After being in this business for as long as I have, I hate to admit that still, I simply HATE to talk about money! It is not something that I ever want to do! Yes, I believe I deserve to get paid what my contract states...but NO I do not want to confront anyone...
With that being said, I had 2 new families that started in July and August and both signed contracts acknowledging my PAID holidays.
Saturday I received payment from the one family and it was short for Thursday and Friday. I was upset and wondering why they'd misunderstood the contract.
Because the other family was going to be gone this week, (mom is a teacher) I was stressed out and hated having to call and confront this. However, I knew that I needed to reiterate my contract with them and make sure it was clear. When I called her, I explained that Thurs and Fri are "paid" days off and she acknowledged that she was aware of that and had planned to pay me accordingly. I felt so much better knowing that I was going to get paid what I had been expecting in my contract with them and that all was good!
So... when the other family drops off this morning, I asked them why my check was short for the 2 days of my holiday pay this week. Dad explained that mom tried to convince him that they they didn't need to pay for those days.
Long story short, it was a simple miscommunication between parents and mom misunderstood the obligations to pay for those days off.
It has taken me a LONG time to stand up for specific things like this. I just want to offer encouragement to other providers...NO matter how long you have been doing this, stand by your contract and DO NOT let people walk all over you! It can sometimes be completely innocent and it's uncomfortable to speak up, but you deserve to get paid what you are owed!!!!