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I am currently writing my contract for next year. I have yearly contracts so I can make changes if I feel the need to do so. I am thinking about the subject of whether or not to claim paid days off or not to be paid for days that I close. Here's the thing. I think of myself as a business owner. Technically, that is what I am. I own a licensed home daycare which has a required business license in order to legally operate. So, even though it is a small business, I am a business owner. So, as a business owner, why would I expect to be paid on days that I don't open my business? I am trying to think of companies that receive payment for times they don't even offer their services and I can't think of any. No retail company, restaurant, etc. collects income on days that they are closed. Doctors, dentists, etc. don't make any income when they are closed. So, can you tell me any company that does not offer the ability to utilize their services for a specified time frame, but still require to be paid for the time that they do not even offer service?
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I personally dont ask for payment for the week I take off for vacation, or any days I take off since the parents have to pay for care from somewhere else.
I would love to, but cant bring myself to.
and i cant think of a small business like that?
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Restaurants and retail operations are low end of the totum pole type jobs.
But, doctors, dentists do get paid. They get paid all of the time. Just think how many times you've tried getting into your doctor to find out he's on vacation. Is he getting paid, I'd be willing to bet he is. They charge an arm and a leg and can afford to take 5 vacations a year.
We on the other hand do not charge an arm and a leg and rather than charging more, we just charge for the one vacation we get per year.
I get 10 paid days off per year and 9 paid holidays per year. I manage to stay at capacity. You can too!
And, most recently, I used to let parents take up to 2 weeks vacation per year and would only charge them 50%. I now charge the same rate per week, all 52 weeks of the year.
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Yes, each type of business makes a different income level, however, I can't think of any business that is paid for services that they do not offer at that time. A doctor might make $80 per patient, but if he does not see any patients that day, he does not make any money that day. Do you see my point?
I currently getting all of my days off as paid and none of my parents are complaining about them. Actually, they are chosing to pay me for the days that I close as it is not specified in my contract whether my days closed will be paid or not. But plenty of parents have fussed about paying daycare providers when they are closed and since I am revising my contract for the new year, I started thinking about it. I honestly can't think of any business that charges fees for days that they are closed and therefore do not even offer any services to their clients.Comment
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Day care providers are not anything but day care providers and so we shouldn't be compared to anything else.
I have done this job for almost 28 years now. For the first 15 I never got one single paid day off. Then one year, my darling hubby just told me that had to stop. If my clients didn't think I was worth 7 paid holidays, then they could take a hike. Pure and simple. He pointed out that it wouldn't be like I was springing it on them a day before I took it. It would be in the contract. All parents would have a TON of time to make arrangements.
It has never been a difficulty.
In fact most of my parents are happy that I take a paid day here and there. They appreciate me and want me rested and ready to take care of their kids without it being a financial burden on me.
Yes doctors etc are closed on certain days. But they don't charge a monthly service fee. It's appointment by appointment. Of course I would not call up a drop in parent and demand a paid day!
But I charge a monthly fee to my regular clients. Regardless of hours or days.
They get good value for their money and they know it. Paid days off are not a problem.Comment
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Okay, so lets think about the companies that charge a monthly service fee like we do. The companies that come to mind are the gas and electric, home security companies, and cable. Now, lets say that the cable company charges a monthly fee of $100/month which is an average of $25/week. But they are refusing to offer any cable connection for one week this month. Do you think you would be okay with paying for the entire month of cable when you can only watch cable for 3 weeks, not 4 weeks because they decided to 'close' the cable company that week?
Let's try another service company. Cleaning companies. They typically offer a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or one time cleaning. So, for the homeowner who has chosen the weekly cleaning and agreed to pay for her home to be cleaned every Tuesday, if the cleaning company closes for a week, therefore, the cleaning lady does not clean the homeowner's house that week, does the cleaning company charge the homeowner for a week's cleaning that they did not receive? No, they don't.
That's my point. Of the companies that get paid the way we do, on a weekly or monthly basis for a service offered, I can't think of any companies that get paid if they don't offer their services for a particular time frame.Comment
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I simply take a specific number of paid days off and then make sure to give each family that is FT the same amount of days they can take off without paying and give the PT families half of that. I figured that is fair.
I also pride myself on being available as much as possible, being flexible when I can and RARELY taking a sick day.
I think you have to just find what works for you and do it. I also think it is smart that you left it open that you can re-do contracts yearly. The needs of the group (and you) change each year so that was a good move.
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It sounds like you have already made your decision! You don't think paid days are fair? So do not have paid days in your contract! That's the beauty of being a business owner. You get to make the rules!.
You posed the question of whether we would be happy if the cable company closed and yet wanted full price. The bottom line is.... did I sign a contract with the cable company saying I was agreeing to that when I first signed up? If I did, then I have no room to whine about it later.
All my prospective clients know I expect 7 paid holidays. If they are not happy with that, then they can keep looking for another day care.
I don't force people to bring their kids to my day care. If they sign the contract they have to abide by it.Comment
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I can't necessarily choose my utility company but I CAN choose my cable company and the one I chose makes it worth my while to stay with them by giving me little perks here and there. Like Meeko said, I knew going in what services I would and wouldn't be getting so that kind of changes things.
I also agree that we are self employed so we get to decide what we want to do. Parents can buy the service if they like the terms of find another person offering services they want.
The electric company may not get paid for services not rendered but the employees of those electric companies probably get paid vacation days...Comment
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For me it is pretty simple.
I know how much I have to earn per year to stay in business.
The State limits me to 6 kids.
What I need to earn divided by the number of weeks I am open, then again by 6 slots. That is what the tuition is based on.
I currently "don't charge" for my vacations, but that is because I just subtracted those weeks from my initial tuition calculations.
Whether parents "pay for providers vacations" or not.....the price will be exactly the same.
I really don't understand all the drama surrounding it. :confused:
My calendar is handed out a full year in advance, afterall.- Unless otherwise stated, all my posts are personal opinion and worth what you paid for them.
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I just updated my contract...it's basically the same as last year, but I did amend the Holiday part if it lands on a weekend (since I learned my lesson for Christmas and New Year's this year.)
Here's how mine reads...
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HOLIDAYS, VACATIONS, PERSONAL & SICK TIME
I understand the position that parents are put in when a child care provider takes time off, so I try to be available as much as possible. I will be distributing monthly calendars to announce any time I might need off in advance. In the event that myself or my own children are sick, I may give you the option of bringing your children or not, and will notify you as soon as possible.
• My Vacation, Personal, or Sick Days: 5 Paid per year
• Government Observed Holidays: Paid (Should a Government Observed Holiday land on a Saturday or Sunday, it will be observed on either the Friday or Monday surrounding that weekend.)
• Your Sick, Vacation, or Personal Days: PaidComment
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On the flip side...
We still need to pay our full monthly cable bill even if we haven't used the cable each day of the month
I work hard and I earn paid holidays - if parents don't like it, don't sign the contract. If other providers don't like it, oh well, it's none of your business!
My business, my rules!Comment
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You stated that all of your parents currently pay you for days off. Who are the parents that have fussed about daycare providers being paid when they are closed? Nameless and faceless ones it seems!
Don't set yourself up for your current DECENT parents turning into those that will want "SPECIAL" once they get a taste of this.
Do not undervalue yourself and all that you are doing NOW and in the FUTURE for the children in your care. We have to know our worth!!!Comment
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The parents that have fussed about paying for days I - and other providers in the area are closed - are some of my previous clients, some clients that actually had to leave my daycare and find other daycare that doesn't close on days that they do not have off (meaning I lost clients just because I wanted a day off), and some of the clients on interviews that did not hire me after reading the days scheduled to be closed in my contract.
A couple of years ago, I simply did not list any specified days off and just randomly announce that I need to close throughout the years and oddly, this group of parents have not fussed about any of the days that I have closed.
But I have been hearing from parents and providers in person and reading about it on the forum about parents fussing over paying providers for time off, so that got me to thinking about it. Since I am in the process of revising my contract, I thought I'd ask about it.Comment
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I used to live in an area with a higher income level. Parents there never fussed about paying me for days off or 2 weeks' paid vacation per year. But I got divorced, yada yada, and have been living in an area with a lower income level. Here, ALOT of people fuss about having to pay for days that I am not open.
However, the group of parents that I have now seem to be okay with paying me when I am closed. So, I'm thinking about putting some scheduled paid days off in my contract for my new clients (and the current ones - they have to sign a new contract each year). But I'm a bit nervous that prospective new clients will see a list of closed paid days and not hire me just because those days don't coinside with their days off. So I guess I'm researching and trying to see different ways of looking at this from different people's points of view before I make a decision whether to put paid days off in my contract or not.Comment
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