Tell Me About Your Time Off Policies

[jamiem]

I am in the process of updating my handbook and I am curious about your time off policies.

1) Do you have paid vacation days? If so how many?

2) Do you have paid personal/sick days? If so how many?

3) Do you require payment when a child isn't in your care due to child being sick, the parent having days off, or their family vacations?

I am wanting to go from my current policies:
10 paid vacation days, 0 sick/personal days, requiring pay when child is home sick but allowing up to 5 unpaid vacation days if proper notice is given
to
10 paid vacation days, 3 paid personal/sick days, and still requiring payment anytime a child is not in care.

Am I asking for too much?

[daycare]

I am in the process of updating my handbook and I am curious about your time off policies.

1) Do you have paid vacation days? If so how many?

2) Do you have paid personal/sick days? If so how many?

3) Do you require payment when a child isn't in your care due to child being sick, the parent having days off, or their family vacations?

I am wanting to go from my current policies:
10 paid vacation days, 0 sick/personal days, requiring pay when child is home sick but allowing up to 5 unpaid vacation days if proper notice is given
to
10 paid vacation days, 3 paid personal/sick days, and still requiring payment anytime a child is not in care.

Am I asking for too much?

YOu can ask for whatever you want. If they sign it, then your in....... now only if it were that easy right.

I don't think that it is too much to ask. It sounds about right.

I take 1 week paid vacation, 3 personal/sick days and require full payment if child is in attendance or not for any reason.

For full time families I do allow for them to pay 1/2 the weekly rate for their vacation if they give me a 30 day advance notice.

I do not offer my part time families any benefits.

[blessed mom]

I have one week off with half tuition during that week.
Full pay on vacation days (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, 4th of July...normal national holidays)
Parents pay full tuition on their vacations
Parents do not pay for my sick days
Parents pay if their child is sick. If they are part time I will allow make up days the following week. If it's an extended sickness (two weeks or more) I will let them pay half tuition as long as it's only one week.

I don't think you are asking too much. I actually want more time off but what keeps me from doing it is I have several single moms who don't have back up help. I know that's not my issue but I also know that's what keeps them with me because I don't take a lot of time off. Some travel out of their way to go to my daycare/preschool. So I am going to add a few more vacation days...Veterans day and a few others and call it good...for now. When I worked at a center many parents came to us complaining about excessive time off with in home care providers so I've tried to stay competitive by not taking a huge amount off. I'm sure location makes a big difference too. Good luck...I don't think you are being unreasonable at all.

[Blackcat31]

I am in the process of updating my handbook and I am curious about your time off policies.

1) Do you have paid vacation days? If so how many?

2) Do you have paid personal/sick days? If so how many?

3) Do you require payment when a child isn't in your care due to child being sick, the parent having days off, or their family vacations?

I am wanting to go from my current policies:
10 paid vacation days, 0 sick/personal days, requiring pay when child is home sick but allowing up to 5 unpaid vacation days if proper notice is given
to
10 paid vacation days, 3 paid personal/sick days, and still requiring payment anytime a child is not in care.

Am I asking for too much?

The best way I've seen/hear of someone handling this issue was to make sure that the number of days you take off as paid are equal to the number of days off you give the full time families.

If you take 10 paid holidays, give them 10 days they can take off and not pay.

Don't allow parents to use those non-paid days on the same days you take off.

Also I would never give part time families the same number of days off as the full time families.

I used to give full time families 10 days per year if they attended 5 days per week

8 days per year if they attended 4 days per week

and 6 days if they attended 3 days per week.

Any attendance that was/is less than 3 days per week got no days off and they already get days they don't have to pay.

Currently, I charge 52 weeks a year. Your weekly rate is your weekly rate. But it took me many years to feel comfortable doing it that way and I still have some exceptions.

[AnneCordelia]

I take 15 unpaid vacation days. I offer 1 week of half price tuition for each fulltime family provided the week is not split into days, and 2 weeks notice is given. I do not offer discounts or refunds for early pickup, late drop off, or absence due to illness.

No benefits for part time families.

[nanglgrl]

I take 11 paid holidays (I need to add a day so it's 12, 11 makes my OCD run wild ) and 5 paid personal/sick days. They don't have to pay when I go on vacation or I close because I'm sick and have used up my 5 days. They always pay if they're gone for illness or vacation unless their vacation days are the same as mine. Most of my families plan their vacations around my vacations. Generally it works out to me having 7 non-paid days a year. My families all seem to like it this way because there is rarely if ever a time they have to pay me and someone else because I'm closed. They tend to have the same paid holidays and if not they have family/friends that do so they don't have to pay someone else if they have to work.

[Leigh]

I am in the process of updating my handbook and I am curious about your time off policies.

1) Do you have paid vacation days? If so how many? As many as I need

2) Do you have paid personal/sick days? If so how many?As many as i need

3) Do you require payment when a child isn't in your care due to child being sick, the parent having days off, or their family vacations?Absolutely...payment is due every.single.week.period.

I am wanting to go from my current policies:
10 paid vacation days, 0 sick/personal days, requiring pay when child is home sick but allowing up to 5 unpaid vacation days if proper notice is given
to
10 paid vacation days, 3 paid personal/sick days, and still requiring payment anytime a child is not in care.

Am I asking for too much?

I found it easiest to just tell the parents that I will try to be available to them as much as possible. If I am sick, I will close. If I need a vacation, I will close. Some years, it may be only 2 days that I take off, some years, it may be 10. I will use them as I need them. I know MANY providers that take off lots more time than I do, and I tell parents that I don't commit to XXX number of days, because if I did, I would feel compelled to use them whether I needed to or not. Not one parent has said anything negative to me about my policy. I considered giving myself a set number of days, but decided that I'll take off when I want or need to.

[melilley]

I have national holidays, plus the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve-all paid. Plus I have 5 days of paid vacation and 5 days of non paid vacation, 5 sick/personal/educational days-paid. My families get 5 consecutive days for vacation and they don't have to pay.

My families pay whether they are here or not, besides the one vacation per year.

[TwinKristi]

1) I have the basic paid holidays: New Years, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving & Christmas plus the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve unpaid. But no paid vacation time.

2) No paid sick days

3) I do charge for days when children are sick and not in my care as well as any vacation or days they choose to stay home.

[jenboo]

I am in the process of updating my handbook and I am curious about your time off policies.

1) Do you have paid vacation days? If so how many? No paid vacation days for me! only paid holidays (if they land on a weekday). In my area, parents couldnt afford if I took a week vacation and had to pay me and still pay for care somewhere else

2) Do you have paid personal/sick days? If so how many? I do not have personal/sick days. If im super sick and have to close, ill credit for that day. I dont have personal days but i plan o changing that for next year. Im going to close one day every 3 months for dr appt etc. It will not be a paid day)

3) Do you require payment when a child isn't in your care due to child being sick, the parent having days off, or their family vacations?parents pay for the child's spot, not the days they attend. for vacations they can get a week vacation once per calendar year free of tuition if they give me notice two weeks prior. Other wise they pay the full amount. i DO NOT remind them of this offer

I am wanting to go from my current policies:
10 paid vacation days, 0 sick/personal days, requiring pay when child is home sick but allowing up to 5 unpaid vacation days if proper notice is given
to
10 paid vacation days, 3 paid personal/sick days, and still requiring payment anytime a child is not in care.

Am I asking for too much?

A lot of families in my area would not be able to afford to give me paid vacation and pay for care for somewhere else/ take time off for work.

[NeedaVaca]

I have the major holidays plus day after Thanksgiving and day before Christmas off paid.

I have 2 weeks paid vacation. 3 paid personal/sick days and every family pays 52 weeks per year regardless.

[cara041083]

I have 1 week vacation with full pay, I have 3 personal days and all major holidays with full pay. In the event I close due to illness or family matter then I will credit those days to your account. If you child is absent due to illness or vacation, then It is still the full rate

[Unregistered]

Time off

I just changed my time off policy. I thought it would be a fight with the parents but I have to say, they were wonderful about it!

FAMILY VACATION DAYS: Child will be absent for a FULL SCHEDULED WEEK they are required to pay HALF of their regular tuition to hold the spot.

PROVIDER VACATION DAYS: I will take 2 weeks off every year (unless otherwise noted). Half of their regular tuition is still due for these weeks. Advanced notice will be given.

Holiday Closures: I will be closed on, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the following Friday, Christmas Eve & Day, New Year’s Eve & Day, Memorial Day, and 4th of July. All days are paid at full tuition.

This is what works for me. Everyone needs to know their parents and what works for the provider and parents.

[daycare]

A lot of families in my area would not be able to afford to give me paid vacation and pay for care for somewhere else/ take time off for work.

WOW I don't know how you do it. All of my parents try to set their vacations at the same time that I take mine. I let them know months and months in advance when I will take it.

Those that don't have vacation days will schedule their work around my vacation. I also try not to close for several days straight.

NOrmally I set it up over a weekend. So I will take maybe Friday off and Monday off. Parents are normally always able to work it out.

[dbslas]

We have 3 weeks (15 days) paid vacation (2 weeks over Christmas/New Years) and one floating week (usually Spring or Summer).

4 Sick/Personal Days

All Major holidays -- and a few minor

Parents get 2 weeks vacation at 1/2 rate

We started this 2 years ago after having only a couple paid holidays and the week between Christmas and New Years. We modified the contract and stated that in lieu of having a yearly rate increase we were incorporating more vacation time. parents who choose to stay with us from infancy until Kindergarten will obviously benefit the most as their rate will not change for those 5 years.

We have had a few parents scoff at it(and I honestly can understand) -- yet they sign on the dotted line. So they accept the terms. I suppose we could raise the rates and then change part of the paid time off to unpaid -- the parents might "accept" that more readily even though it all amounts to the same thing in the end.