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-   -   Poll: Vacation Policy (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14299)

Lilbutterflie 05-27-2010 06:48 PM

Poll: Vacation Policy
 
Hi all!
I've just recently opened a home daycare, but I thought I had a pretty good understanding of standard vacation policies for home daycares. Because we are self-employed, parents still need to pay for the vacations that they take. On the flipside, though, if I choose to take a vacation I would not be paid. Just interested to see what eveyone's policies are about this? Do you allow parents to take vacations without paying you? I recently had a mom challenge me on this, saying it's pretty standard for home daycares to allow 2 weeks vacation after they had been in the daycare for one year.
Any feedback would be great!
Thanks!;)

My4SunshineGirlsNY 05-27-2010 07:00 PM

I charge if my clients take a vacation...but if I take a vacation I don't charge. I allow my full time parents to take 10 non paid days per enrollment year, but they can only use one in the same week..I just can't afford if they use more than one in a week, especially if 2 families decide to use the non paid days in the same week.

tmcp2001 05-27-2010 08:42 PM

My full time families get one week of vacation at half rate and pay full rate for any other weeks they are not here. I also get 10 paid vacation days per year. I don't have any paid sick days.

I know some providers think this is too much but honestly, it's not been a problem for me. My own four children were in full time care with a home provider who basically had the same policy - except that as a parent, I paid full rate for all of my vacations. She was always full and had been in the business for 20+ years - and was totally worth every penny!!! I feel that I'm providing a level of care that is worth that too! ;)

QualiTcare 05-27-2010 09:10 PM

one week unpaid for them - one week unpaid for me.

fortuntely, they take their vacation the same week i do so it works out well.

but i've said before, there are a lot of other factors to consider when figuring what's fair.

some people might charge half price for vacation, but also charge half price if the kids don't come for whatever reason.

i get paid full price if the kids come or not - except for that one week. if grandma comes to town, someone dies, or dad's off work - doesn't matter. i get paid - except that one week.

so just cus someone says they don't charge or they do charge, or charge half price doesn't tell you much unless you know the rest of the story - IMO.

jen 05-27-2010 09:21 PM

I used to give parents 5 days per year, but have since stopped doing that and it has not been an issue at all. I do not charge for my vacation, about 2 weeks per years. I do charge for holidays.

boysx5 05-28-2010 03:33 AM

I take two weeks paid vacation a year and give them notice in Jan. so then they have the option to choose those weeks for their vacation if they want. If they take vacation they still have to pay. I use to not charge and have found out when I started up again that most in my area charge so I just went along and none of families have had issues with it.

momma2girls 05-28-2010 04:46 AM

Originally Posted by tmcp2001:
My full time families get one week of vacation at half rate and pay full rate for any other weeks they are not here. I also get 10 paid vacation days per year. I don't have any paid sick days.

I know some providers think this is too much but honestly, it's not been a problem for me. My own four children were in full time care with a home provider who basically had the same policy - except that as a parent, I paid full rate for all of my vacations. She was always full and had been in the business for 20+ years - and was totally worth every penny!!! I feel that I'm providing a level of care that is worth that too! ;)

I agree, when I first started I had 1 week, but after the years of doing daycare, I have 2 weeks paid vac. per year. I do not have sick or personal days though. If I am sick or my child is sick it comes out of my vac. or I take it unpaid. I think every line of work no matter what you do, you deserve at least one week paid vac.

Childminder 05-28-2010 06:40 AM

I give parents 2 weeks unpaid vacation per year with two week notice.
I have in my contract that I may take 2 weeks unpaid but do not. I hire someone to come in for the parents convenience IF I take off. The last vacation I took was in 2005.
I have 7 paid holidays each year.

Unregistered 05-28-2010 08:25 AM

MY vacation week which I take 5 days in a row is a non payment week
A parents vacation which is 5 days in a row is a non payment week
I have 3 paid personal days and 3 paid sick days I also have paid holidays which I take off Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve and Day.

dice401 05-28-2010 08:50 AM

I get paid a flat montly rate from each family... So if I go on vacation, I get paid... If they go on vacation, I get paid... No one has even complained about it :)

Mind you, I only take extended weekends :(

tymaboy 05-28-2010 09:36 AM

If I go on Vac I do not get paid. The families get 1 free week & anything after that is 1/2 their week rate.

momofboys 05-28-2010 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by Lilbutterflie:
Hi all!
I've just recently opened a home daycare, but I thought I had a pretty good understanding of standard vacation policies for home daycares. Because we are self-employed, parents still need to pay for the vacations that they take. On the flipside, though, if I choose to take a vacation I would not be paid. Just interested to see what eveyone's policies are about this? Do you allow parents to take vacations without paying you? I recently had a mom challenge me on this, saying it's pretty standard for home daycares to allow 2 weeks vacation after they had been in the daycare for one year.
Any feedback would be great!
Thanks!;)

I do but only if they give me adequate notice (2 weeks). They have not taken me up on it though b/c I care for a teacher's family so she is off all summer. She does not pay me then although I may have her pay a holding fee. She does not pay me when I go on vacation either (I've taken off about 6 days since the start of the school year last fall).

misol 05-28-2010 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by Lilbutterflie:
Hi all!
I've just recently opened a home daycare, but I thought I had a pretty good understanding of standard vacation policies for home daycares. Because we are self-employed, parents still need to pay for the vacations that they take. On the flipside, though, if I choose to take a vacation I would not be paid. Just interested to see what eveyone's policies are about this? Do you allow parents to take vacations without paying you? I recently had a mom challenge me on this, saying it's pretty standard for home daycares to allow 2 weeks vacation after they had been in the daycare for one year.
Any feedback would be great!
Thanks!;)

I do not charge for my own vacations (up to 3 weeks) and my families are still responsible for payment when they go on vacation.

MarinaVanessa 05-28-2010 11:07 AM

I also don't charge for my own vacations since the parents would either have to take time off of work at the same time or pay another provider for care. Very few of the families that I've had get paid vacation so either way their SOL. I give a family one week of unpaid vacation (5 days consecutively) and an additional week at half price. Any additional time they take or any days here and there they take for appt's etc. are paid. The way I see it, if I take time off they don't pay, if they time off (besides their 1st vacation) they pay.

mismatchedsocks 05-28-2010 11:11 AM

I give a fulltime(5days) family 5 days of unpaid "leave time", then if someone is contracted for 3 days a week, they get 3 days a week, etc etc.

I call it leave time, because I had an issue with a family saying they wanted to take vacation, yet not pay me when they decided to keep kid home. So I wrote in there to be careful how to plan the leave days.

I do not charge when I close for vacation. I give them plenty of notice(6 months+), and always the option to take theirs when I take mine.


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