Originally Posted by Unregistered:
This is not the same situation. You're right, as an employee, my employer grants me paid vacation based on how long I've been employed. But, if we hired a service provider such as a consultant, we would not pay them to go on vacation. We would pay them for their billable hours. Daycares should have billable hours.
Think of it as any other owner ran business. If the business is closed for the day, they are sacrificing the income that may have normally been provided that day.
A daycare provider makes their decision when they decide to become self employed. They (as the company) are responsible for paying themselves and their employees vacation time - not me as the customer. The daycare rates are not direct payroll to the provider. They cover payroll, operating costs, etc. If the business is ran properly, payroll should still be able to be covered if the provider is on vacation. Collecting fees when no service is provided is just greedy - and actually unlike any other business situation.
I charge the same way a school does: Yearly tuition. I don't get a refund or discount over winter break-I still have to pay. If school is closed, I still pay. I figure out what I need for the year and give my clients options on making payments. I still need the same $XXXX per year to operate my business. If a client REALLY didn't want to pay for my days off, I'd just take that $XXXX that I charge, and divide it by 49 weeks instead of 52. The cost is the same either way.
We have a snow removal service that charges by the month. No snow? We pay. Snow every day? We pay the same. There are MANY businesses that operate this way. If a person doesn't like that, WHY are they signing a contract with such a business?