Do you charge when the parents are on holidays?

[littlesprouts]

I'm almost finished my contract and I am wondering... do you charge a full or half price for when the family takes vacation and does not have their child in your care? Or no? I have written that I am allotted 2 weeks vacation paid for myself...

[mickyc]

I charge for the spot regardless if they are here. That being said I charge $5 less on days they are away ONLY if I am given 30 days notice. I was having issues with families giving me their holiday time in advance. This has fixed that issue. I am firm on the 30 days too.

[BlueRose]

I charge the same every two weeks, no matter what, their fee never varies. They pay a tuition not by attendance. Look at it this way if you pay a tuition for college/university and you don't show up to class do you get money back? NO they don't care if you don't show up thats your problem if you miss out. Why should we loss out on our income because their child is sick, on vacation or grandma comes to visit for a month and the child doesn't need care. We are running a business not a charity so that our clients can save well be can't pay our bills.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I charge $10 less per day if they're away on holidays, if they let me know before they pay. After payment is paid there are no refunds for any reason they don't attend. The only time I refund is when I end up taking a sick day.

I started doing this when I first opened as a way to attract clients. It's not enough that I feel it (and it's nice to have that break sometimes) and it's enough for them to keep their child home and feel like they aren't being ripped off. I'm not feeding their child or supplying art supplies so I felt it was fair.

I can certainly understand why some providers give no reduction though! Do what you feel is fair and can survive with :)

[Suzie_Homemaker]

I charge same every week. Client pay for place not attendence. When I first opened, I did not charge but one Christmas lot of client have family stay and child home with family and I not get paid much that week. Learn hard way that this not the way to go.

I have 10 day personal too. I not call it vacation or sick because those are entitlement of employment and we not entitled to it being self-employed. If use those terms, can cause some issues with whether we employee or self-employed. I avoid using those term.

[kindertime]

I have 10 day personal too. I not call it vacation or sick because those are entitlement of employment and we not entitled to it being self-employed. If use those terms, can cause some issues with whether we employee or self-employed. I avoid using those term.


Not sure that's right, strictly speaking. Back to the CRA booklet, it states;


Generally, you are a self-employed individual if you control:

■ the number of hours you work;
■ the places and materials you use; and
■ the way you carry out your daycare duties.

You can claim daycare expenses on your income tax return if you report self-employment income earned from running a daycare.

Generally, you are an employee if the parent:

■ specifies the work to be done;
■ specifies the working hours; and
■ supervises your work.

I don't think it would matter what you call your days off (closed) if you are the one who is determining when they happen, you are in control, not the parent and still considered self-employed.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/p134/p134-14e.pdf