Staying Later Then Scheduled Time

[Persephone]

Since this week is a Holiday week and the sibling group I watch was not here on Monday (It is paid) they are going to stay later on Friday. In my handbook it states:

EARLY/LATE CHARGES
My time is very valuable to me, as is yours to you and I expect that you follow your schedule, if you are early or late, fees will be charged as follows and will be added to Friday’s payment.

Charges are $5.00 per 15 minutes over your scheduled hours.

They signed the contract that they would leave on Fridays at either 12:00 or 2:00 and they are staying until 4:00 tomorrow.

Should I say something?

They were not here on Monday but are paying me for it.

BTW: I had to ask tonight what time they were picking up and he said 4. Last time they didn't tell me it was 2, when they had been 12 until the mom was walking out the door in the morning and I TOLD her that I needed to know as soon as they did. The dad picks them up...he could tell he right away.

They are the only family I have and I like to make plans for after they leave, while I don't have plans for tomorrow I might have!!

[momofboys]

Since this week is a Holiday week and the sibling group I watch was not here on Monday (It is paid) they are going to stay later on Friday. In my handbook it states:



They signed the contract that they would leave on Fridays at either 12:00 or 2:00 and they are staying until 4:00 tomorrow.

Should I say something?

They were not here on Monday but are paying me for it.

Yes, you should totally say something! It is akin to their boss saying to them you had Monday off work as a holiday but now you have to go to work for 2-3 hrs on Saturday to make up for it. I would tell them to please refer to their handbook. If they wish to stay longer on Friday they will need to have you approve it & pay an additional fee for the extra time you provide care.

[Persephone]

Yes, you should totally say something! It is akin to their boss saying to them you had Monday off work as a holiday but now you have to go to work for 2-3 hrs on Saturday to make up for it. I would tell them to please refer to their handbook. If they wish to stay longer on Friday they will need to have you approve it & pay an additional fee for the extra time you provide care.

Should I charge them a fee tomorrow? Should I call them tonight to remind them?

[Persephone]

I wanted to add that I just looked at the papers they signed and I even have it listed right under where they fill in their hours that there is an overtime rate of $5 per family for every 15 mins late.

[alyssyn]

If Monday was your paid holiday to have off, and it's listed in your handbook, than so be it. That was your holiday. They shouldn't expect you to make-up time for that. You don't have to. I would be polite and remind them of the paperwork they signed and charge for the additional care.

[MarinaVanessa]

It is akin to their boss saying to them you had Monday off work as a holiday but now you have to go to work for 2-3 hrs on Saturday to make up for it.

This is a great way of putting it. I like this. This is going in my memory bank.

[Persephone]

Well that didn't go well. The mom didn't even know what time the dad was coming. She was like "They'll leave at 2:00 today" And I quested her and she had no idea. Don't they talk at night?

Even though it says 'stick to you scheduled' or you pay overtime, she takes it as meaning anything over any time AFTER I would close for the day.

I told her that I don't have any other kids so when they leave I close.

I do have it wrote that I am open until 5:30. So I told her that was something for me to change later in my handbook.

She was like "Normally sitter charges for when they close, not when the kid leaves. You can't just charge if they come later"


She was not happy about it at all. I was very nice about it and changed the subject about her dog, which we're looking at getting. And left it on a good note.

I feel bad. I don't want to loss them but they are a pain sometimes.

[DBug]

I had a similar misunderstanding with a parent a couple of weeks ago. They didn't think they needed to pay for stat holidays -- 8 other families didn't have any issues with the wording of the contract, so I knew it wasn't that hard to figure out. But I thanked them for bringing the "possible ambiguity" of the wording to my attention, and let them know I'd change it to make it more clear. But I still charged them for the stat in question . Just be polite, but stick to your contract. If you let her off the hook this time, she may think you will next time too!

[momofboys]

Well that didn't go well. The mom didn't even know what time the dad was coming. She was like "They'll leave at 2:00 today" And I quested her and she had no idea. Don't they talk at night?

Even though it says 'stick to you scheduled' or you pay overtime, she takes it as meaning anything over any time AFTER I would close for the day.

I told her that I don't have any other kids so when they leave I close.

I do have it wrote that I am open until 5:30. So I told her that was something for me to change later in my handbook.

She was like "Normally sitter charges for when they close, not when the kid leaves. You can't just charge if they come later"


She was not happy about it at all. I was very nice about it and changed the subject about her dog, which we're looking at getting. And left it on a good note.

I feel bad. I don't want to loss them but they are a pain sometimes.

that's why I don't have open/closed hours anymore. I only do the client's contracted hours. I have a form that is filled in showing the days of the week & the hours the client needs care. Then below that it is written that anything before or after the contracted hours will be charged an extra fee per hour or half hour or whatever. You based your fees on what hours she needed I assume so it is unfair for her to tack on extra hours. I'd strongly encourage you to write up a new contract regarding this client's hours & re-word it so you don't have the open/closing timeframes, just the client's work hours with 1/2 hr tacked on on each end for commute times.

[misol]

that's why I don't have open/closed hours anymore. I only do the client's contracted hours. I have a form that is filled in showing the days of the week & the hours the client needs care. Then below that it is written that anything before or after the contracted hours will be charged an extra fee per hour or half hour or whatever. You based your fees on what hours she needed I assume so it is unfair for her to tack on extra hours. I'd strongly encourage you to write up a new contract regarding this client's hours & re-word it so you don't have the open/closing timeframes, just the client's work hours with 1/2 hr tacked on on each end for commute times.

I have heard this suggested many times on this board and it is some of the best advice I have received. Otherwise you will undoubtedly get those parents who will want to drop their kids off the minute you open and not pick up until the minute you close. I was lucky enough to be able to make this change to my contract before I ran into an issue with a parent.

[professionalmom]

Even though it says 'stick to you scheduled' or you pay overtime

This is pretty clear and I would think it would hold up in court. "Stick to your schedule" is not really that ambiguous. It specifically says "YOUR SCHEDULE" not the "daycare hours". I could always be wrong. But I think she is just trying to create an ambiguity where none exists. I have had clients try this with me. It's an attempt to coerce you into letting them take advantage of you. If you let them, even once, they will expect it from then on. This is not just DC parents, but ANYONE. When people find out they can get away with something, they often consider it an open invitation to break (or bend) the rules.

Also, if YOU don't put your foot down, who will? You are the owner, director, CEO, CFO, President, secretary, bookkeeper, etc. You don't have a superior to go to bat for you. It's one of the things that stinks about owning your own business - you have to be the "enforcer" of the contract, policies, and procedures.

Good luck!

[Lianne]

Had Monday not been a stat. holiday (or in lieu of one) I'd have said don't charge her for the extra 2 hours on Friday. But, because Monday was in lieu of July 4th, then yes, you should charge for the extra two hours.

Personally, I tend to be quite flexible with my families BUT they are equally flexible with me. I kept a client's two kids late last night and didn't charge her but she stopped on her way home from work and picked up some toys I bought on an online classified ad. She did me a favour so I did her one but she did offer me the correct amount of money for keeping her kids the extra time when she picked them up and I turned it down. The offer of payment is just as important as the flexibility. However, I have fantastic clients who genuinely appreciate me and the job I do. If I had a less than stellar client (and I have had several in the past) I would not be willing to be so flexible and trade favours. It all depends on the clients and my relationship with them.

[professionalmom]

Had Monday not been a stat. holiday (or in lieu of one) I'd have said don't charge her for the extra 2 hours on Friday. But, because Monday was in lieu of July 4th, then yes, you should charge for the extra two hours.

Personally, I tend to be quite flexible with my families BUT they are equally flexible with me. I kept a client's two kids late last night and didn't charge her but she stopped on her way home from work and picked up some toys I bought on an online classified ad. She did me a favour so I did her one but she did offer me the correct amount of money for keeping her kids the extra time when she picked them up and I turned it down. The offer of payment is just as important as the flexibility. However, I have fantastic clients who genuinely appreciate me and the job I do. If I had a less than stellar client (and I have had several in the past) I would not be willing to be so flexible and trade favours. It all depends on the clients and my relationship with them.

I too have a family that has been too awesome for words. Both DCM & DCD work at the same steakhouse as managers. They have brought us food and refused payment because they don't have to pay for it. They brought me fillet Mignon, for Pete's sake. Plus, the DCM sometimes calls when she's on her way just to ask if there's anything that I'm craving (I'm pregnant) that she could pick up for me. So, I tend to give them breaks on dropping of a few minutes early or picking up a few minutes late. I figure it all evens out in the end. Then my new family (this is their 4th day), the grandparents brought over 2 riding toys to donate to my daycare. How sweet is that? Will I be more flexible when needed - yes, unless it becomes a problem.

YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE GOLDEN CLIENTS!!! They make the real "tools" more bearable.

[MarinaVanessa]

Okay, I know that lots of providers don't have their business hours in their contracts or policies but I had a situation where when I didn't have them printed and only went by "scheduled hours" a family wanted to change their pick up from 4pm to 7pm (dad worked nights & evenings and mom had a schedule change). When I told them that I don't watch children past 6pm they gave me a hard time about it by saying that it didn't say anywhere in the paper work that I don't watch kids earlier or later than a specific time. I stuck to my guns (I mean c'mon, they gave her the option to work a little later and didn't think to run it by me first to see if it was possible BEFORE agreeing to it??) and immediately changed my handbook and contract to say this:

Daycare Hours
Our regular hours are Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. These hours are not necessarily the hours that you are allotted to bring your child. Hours for care will be discussed and a schedule will be set which includes a fair amount of commuting time and this will become your “scheduled hours”. Care will be provided for your child only during these contracted hours. Any changes made to your schedule hours must be discussed and re-assessed based on the ability for the childcare provider to meet your new needs.

She was like "Normally sitter charges for when they close, not when the kid leaves. You can't just charge if they come later"

First of all, when you read your contract it does say this. I think it's is very clear so don't let her mess with it. If they get picked up later, they pay more. It says it and they signed it. End of story.

Second and totally off of the subject and random. Am I the only one that gets irritated when I am referred to as a "sitter" or "babysitter"? One of my DC littles was playing pretend that she was a babysitter "Look Vanessa, I'm a babysitter like you!" and I smiled of course, but I couldn't help but correct her "I'm not a babysitter silly, I'm a childcare provider" and then we went into what the differences between the two are . I'm sorry, I just can't help it. I read a great passage somewhere and included that in my policy book also. It reads like this:

"One of the important elements in home childcare is mutual respect between the parent and the provider. We both have a great responsibility for the health, care and the teaching of your child. You of course are the primary nurturer for your child but during the times your child is in my care I will love, nurture and protect your child. Therefore it is only reasonable that you respect me as more than just a “babysitter”. If you promise not to refer to me as a babysitter I promise not to sit on your baby."

[Lianne]

Will I be more flexible when needed - yes, unless it becomes a problem.

This is exactly my thought. I know that not all provider/client relationships allow for the give and take and I never want to see a provider being taken advantage of, taken for granted or getting screwed over. I absolutely support standing up for yourself and sticking to policies. But, when possible with golden clients, if there's some fair give and take, even better.

Oh, and I'm now craving a steak