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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Allowing Employees to Take Side Jobs Watching Children in My Care
Question 06:25 AM 11-24-2015
I am wondering if other small daycares allow an employee to take side work watching children in your care and if so have you set rules? I am an in home group childcare but have been running with only 5-8 kids since school started I have only one employee and when a parent asked her to babysit over night on weekends I didn't mind so much. I had them sign a letter stating I am not responsible should anything happen. Now they do pay her very well. Almost as much as they pay me in a week and I was glad she could make the extra. I am going away for three days this week and asked my employee if she wanted to work the extra day or have it off. She wanted it off. When my parents were leaving yesterday I said don't forget I am closed Wednesday. She came running up and said I can watch her at my home. I was enraged! I said well you wanted the day off and she said I just thought I could watch her and get my stuff done. I don't think this is right for her to turn down work and then take any of those same kids at that time for cash! What are some of your thoughts and procedures on this subject matter? Thankyou!
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Play Care 06:37 AM 11-24-2015
On one hand she may have wanted a day off and then plans fell through and she was avalible. In her mind she was already off so what she did on "her" time isn't your business, KWIM?

That said, I do see a conflict of interest, especially because they are paying her probably more than you do and it's less kids.

In the future I would do a "non-compete" clause not allowing them to babysit clients. Further I would not give employees the option of working vs a day off when I couldn't be there.
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nannyde 06:43 AM 11-24-2015
https://www.daycare.com/nannyde/the-...ant-part-4.htm
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childcaremom 06:58 AM 11-24-2015
I don't have any employees BUT if I did...

I would have all contact with parents. Employees would not. I would approach it as Nannyde. Intro and that is it.

Employees would not be allowed to work for parents (this would not be able to be arranged as they would not have contact).

If I am closed, so is the daycare. I do not want people in my house while I am not. If you want to keep daycare open, then it is not an option whether or not an employee works. If I schedule her/him, they work.

I would also be looking to replace this employee. She's done it once, she's going to do it again.
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Question 07:02 AM 11-24-2015
Thank you for your response... I didn't mention also that I work 3 shifts just to stay afloat. I also didn't mention that I was giving her the option of working 20 hours in these two days with the intent of paying her for fourty. It isn't easy keeping her on with so few children but I do in the hopes that they will come. Maybe not this year. She will not work past five/ five thirty. ( her words) I never promised her the holiday pay as I just do what I can in this business as it is so up and down. Well im certainly not happy that she is making a business of my clients. I will be putting an addition in my employee handbook and I will not be paying her for the whole week this week! I work too hard for that!
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Blackcat31 07:24 AM 11-24-2015
Originally Posted by Question:
I am wondering if other small daycares allow an employee to take side work watching children in your care and if so have you set rules? I am an in home group childcare but have been running with only 5-8 kids since school started I have only one employee and when a parent asked her to babysit over night on weekends I didn't mind so much. I had them sign a letter stating I am not responsible should anything happen. Now they do pay her very well. Almost as much as they pay me in a week and I was glad she could make the extra. I am going away for three days this week and asked my employee if she wanted to work the extra day or have it off. She wanted it off. When my parents were leaving yesterday I said don't forget I am closed Wednesday. She came running up and said I can watch her at my home. I was enraged! I said well you wanted the day off and she said I just thought I could watch her and get my stuff done. I don't think this is right for her to turn down work and then take any of those same kids at that time for cash! What are some of your thoughts and procedures on this subject matter? Thankyou!
She would still need to claim the income for ANY babysitting she does on the side.

The IRS considers "Babysitting" a job just like they do a child care provider so you may want to share that info with her.

Technically if she provides care in her own home, she would be considered a child care provider and if she provides care in the child's home, she is a babysitter.

Either way she must claim ALL income paid and pay taxes on it.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/child_care_provider.pdf
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daycare 08:03 AM 11-24-2015
I have employees and they are NOT allowed to provide services of any kind to my daycare clients from a personal standpoint.
No babysitting, no personal sales and etc

now if they work at another company and provide services, then that is something I can not stop them from doing.

BUt I will not allow my staff to pitch any products or services to my dcf.


It is a conflict of interest.

I don't even let my own kids do it either.
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Unregistered 09:36 AM 11-24-2015
I worked at a center with someone who ended up leaving to be a nanny for one of the dck. It happens a lot I think. I got my nanny job when I was 17 by being a sub at a fcc and the owner recommended me! I guess she had enough employees... or maybe she wanted to get rid of me haha! IDK but as others have said, I would do a non compete clause cause she will leave for the easy life as fast as she gets a chance! (One kid at same or more pay!)
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Preschool/daycare teacher 09:00 PM 11-24-2015
This would make me really mad too. An employee I worked with a few years ago when I worked at a daycare ended up taking some of the kids and starting her own in home daycare. What happened was the daycare had just had to raise their rates (they were well below the average anyway and even with the raise they were still in the low end), and the parents were not happy. So this employee offered to watch some of her favorite kids in her own home and charge what they had been paying at the daycare before the daycare gave notice of the raise. So one day she just didn't show up at the daycare. No call, no show. The daycare ended up having to close sadly But this employee did well for a few years as her expenses were a lot less and she could afford to charge less. And of course she didn't count the income on her taxes... (I knew this employee personally, but it kind of hurt our relationship after she did that lol).
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Febby 02:02 PM 11-25-2015
My center doesn't allow it. No intentional contact with parents outside of the center. No working directly for parents for one year after we leave employment with the center.

So, I'm fine if I run into a family at the grocery store. I'm fine if I leave my center and work for another center that a family ends up leaving mine for. But I can't watch children for parents unless they're related to me. (One of my nephews goes to my center. I can watch him when I'm not working and, of course, I can talk to his mom and dad.)

It's pretty standard to center employees (at least around here) to sign some sort of contract similar to that. I'm not sure how enforceable they are, though.
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springv 01:21 PM 06-09-2019
Our center doesn't care what the employees do on their time off and the weekends. We've had employees do this in the past and it doesn't cause any problems
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hwichlaz 08:42 AM 06-10-2019
Our town is just way too small to tell an employee they can't have "intentional contact" because chances are they already all know each other. Though, I'd still have a non-compete clause.
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lblanke 08:09 PM 06-10-2019
The drop in child care at our local gym does not allow employees to babysit children in their care, saying that most child sexual assault comes from someone the parents know and trust (I have seen statistics that point to > 90%). Their concern is that the parents will trust the employee, the use that to gain private access to children in their care. In the group setting, the playroom is visible and parents/other employees are always coming and going, and employees are never left alone with the children (always 2 or 3 employees no matter what the size of the group). Even if you are not responsible if something happens should parents hire one of your employees on their own, you would likely feel responsible, and it would probably ruin your business.
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Tags:employee - contract, employee - handbook, employee clause, employee contracts, employee issues, side jobs
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