Employee Of Daycare Starting Up New Daycare

[MNdaycare]

I have a question..does anyone know what the rules are for: Quitting your job as a daycare teacher (in a center) and starting up your own home daycare? I know you cannot ask parents or other employees to join or anything like that...but, do you have to be a certain distance away from the center, or have been unemployed by them for a certain amount of time??

[Blackcat31]

I dont know of any state laws in that field but I would think if there were any type of rules they would have been made by the daycare center. They would probably be the ones to say you can't take any clients with you and all that but I don't think there are any state laws restricting home daycare. I live next door to one and there are several places in my town where they are super close to each other. It is all about supply and demand or how ever each provider chooses to run her home business.

[Little People]

I have a question..does anyone know what the rules are for: Quitting your job as a daycare teacher (in a center) and starting up your own home daycare? I know you cannot ask parents or other employees to join or anything like that...but, do you have to be a certain distance away from the center, or have been unemployed by them for a certain amount of time??

Did you sign any papers stating this when you were hired?

[pinkbunny85]

there is no state law on distance. but if you signed aa contract with them there may a "no-compete" clause in there.

[kendallina]

Any center that I've worked for only had me sign something about agreeing to not babysit any client's children while I was employed there. I don't think I ever had to sign anything about not starting up a daycare close-by or about not taking clients with me when I go. I would ask for copies of your employment paperwork and check there.

[Abigail]

I have not heard of any rules either. Just check to see what you signed and what the rules are at your current daycare center. It's fine to start up your own daycare at home, but don't be telling all the parents about it because it's not ethical if they switched to your home daycare without asking you to start up a daycare.

[melskids]

i worked at a center that made me sign a "no compete" agreement. there was nothing in there about distance (which didnt matter in my case because i am 30 miles away) but it did say i couldnt take any clients with me and also that i had to wait A YEAR before opening my own daycare. i have no idea if it would have held up in court, but it was almost a year for me anyway.

[QualiTcare]

i agree with previous posters - you should look at the paperwork you signed when you were employed.

i took a job at a company one time that was one of those check cashing/title loan/payday advance places and they had me sign a paper saying i wouldn't work for a company that was similar (a no compete clause) within a year - such as "title max."

i questioned it just out of curiosity bc that's the way i am and i was told by a lawyer that they can't tell you that you can't get a job even if it's with a "competitor" because it's basically infringing upon your rights to support yourself. people will get you to sign papers all the time because they THINK it covers them and most often it scares YOU into believing what you sign is true, but it's rarely valid.

[Danielle]

i questioned it just out of curiosity bc that's the way i am and i was told by a lawyer that they can't tell you that you can't get a job even if it's with a "competitor" because it's basically infringing upon your rights to support yourself. people will get you to sign papers all the time because they THINK it covers them and most often it scares YOU into believing what you sign is true, but it's rarely valid.

This is exactly what I've heard too.

[MNdaycare]

Thanks for your replies

Thanks everyone...I'm going to take a look at the paperwork I signed..and I am also guessing that if you were to start up your own home daycare..without taking any customers or employees..then there isn't anything they can do. Unless, you opened up a daycare center...which I wouldn't do for at least another few years.

[Blackcat31]

Thanks everyone...I'm going to take a look at the paperwork I signed..and I am also guessing that if you were to start up your own home daycare..without taking any customers or employees..then there isn't anything they can do. Unless, you opened up a daycare center...which I wouldn't do for at least another few years.

Kep in mind, that parents can choose to go anywhere they want for care. If they loved you at the center and found out you opened a daycare and they choose to go to you, I would assume that they can go wherever, whenever they choose as long as they have followed policy for un-enrolling at the old place. I would think your only concern would be to make sure you were not soliciting them under the table to change daycares by offering incentives to come to you etc.

When I first opened up my childcare, I had a couple mothers from the center where I went with my children come to me for spots but I didn't entice them to do so, they choose to come and I took them.