What to do when I have to close my daycare early for maternity leave??

[LizzyGrant]

I am in a bit of a situation. I am pregnant and closing my daycare down earlier than I anticipated due to back problems and most of my kids having to leave me a bit earlier than they had planned to secure new daycare spots. I have registered into EI last year so as of June 5th I can claim EI which works out perfectly for my maternity leave since I am shortly after that. But I am closing in April. So I have 2 months of no income, no EI and am trying to figure out what to do in that time to make money still. Any suggestions? Looking for something that is not physical as I am having a lot of back issues. Thanks!

[Lee-Bee]

I'll start off by saying I have no idea how the EI works for daycare providers but have you looked into the details to see if you are eligible for it if you stop work 2 months before you are eligible?

My understanding (based on when I used Mat leave with my daughter through EI - pre daycare running days) is that the income you receive during mat leave is largely related to your income in the weeks prior to starting mat leave. While you calculate all your earnings through the full period before, the income immediately before is largely what decides your EI money.

Hopefully some others ladies on here have more direct knowledge I just caution that if you haven't received solid info on this you might want to get it figured out before ending the daycare and finding out in June that you are no longer eligible.

Hopefully it all works out for you. The system isn't designed to make it easy to receive EI, I have the feeling that you had to be working fulltime through the FULL 1yr period in order to receive benefits...not that you just had to wait 1yr to receive the benefits :-(

[5 Little Monkeys]

I have no idea how EI works either but was under the same impression that leebee is. I'm sure someone here can help clarify though!!

As for making extra money, first it's time to re-evaluate your budget (or make one if you don't already have one). Cut back on all unneeded expenses (tv packages, extras to the cell (like caller id etc), eating out etc etc). Sell off things you no longer need/want/use. Facebook swap and shop pages are great for this!! Another thing that helps me save money is that I make my own laundry soap. You can expand this into homemade soaps, lotions, dishwasher tabs, cleaning products. Email companies that you buy from and ask if they have any coupons. Many times they will mail some out!

If you're crafty, look on Pinterest for cheap and easy DIY projects. I have tried a few and sold them. It's fun! And I'm NOT a crafty person lol. My crafty, creative, home interior designer friend is absolutely shocked at what I've done and who I've become LOL

Good luck....and congrats!!

[CrazyEight]

You can normally claim EI up to 8 weeks before your due date, but if you only started paying into EI for self-employment last June then you're right, you wouldn't be able to claim it until June, since you have to pay for a full year to qualify. Although, it would be worth calling and checking into short-term disability. I don't know if you can get that just by paying into the EI program, and I don't know if the year's waiting period is the same, but it couldn't hurt to call and ask.

[LizzyGrant]

Thanks for your responses! EI is calculated based on the last 52 weeks of work, so not just the income immediately before, as long as you've worked 600 hours, you are eligible. And of course, that you've paid into EI. :) I have researched the heck out of this, so I do know what my situation is and it's not too bad. But I just am concerned about the 2 months of income I am losing and can't collect EI during.

[LizzyGrant]

Another thing I wonder is...how will they know when during those 52 weeks I stopped receiving payments?? That's one part I am unclear on! :/

[Lee-Bee]

Before you get the ei you will have to fill out a detailed work report. I had to list all periods I didn't work (I think anything over a week) and the reason why you had no income. Again I don't recall all details as it was almost 3yrs ago since I did the paperwork but I recall having to list all periods I didn't work and why. in doing this I had to note how much I made when. And since my income was variable my ei payments were not just an average of the 12months but rather a certain number of weeks in the year period. My EI came from my supply teaching and private nanny work (they paid into ei for me) so it might be a bit different as I was an employee not self employed. I do recall my mat leave pay was not the amount I expected it would be, based on them using those certain weeks and not the general average… for me it was actually higher than I expected.

[Rachael]

Another thing I wonder is...how will they know when during those 52 weeks I stopped receiving payments?? That's one part I am unclear on! :/

They will usually get you to complete a declaration of when you stopped and it will be one of those "knowingly making a false statement is a criminal offense/fraudelent act" blah, blah. Then they will undertake random audits to verify statements being made.

[LizzyGrant]

I have a couple of my daycare parents that are sticking with me until the bitter end! haha. It's certainly not a full daycare, but at least 3 days a week I'll have a couple kids, so better than no income! I have to admit...it makes me really frustrated that simply by choosing to be self employed and to run my own daycare, I feel like I am being punished when it comes to a maternity leave. A maternity leave that every other employed woman has the right to, and yet we don't, unless we PAY into EI ourselves? And even then.....they take the 55% of our pay from our income AFTER all of our expenses? God I have so many expenses. It's just ridiculous. Ok vent over. My pregnancy hormones plus this insanity of my daycare having to close down early is just so beyond frustrating to me. I have been in tears for days about it. I put so much into this job and feel like it screwed me over.

[AmandaKDT]

I have a couple of my daycare parents that are sticking with me until the bitter end! haha. It's certainly not a full daycare, but at least 3 days a week I'll have a couple kids, so better than no income! I have to admit...it makes me really frustrated that simply by choosing to be self employed and to run my own daycare, I feel like I am being punished when it comes to a maternity leave. A maternity leave that every other employed woman has the right to, and yet we don't, unless we PAY into EI ourselves? And even then.....they take the 55% of our pay from our income AFTER all of our expenses? God I have so many expenses. It's just ridiculous. Ok vent over. My pregnancy hormones plus this insanity of my daycare having to close down early is just so beyond frustrating to me. I have been in tears for days about it. I put so much into this job and feel like it screwed me over.

All those other employed women ARE paying for EI themselves, it is just that their employer is automatically taking that money off their paycheck. But yes, I feel your stress. Being unable to be fully employed until the end when you don't qualify for sick leave EI makes things very hard financially.

[Lee-Bee]

All those other employed women ARE paying for EI themselves, it is just that their employer is automatically taking that money off their paycheck. But yes, I feel your stress. Being unable to be fully employed until the end when you don't qualify for sick leave EI makes things very hard financially.

The women pay it, they just don't see the money as their employer deducts it form their pay first. As well, the employer has to pay a portion as well...which means that the women make less...because any company would take this into consideration when they choose how much they pay - they have a set amount they can afford then they see how much they will be responsible for paying and give the wages to reflect this.

The only difference is that as a self employed person you SEE and HOLD the money first then pay it...for employees they just get the left overs as their pay check! It's kind of like paying for something in cash versus debit/credit. If you just charge it you don't see/feel the impact as much as having to count out and hand over the cash! In the end it costs both the same (unless you charge it and don't pay before interest lol).

[AmandaKDT]

The women pay it, they just don't see the money as their employer deducts it form their pay first. As well, the employer has to pay a portion as well...which means that the women make less...because any company would take this into consideration when they choose how much they pay - they have a set amount they can afford then they see how much they will be responsible for paying and give the wages to reflect this.

The only difference is that as a self employed person you SEE and HOLD the money first then pay it...for employees they just get the left overs as their pay check! It's kind of like paying for something in cash versus debit/credit. If you just charge it you don't see/feel the impact as much as having to count out and hand over the cash! In the end it costs both the same (unless you charge it and don't pay before interest lol).

Which is exactly why I pretend the money I receive from one daycare spot doesn't exist - it goes directly into my savings account to use for paying my income taxes and such.

[LizzyGrant]

All those other employed women ARE paying for EI themselves, it is just that their employer is automatically taking that money off their paycheck. But yes, I feel your stress. Being unable to be fully employed until the end when you don't qualify for sick leave EI makes things very hard financially.

Yes for sure. What I meant is that we have to do it ourselves...like go online and register for it and then wait a year to make a claim. Not a big deal but had I not thought ahead about this and just gotten pregnant, which I'm sure happens a lot, I'd have no EI at all...my timing just happened to work out well for my due date and when I registered for EI last year. It just doesn't seem fair for self employed women though.

[LizzyGrant]

Which is exactly why I pretend the money I receive from one daycare spot doesn't exist - it goes directly into my savings account to use for paying my income taxes and such.

I do the same :) but I just didn't account for a whole 2 months off work before my maternity leave...so those savings will be partly going towards that time now. Booo!!!

[Suzie_Homemaker]

Yes for sure. What I meant is that we have to do it ourselves...like go online and register for it and then wait a year to make a claim. Not a big deal but had I not thought ahead about this and just gotten pregnant, which I'm sure happens a lot, I'd have no EI at all...my timing just happened to work out well for my due date and when I registered for EI last year. It just doesn't seem fair for self employed women though.

Isn't that part of having your own business? The need to do things yourself rather than have an employer do it?

You have to apply for EI yourself. You have to write receipts yourself. You have to stock up on business supplies yourself.

I don't understand what you think is unfair for self-employed women? Self employed men also have to do this business related tasks themselves too. What were you expecting when you went self-employed?

[LizzyGrant]

Isn't that part of having your own business? The need to do things yourself rather than have an employer do it?

You have to apply for EI yourself. You have to write receipts yourself. You have to stock up on business supplies yourself.

I don't understand what you think is unfair for self-employed women? Self employed men also have to do this business related tasks themselves too. What were you expecting when you went self-employed?

It was just me venting. Sorry to have offended you by it. What I meant is that I know of other mothers on here and in general who have been affected by getting pregnant before applying for EI or applying for it and giving birth before the one year we have to wait to make an EI claim. Which was why I specified women, not men. Because I was speaking about this in terms of getting pregnant while being self employed.