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If I hire someone to help me every day, how do I know that they wont quit? I mean, if I take someone in I will need to take in a few more kids to cover her pay. So if I bring in two more kids, I will be over my ratio without the helper. Is there such a thing as having her sign like atleast a 6-month contract saying she wont quit? I know that sounds strange to be able to say you wont quit when you never know what might come up in the future, but as providers, you do understand what Im trying to do (cover my arse for ratio's)?
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I am very interested in this question as well since I am pregnant with twins and am considering hiring an assistant for the initial postpartum period and possibly longer to cover me for the ratios, too. However, I do think you should definitely have at least a 2 week notice of termination, so that way you would (hopefully) have time to find a replacement. I would probably for a 3 week notice, just in case you need to give 2 weeks to a DC family as a result of the assistant quitting. -
You can write it but you can't inforce it.
It's very risky to base the number of kids you have on another adult unless you KNOW them really well and know their work ethic AND you have a good back up in place. Either someone to fill in their shoes or parents willing to keep the kids home when they don't come.Comment
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I do have my sister who lives relatively close so if something were to fall through and I lost my helper, my sister is willing to step in and help me until I find someone else. I would just really like to have the helper sign something though. I like the two or three week notice idea!
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You don't know they won't. It's the risk you take, I guess. When I found that I would need an assistant, I put the word out to provider friends, my dc parents, my neighbors, that I was looking for an assistant. I also put an ad on craigslist.org and barefootstudent.org to get interested parties. Then I interviewed and interviewed; I interviewed probably about 10 women before I found the right one.
In my situation I had two families who were having babies at the same time which bumped me into the next license category. Rather than let a family go, I hired an assistant to cover the increase in number of kids. So far, so good~I am still full one year later and clients seem to appreciate that there are two adults here.
I basically took my parent contract and used it as a guide for an employee contract. I included things like job description, daily schedule guideline/expectations, wages & payroll (defined overtime, pay day, vacation and sick time, paid holidays, probation period, breaks, etc), staff development and training, cell phone/smoking/drug/weapons & grievance policies, termination of employment, etc.
The last section was basically an employment acceptance that we both signed. It is evaluated annually on or about her anniversary date. I think if you have some sort of contract it makes you more professional and business like; to them they are signing a contract, they may thing twice before quitting.
I hope this helps!Comment
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That is what is happening with me too. I have two moms who are due in the Fall. Im going to need an assistant.
DCMOM, Can I have your contract that you use for your employee?? I'd love to see it!! Pretty please.Comment
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a contract would do absolutely nothing for you. anyone can quit a job at anytime for any reason and you can fire them at anytime for any reason AND don't even have to tell them WHY.
so, what would a contract do for you? what would you do if they quit without notice - sue them? that still doesn't fix your ratio problem.
i don't know if you could find anyone who would even sign a contract like that OR if it would be enforceable considering all the employment laws there are.Comment
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I've had a SA for 16 years. I've never had a contract. I have done checklists. Then the only question you have is.. did you check off the checklist? They can't say they forgot if they have to check. It helps a lot.
The last few round of interviews I did was gruelling. The last round I did 12 interviews and only ONE of the applicants was under 250 pounds. It has been VERY hard to find a staff assistant that was even CLOSE to normal weight. Obesity is a huge epidemic for child care workers. My friend who owns two Centers and has about 60 employees told me that 9 out of 10 people coming to put applications in at her businesses are morbidly obese. Be prepared for that.Comment
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Why is that, that obesity is big for child care providers. I certainly don't sit on my butt. I found this getting interesting and would like to know. Do you think these kind of people are seeking daycare jobs because they think we sit on our butts all day, not qualified to do anything else, curious to hear the whys here.Comment
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Ok. So I guess what I can do then is just hire her on her word and if it doesnt work out, I have my sister has a backup until I hire someone else.
I had never thought about the obesity issue. You are right though. I hope that the lady Im interviewing this Monday isnt. She seemed so nice and perfect for what Im looking for, however, she has a 2 year old. So I'd have another child to consider in my ratio that I wouldnt be getting paid for, that would probably be eating my food (or I can tell her to bring his or something I guess). Hmmmm...I do have another lady that wants to interview in after the 27th of June. She is away taking care of her mom as she had surgery. She has a child too but wouldnt bring him here. Hmmmm......Comment
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If the assistant is bringing in her own child(ren), it throws off your numbers and the child is taking up a spot that you could fill with a paying client. Therefore, I would try to make some agreement with her, like if you were planning on paying her $6 per hour, maybe you only pay her $4.50. Although she is there and would be "watching" her own child, she is taking up that spot AND you are saving her from paying for a full daycare spot IF she worked outside of childcare. Plus, there's the additional wear and tear on your home, toys, games, puzzles, etc. Plus, the additional craft supplies because you aren't going to have all the kids, except him, participate in arts and crafts. Basically, this kid would cost you money so her pay should reflect that.Comment
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I don't know for sure. I have spoken to another Center owner besides my friend who operates in a fairly affluent neighborhood and she is coming across the same issue.
I think our society is getting heavier. It's acceptable for our youth to be overweight. I think child care draws lower skilled lower paid workers who have a higher chance of obesity because they don't have the education and money to eat healthier.
I did three rounds of interviewing over a period of maybe six months or so and the last one I put in my ads that we would not accept anyone who had the health issue of obesity because the job here is very physcially demanding etc. I tried to be as nice about it as I could. I know it's a slippery slope but I was really getting tired of interviewing girls that COULD NOT do this job. It was a huge waste of my time.
The ones who worked at Centers before my interview would bring their physical forms to me at the interview and I saw so many health issues like asthma, high blood pressure, and back problems. I don't know how they got the jobs in the Centers in the first place but if that's all that came thru the door when you needed staff.. what are you going to do?
I got to the point where I just asked height and weight. It was exhausting dealing with it. Still out of the twelve I did interview who told me their height and weight... I found that they markedly underestimated the truth. I was willing to consider girls 40-50 poiunds overweight but I could NOT have someone here that was 80-90-100 pounds overweight.
The person I hired was on the line of what I thought would work but after a year of working for me she lost about 25 pounds so she is doing really well. The job was EXTREMELY difficult for her in the begining. She was a perfect example of why I was certain that the weight would be an issue here. She had a really really hard time PHYSCIALLY doing the work and doing it in the time I needed it to be done.
I felt I didn't have the option to wait it out until I found someone who was physically fit enough for the job. I just wasn't getting a single response from someone who wasn't dealing with obesity.
I'm no slim jim myself. I have about 30 extra pounds on me. I know how physically taxing this is carrying around 30 extra pounds. It would be impossible to do this with an extra 80.
It's a hard subject to talk about because people get offended and there are anti discrimination laws. I didn't want to discriminate at all... I just really needed someone who could do this job. I can't afford to do the intensive costly training I do here and have someone quit because they can't keep up or have the health issues that come along with morbid obesity. When you have a small window of client base and funds for the position you have to have the RIGHT person. You can't have someone who has health complications and being 80 plus pounds overweight IS a health complication.Comment
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I think I can really shed a lot of light on this issue. First, I used to be morbidly obese. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2001 and lost over 1/2 my weight. I went from a size 24/26 to a 4/6 (depending on the designer). My energy went through the roof!! I was so thrilled to really feel like I could have children and know I would be able to chase after them.
Then I met my husband when I was 31 and I tried Depro-Provera. I had maintain my size 4/6 figure for over 5 years, but within 6 months I gained 30 pounds! I later learned that was one of the side effects. However, due to other medical complications from the Depo, I never took it again. Later, we got pregnant with DD. Once she turned 18 months, I finally started losing the baby weight only to find out we're pregnant with TWINS!!
I had difficulty losing the baby weight with DD because I got so busy with the kids that I was forgetting to eat, so my metabolism (which has always ****ed!) went in to h***. Once I realized that the kids NEEDED me to TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, I started eating more often and I lost 8 pounds in less than 2 weeks! Then ... the twins.
Here's the really strange thing: I am dead tired and exhausted like you would NOT believe. However, due to 1st tri morning sickness, I lost 10 pounds and have not gained an ounce back. Yet, my belly is growing so fast, it actually hurts from the stretching. I'm only 15 weeks and need to get new underwear because nothing fits anymore!
So, at the moment I am approximately 30-40 lbs overweight, which did not bother me much, as for running the daycare. But the pregnancy is killing me, even without the weight gain.
As for being morbidly obese, it DOES affect your ability to do things physically. I know some people may get offended, but take it from someone who has been a size 26 and a size 6 - I have been there and done that, I DO KNOW! And I would NOT hire anyone who was more than 50 pounds overweight. You have to be able to perform the functions of your job. This job requires physical stamina. And people more than 50 lbs overweight just do not have the stamina of a person of healthy weight. Plus, if they try, they could collapse with a stroke or heart attack. I would NEVER want that to happen in front of my kids (my own or my daycare kids)! Talk about trauma!
Since I have not gained an ounce with this pregnancy but my belly is protruding like I'm 20-22 weeks, I am hoping that I am losing excess weight in direct relation to the amount the babies are adding to my body. If that's correct, I might walk out of this pregnancy healthier than I started!! WooHoo!!
Just a few thoughts though - 1) morbid obesity is NOT ALWAYS because of unhealthy behavior or laziness. Some are more predisposed for it. 2) Also, I am an avid supporter of gastric bypass and gastric banding, BUT ONLY if the person meets the criteria of the National Institutes of Health AND proper counseling / retraining is completed. Pushing the limits could be deadly. 3) If anyone wants info about weight loss surgery for themselves or someone they know, just let me know.Comment
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I spoke with her on the phone today. I guess I wasnt thinking clearly about her child being so costly. I told her $8.25/hr. Thats $1 more than minimum wage here. Maybe when I meet with her on Monday, I can revise it to take into consideration the costs of her child and the fact that this child takes up a paying spot....Comment
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I did the staff assistant with kid thing with two employees and won't go there again. The SA's kids can make your life a living hell. For me, it worked okay when they were babies but once they got into the two year old range it got a lot more complicated. It's very hard for the sa to not choose their kids happiness over the happiness and fairness of the group. Paying an adult to keep one kid happy gets really expensive really fast. If the kid takes a slot in your day care you have to make sure it's being paid for and that the child isn't comsuming more of the resources than their portion of the care. That gets dicey when it's their Mama doing the care.
I required my sa's to pay for a full slot for the hours they used care with the same policies as my other clients. It's the only way to make it work. If their kid was out sick they still paid for the slot. If they went on vacation they still paid for the slot. When I went on vacation they paid.
If you allow a sa kid for free then add about four dollars an hour to her pay. You will see it that way but she won't. If you pay eight dollars an hour and she gets free day care.. that's equivallent to twelve dollars an hour. Do day care workers in your area make twelve dollars an hour? Is her presence allowing YOU to bring home more money? If you end up with extra kids. .. her kid and the day care kids that pay her eight dollars an hour.. then how much are YOU getting after expenses?
My State only allows 12 kids plus two part timers for the highest catagory for home day care. Of those twelve plus two kids you can only have four under the age of two even if BOTH the provider and the "co provider / staff assistant" are present. That means we have to fill the slots with older kids. Babies are way easier to get.
By myself I can have eight with four under the age of two. It doesn't pay me to have a staff assistant at eight dollars an hour plus her kid because the extra kids I can take basically go to her salary. If you have that many kids the staff assistant has to really know what they are doing and you gotta PAY for that level of experience. That kind of staff assistant needs more money than a newbie.
I decided to just have an inexperienced cheaper staff assistant with no kid and just have my eight kids. At the end of the year.. I make just as much money with that combination than I did with the expensive sa with more kids.
So be careful not to rob peter to pay paul. If you are going to have a helper that will allow you more kids then make sure you aren't giving all that money and the money for their kids slot to them.Comment
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