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I am new here and a little bit confused about when to pay my daycare provider. How does it work do I still have to pay her when I am on vacation? and also when she is on vacation?:confused:
Thanks
SYP28
Thanks
SYP28
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what did your contract say? that's all that matters. everyone has a different opinion, but what it boils down to is what you agreed to.
i personally (when i ran a home daycare) gave the parents ONE WEEK of unpaid vacation. that meant if they took vacation (for up to one week) they didn't have to pay me. when i was on vacation, they didn't have to pay me. i didn't have many children - and i was lucky that the parents typically planned their vacation for the same week i had vacation. had they planned their vacation on a different week from me - they wouldn't have had to pay me for my week (but would've had to find alternate care) and they wouldn't have to pay for their ONE week of vacation (in which their child wouldn't be with me).
others feel differently. they get paid for their vacation AND their parents have to pay when THEY go on vacation. it just depends. you need to look at the contract you signed. i may not think it's "fair" if you ask me - and you may not think it's "fair" but if you agreed to it and signed up for it - then it's fair. -
Every provider is a bit different. Read your contract again. I am convinced that 99% of issues could be avoided if parents really took the time to read and understand the policies and procedures before signing on the care. I know it can be a pain, especially if you have several kids/providers/schedules to keep up with, but it really is very important.
If your provider does not have a written and complete contract, send her here.
Good luck, I hope you get the situation resolved fast, I know I do not like feeling in limbo, myself. 
- Unless otherwise stated, all my posts are personal opinion and worth what you paid for them.
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Think of it this way. Daycare providers normally charge weekly for their services, this guarantees you that they will be available to watch your child and also guarantees them that they will have income and financial stability. Daycare providers depend on the income that you pay to take care of their own financial responsibilities which also include daycare needs. If you decide to go on vacation, the daycare is still "open", you just decided not to use the services. The daycare provider can't always fill your spot just for that time that you are away and so may lose this income but you are still guaranteed to have that spot reserved for you when you return. Is that fair?
Another way to see it is like this: If you sign up for a membership at a gym to use their "services" and you don't go for a week or two do they still charge you for that time that you don't go? Yes. would you ever ask them for a "free" week? Probably not. If you have a cell phone and pay for those "services" but you don't use the phone very much, don't use up all of your minutes or go on a weeks' vacation and don't take your phone with you would you ask them to prorate you? No, not likely.Comment
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SYP28, you should call your daycare provider to clarify. Open communication is very important. If you have a handbook or contract, any papers she gave you when you chose her daycare.....read over those and give her a call after hours to clarify.Comment
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What about if you're leaving the home daycare?
We gave notice that our daughter is leaving the in home daycare effective June 22. We got our final bill & our provider tacked on her vacation pay for the week of vacation she is taking at the end of JULY. We don't believe we are obligated to pay this as we will no longer be using her services.Comment
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I don't think that is right either. Does your contract say anything about having to pay for a certain number of vacation days no matter how long you are enrolled?
I think she may be trying to pull a fast one but that is just my opinion. I would venture to say though that you are NOT obligated to pay for the July vacation unless it says you must explicitly in your contract.Comment
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What does your contract agreement and policies say? If there is nothing in the policies about you being required to pay for the provider's paid vacation if you terminate your agreement before she goes on vacation then you aren't liable to pay for that fee.
However if your contract or policies say that the provider's vacation is paid even if the parent terminates the agreement before the provider goes on vacation then unfortunately you are bound to that agreement.
For example here is what I have in my policies:
I also give my families one week of "free" family vacation time which most of my clients take during the same week that I am on vacation, this prevents them from having to pay me and another provider at the same time. Many providers are doing this now because many times clients would sign up and agree to pay for the providers vacation time, take their own "free" family vacation time, stay for a little under a year and then two weeks before the providers took their vacations the clients would put in their two week's notices to prevent from having to pay for the provider's vacation. If your provider has a similar policy then you will be required to pay. The good thing is that now you are aware of this issue and you can now make sure that the next child care provider does not have this policy.Provider Vacation
The provider is allotted 5 days of paid vacation at the normal weekly rate. Any additional days taken for vacation within the same calendar year will not require payment. It is the client's responsibility to find and fund alternative care during this time. The provider's vacation is available for use immediately after the contract signing. The provider’s vacation is paid regardless of any other term in the contract and the client is required to pay for the provider’s vacation if the client terminates the child care contract and the child care provider has not yet taken her vacation during the current calendar year.
What does your contract/policies say?Comment
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Vacation
I'm reading about what's fair and not fair. Well this is my situation. My wife and I combined have 9 weeks of vacation. We might take a week of that together. So last year for example, we paid our daycare provider for 8 weeks for time-off we took. The contract does state that when we request time-off we are to pay her 1/2 the weekly rate, which is fine. The contract, however, does NOT state anything about us having to pay her for time-off requested by her. She called in a total of 3 weeks last year, that per the contract, we were not obligated to pay her but we did. So in this case, how much time is too much? She was paid for 8 weeks at half the rate for our vacations, 3 weeks at half the rate that she was requested (not in contract), plus 9 holidays paid at full rate that was included in the contract; a total of almost 3 months of paid time-off. Is that fair? I think she's taking advantage of us and my two kids are her only 'clients', despite saying for a year she's getting more kids. Should I be getting a 'daily activities' sheet? I mean I would like to see what activities my kids do througout the day, when and what they eat - something to show what $300/week gets me!Comment
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Me too, In the contract doesn't say anything about paying her for her vacation, now she is taking a vacation for 3 days of 5 days in the week and we have to pay her on tuesday evening 130$ like if she had our son for all the week and we also pay her for every holiday that she doesn't work and etc, and is not included in the contract so how do you approach a daycare provider on that without ended up been a trouble??Comment
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I wouldn't worry about being in trouble...just ask her to clarify.
I charge families for holidays (NOT all of them, just a couple) but I clearly spell out which ones so there is NO confusion for anyone
I also charge for MY vacation time but again, it is CLEARLY marked on a calendar so there is no confusion about which ones and when.
I charge for a total of 10 days per year.
I would just ask your provider about her policies. I can't imagine why she would be upset that you ask for clarification.
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I agree with the other posters who recommend asking for calrification. However, I don't believe you are obligated to pay your provider for vacation days nor holiday days if this wasn't part of the contract you agreed to and signed. I make it very clear to my clients during the interview that my vacation days, holiday days and 5 sick/personal days are PAID each year - and they must sign off on this in our contract with eachother. If this wasn't discussed and you didn't sign anything agreeing to it, you don't owe... but you will likely be left looking for a new provider.Comment
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It doesn't matter what any of us say. What does your contract with your provider say? If she is asking for monies that aren't stated in your contract you need to ask her to show you where this is agreed in the contract. If you are in doubt about to pay her while you are on holidays, ask her to show you in the contract what her policy is regarding this.
Every provider does things differently, all you need to know is what your provider does.Comment
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