I know most of the other providers wont agree with me but I say let it go. I don't charge a 2 week notice for several reasons:

1. I have them pay on Mondays instead of Fridays so they never leave owing me money.

2. It can be incredibly difficult to collect on a 2 week notice owed if you take the parents to court. They will usually say they didn't feel their child was safe with you or something similar and most judges will say in that case a 2 week notice was not needed because you can't expect a parent to bring their child for 2 weeks to a place that is not safe. Some judges also look at it as asking for money you didn't work for. Of course there are other outcomes and you can cross your fingers that your contract will hold up but is the time worth the money you will lose taking time off of work for court and all of the stress?

3. Even if you do win in court it doesn't mean you will see the money anytime soon, it will just be a judgement on their credit report (but you should make sure it shows up because in some cases it is not automatic).

4. If they leave on good terms like they are moving or child is starting school etc. they usually respect me and give me notice. If they have a problem with me or my daycare I don't want them to give me a 2 week notice and have to deal with them for 2 more weeks, they are usually the parents that drive me nuts and they will be even worse during those last weeks.

I have thought about asking for 2 weeks upfront to pay for the last 2 weeks but I know what would happen. Parents would pay it and the time would come eventually where they gave me a 2 week notice but the money they paid me would be long gone (I don't have enough self control to put it in a separate account) and I would just feel like I wasn't getting paid those last 2 weeks their child was in attendance.

Reply