Question re: how to charge for vacation

[PattyCake]

Hi everyone! One of my families is taking a weeks vacation. In my contract it says I'm paid when they are on vacation. Dcb is here anywhere from 3-5 days a week, and i charge a daily rate for them, however the original email from dcm stated she needed full time care 4-5 days a week, and the contract says the same....they want to know what the fee for their week off is so I'm thinking its fair to charge for 4 of the days they will not be here. The week prior to the vacation I only have the child 3 days....is this the right thing to do? Should I be charging more or less for that week?

[Momof4]

If they are normally in care 3 days/week that's what I would ask them to pay. If they have used more 4 day weeks than 3 day weeks I would ask them to pay for 4 days.

[playfelt]

Since they area often less than 5 days and not going to be there at all I would probably charge them for 3 days.

If there is a set schedule you could add up all the days in the 6 week rotation and divide by 6 to get an average or use the previous month to get an average. But I think 3 days is fair since it is free money in the sense of no expenses on your part and they are often a 3 day a week family. It sounds like 3 days is their norm but some weeks they have an extra day.

This is often one of the reasons we charge parents a set fee for part time equal to 3 days plus a bit and then also have an extra fee they pay for any day over that. Then on a vacation week it would be their normal 3day plus a bit rate.

[PattyCake]

If they are normally in care 3 days/week that's what I would ask them to pay. If they have used more 4 day weeks than 3 day weeks I would ask them to pay for 4 days.

Thanks....they are in care usually 4 days a week!