lunch to accommodate the varying needs of her clients I find it essential that she get paid for holidays just as any working professional would. I also think it is important that she get paid for vacations otherwise she might not be able to afford to take them. I don't feel it is healthy for anyone to work those hours 5 days a week and to be financially discouraged from taking vacation and holiday time. Do you really want that unhealthy overworked person caring for your child?

[pingaa3]

I charge for ten paid holidays and I am closed for one week of unpaid holiday during the week of christmas.

New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Veterans Day
Presidents Day
Independence Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day After Thanksgiving
Good Friday
Labor Day
Week of Christmas (Unpaid)

Please remember that most of us are open M-F a minimum of 7am-5:30pm. That's a 10.5 hour day with no breaks for lunch etc. We don't get sick days. Some of us are open 6am-6pm - 12 hours.

We are not the enemy, we are the people you are trusting with your most precious asset, your children. For our mental health and the best interest of your child some of us take paid holidays.

Thanks,
pingaa3

P.S. Also most of us have children of our own that are off those days too!

[Unregistered]

Because I charge for holidays and when families take time off, does not mean that I don't like my profession and should get another job.

I have been a provider for 9 years. From day 1 I charged whether the child was here or not. We are only allowed so many children, so that is the only way we can do it and survive. Parents get paid holidays, vacations, etc. Why shouldn't we. They only difference is WE have to write it in our handbooks and give it to ourselves. An employee expects this from their employer, correct? As someone said, you are paying for the slot, not the hours used. If you are renting a home and go on vacation for 2 weeks out of a month, your landlord surely won't give you back 2 weeks rent. It is the same for us.

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE IN MY HANDBOOK:


PAYMENT FOR CHILDCARE SERVICES

Payment is expected every Friday, or the last day of the week the child is here.

Rates are guaranteed whether or not you bring your child.

I accept either cash or check. However, there will be a $25 fee for each returned check. You will also be responsible for any charges incurred to my account due to your returned check. I may request cash only payments if there are issues with insufficient fund checks.

Payment obligation is based on the hours you agree to use the childcare services not on actual hours of attendance, unless they exceed the hours contracted.

HOLIDAYS AND VACATIONS

 I WILL BE CLOSED THE FOLLOWING HOLIDAYS:

 New Years Day (or whatever day is celebrated if falls on a weekend day)
 Memorial Day
 July 4 th (or whatever day is celebrated if falls on a weekend day)
 Labor Day
 Thanksgiving and Friday after
 December 24, 25, 26. (Christmas week is subject to change depending on how many people need childcare that week).

 Payment is expected whether the child is here or not. Sick days, vacations, and holidays listed above are included. This includes Christmas week and Thanksgiving week. This applies to part time children also.

 For example—if your child is normally here Monday-Wednesday-Friday (3 days per week) and 1 of those days is a holiday, payment is expected for 3 days, should you choose to change your days for the week and bring your child Tuesday-Wednesday-Friday, payment would then be expected for 4 days.

Another example—if your child is normally here 3 days per week and one of those days the child is sick, a parent takes a vacation day, or for some other reason does not come, payment is still expected for 3 days.

 I will take 3 weeks vacation through the year. Normally these are taken during the summer, but I reserve the right to take them as needed. There may be times where I will take the vacation days on a Friday or Monday to make a long weekend. I will give you my schedule by April 15 for summer weeks off. I will not charge for my 3 vacation weeks.

 There may be some years I choose to not take 3 weeks vacation off.

PART TIME CHILDREN

If your child is part time, and the days vary from week to week, please provide a schedule for me that covers at least two weeks at a time.

Should your child be on a schedule that varies week to week, there is a three day per week minimum rate. For example--if your child is normally here 3 days per week and 1 week you only need childcare for 1 day, payment will still be expected for 3 days.


MATERNITY LEAVE and EXTENDED SICK LEAVE (parent or child)

I do not offer an unpaid maternity leave or extended sick leave for families because my business and my income are based on my enrollment at all times. I do offer to keep the spot open for you using the following guidelines:

 If your child is here 5 days per week----I will hold the spot open for up to 12 weeks at $40 per week. You may continue to bring your child during these weeks 2 days a week for this rate. If you would like to continue to bring your child more than 2 days per week during this time, the regular daily rate will apply.

 If your child is here 4 days a week -----I will hold the spot open for up to 12 weeks at $35 per week. You may continue to bring your child during these weeks 2 days a week for this rate. If you would like to continue to bring your child more than 2 days during this time, the regular daily rate will apply.

 If your child is here 3 days a week ----I will hold the spot open for up to 12 weeks for $30 per week. You may bring your child 1 day per week at this rate. If you would like to continue to bring your child more than 1 day per week during this time, the regular daily rate will apply.

 If your child is here 2 days a week ----I will hold the spot open for up to 12 weeks for $25 per week. You may bring your child 1 day per week at this rate. If you would like to continue to bring your child more than 1 day per week during this time, the regular daily rate will apply.

 Under the extended sickness policy, full payment is expected for the first 2 consecutive weeks off.

 Full payment for the first 2 consecutive weeks off of maternity leave is not expected because it is a planned leave of absence. If you start a week and then go on maternity leave during the middle of the week, payment is expected at regular rate for that week, and then your hold the spot rate will start the following week.

 If additional time off is needed, please let me know, I am sure we can work out an agreement.

 The hold the spot rates above are based on 1 child per family, it will increase the more children I am holding the spot for.


CHILD SICKNESS

Please do not bring your child if they are sick, vomiting, have diarrhea, have a fever, or may be contagious to other children. If your child becomes ill during childcare hours, I will call you to pick up your child. I do accept children with mild ailments. Please use your best judgment. If you are in doubt, call me and together we will make a joint decision.

While I do not expect a parent to miss work due to colds and mild ailments, I do ask that you send medications to help alleviate the symptoms of colds, runny noses, coughing and sneezing. The constant runny nose, sneezing and coughing is how germs are spread.

[A mom]

Our daycare provider charges only for the days my daughter is physically there so long as we tell them by the Sunday evening of that particular week. So we do not pay for holidays, we do not pay for our vacations, and we don't pay for any days I know in advance that she won't be there. They use this open communication system of scheduling to give their caretakers more flexibility in their own schedules. So no, not all providers charge for the "slot." Some actually charge for the care that is provided.

[crazycat97306]

I personally take 5 holidays off each year as well as a week at the end of summer. I also usually take 3-4 days off throughout the year as sick days. These are days where I am too sick to care for children properly or days when my own kids have something contagious like strep throat. I charge monthly based on 4 weeks in a month. For example, I charge $440 per month per child, based on $110 for 4 weeks. Therefore parents are only paying for 48 weeks a year instead of 52. This allows me to take my time off without having to lose any money. This also means that parents are not paying twice when they have to pay for backup.

[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!

[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!

[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]

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]

:( 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...