Thinking of revising my contract to include some NEW key points.

I started my daycare last October with an agency and have started providing private care in April. I have a contract but I am thinking that it needs to be revised to include certain issues that I have come across.

1. I normally ask for payment on the Monday they drop off their children for those following two weeks of care. I don't have an issue with parents being late for payment (thank god!) but when one of my parents drops of the payment, she advises that the child won't be here for a day, or two, or three and deducts that payment. I didn't mind the first few times (because it kinda gave me a break) but I think over the past couple of months, this child has been absent for around 10 days, which is like a whole two weeks of pay. Do any of you ladies have anything in your contract that covers absences?

2. Do you have your parents pay the deposit and use it towards their last two weeks of payment? Right now I don't have any payment from them, but I do say in my contract that they must give two weeks notice. But who knows, they might leave me high and dry.

3. Vacation pay - I have stated in my contract that I take one week PAID and one week UNPAID per year. I'm thinking of changing it to two weeks UNPAID and keep my stats PAID. Another provider suggested that I state two weeks per calendar year that the child is absent.

4. Breakfast - I have one parent who consistantly drops her kids off without feeding them breakfast...poor things. and most of the time drops them off after our snack time. I have my daily schedule of activities on my contract but I think I should put something specific saying that you must feed your child breakfast prior to being dropped off because they won't have another meal until lunchtime. I don't like to feed the kids outside of the designated meals times as it disrupts the schedule for the other kids.

Thanks for your input.
Sarah:)

Your contract will develop over the years to cover issues such as these that come up. It gets longer and firmer for each successive set of parents. On the payment issue there are two things. First charge by enrolment meaning if you want the space you pay for it. Then if a child is going to be away for a doctor's appointment or whatever the parent is still expected to pay for the day since you can't fill it with anyone else since the parent wants the full week available to them. That will solve some of the issues. You could also write in the contract that you pay full price for the upcoming two weeks. Any adjustments will be deducted from the next payment. So at least you have 2 weeks notice if your income is going down so you can rethink a craft or ordering pizza for supper or whether you should buy those new shoes or not.

The deposit my parents pay goes towards the first two weeks of care so I have nothing covering the end of care. I have only been burned by that a couple times in 24 years of daycare.

My contract states that children should arrive ready for the day meaning fed, dressed for the weather, etc. It might be a good idea to remind parents that there are specific times for food to be served and that the kitchen is "closed" between those times. If they will not be in care during a scheduled snack/meal it is the parent's responsibility to feed them before coming.

Very well said. I will definitely include some of that wording when I revise. Thanks for your input.

I think you will figure out what works as you go along. It is hard to know and consider all possible scenarios when you get started.

As for vacation...I write that I can take up to THREE weeks off unpaid. I usually do one week in the summer and another week at Christmas and I do take a one day or two day. I always advise parents at least 4 weeks of a planned closure even if it is just one day. I have told my parents that they will be given 4 weeks notice if I need to close unless it is an emergency (i.e a funeral, illness, family emergency)

I do get paid for all stats

I also get paid the same every week. If I am available and expecting a child then it is a paid day. If I need to close the daycare for any reason then it is unpaid.

I do give parents up to TEN days off UNPAID where they can go on vacation. They have to give me at least 4 weeks notice. I might reduce this to 5 days at some point but so far it has worked. Usually parents take the time during the summer and I love having a lighter load so I can see my own school age kids more during that time.

I would definitely send out a reminder note to all the parents (so that the one doesn't feel singled out) that children are supposed to be fed, clean and ready for a fun day when they arrive in the morning.

I hold a ONE WEEK deposit for all my parents (even the part timers who only come 2 days a week) etc. I get paid every Thursday and this way I will be covered for the last week if anyone would ever decide to just up and run. I think it is important to have something in place to protect you. Some people get paid every Monday for the week ahead as a security measure and other's who are paid at the end of the week tend to hold a deposit just in case

:)

Thanks for your input Spixie33.

Do your parents generally take their vacation around your vacation? Or could you possible be unpaid for a total of 5 weeks throughout the year (Your 3 weeks plus their 2 weeks)?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sarah A

Thanks for your input Spixie33.

Do your parents generally take their vacation around your vacation? Or could you possible be unpaid for a total of 5 weeks throughout the year (Your 3 weeks plus their 2 weeks)?

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What has happened so far is that the parents give me their vacay dates first. The last week of July and first week of August seem to be popular choices. When I see where the parents are off in the summer then I take my vacay based on when I lose the least income. This year I am doing the last week of July as a closure and then just dec 22 - new Years.

I go based on what the parents do so that I hopefully can overlap my days with their days and that works out well for everyone (i.e they don't have to find backup care for the time I am off since they are off too)

I guess it could happen that I would end up for a few weeks if the timing doesn't work out but so far that has not been an issue.

And even though I write in the contract that parents can take 10 UNPAID days...I have only one so far who seems to be using that. The other parents seem content with 5.

and even though I write that I can take up to 3 weeks off unpaid - I do that because I never know what I MIGHT want to do during the year. It doesn't necessarily mean that I will do that every year :)

1. If I am open - parents pay. If I'm closed they don't - besides paying for the stat holidays. It's pretty simple.

2. I am also changing bits in my manual. Parents will have to pay at the beginning of the week for care. Again, if I'm open, they still have to pay me. For Deposits, I have them pay a 2-week non-refundable deposit that will be used for their first two-weeks of care. The parents have to give me 2-weeks notice if they're leaving the daycare - only fair. Same goes for me - I have to give them 2-weeks notice.

3. I take between 5-8 weeks holidays UNPAID. Parents get two-weeks (14 calendar days) UNPAID holidays. Anything after that, they pay me half rates. BUT, I do suggest they take their holidays when I take mine! Either way, parents or myself, have to give at least 4 weeks notice for holidays.

4. Breaky. I do not do it personally, but have snack at 9-9:30 a.m. I would probably send out a note to remind parents to please send your children ready for home daycare - this means: clean, fed, and ready to play!

Hopefully that helps!

I have two weeks paid vacation and one unpaid and parents pay for their vacations as well (although I try to make it work so we all take vacations at the same time if possible). I am also paid for stats. If a child is absent they still pay as they are still using that space. Thus, my income is steady throughout the year and I don't have to worry about a whole lot of calculations. None of my parents have complained. However, that is the norm in my area, so you may have to look into what the norm is in your area to know if parents will accept it. I would not take away your paid vacation! I do serve breakfast for those who need it, but this is clear from the beginning and is more because I am feeding my own kids around the time the daycare kids arive and I don't want to wake them up early to feed them. This is clearly in my contract and works well for me (but I do charge accordingly).

Breakfast: I will feed a child breakfast for an extra fee if the child arrives before 7:30. I no longer allow the parent to bring it to save them money because they don't bring enough. A little dish of dry cereal is just that. If you want milk on it you need to provide it. A slice of bread is just that. If you expect me to add butter and jam well....get my point. I know it seems like a little dab of food but over time it adds up as well as suppose I forgot to put out the butter and it is hard or I am out of jam and child freaks about not having anything but margarine on their toast. Do not need those hassles first thing in the morning. Also when my own kids were little or even now with other daycare children here if a child brings something like fruity pebbles I have to justify it to the others. They dont' seem as excited about just toast. I do morning snack early and it compensates those that didn't get breakfast so in some cases they would be eating their breakfast while the others had snack anyways. I just adjust the amounts.

Sharon

Speaking about breakfast...my little guy doesn't wake up until 8am so I usually feed him breakfast during the morning snack time so therefore I feed the kids more of a breakfast at 9am. What types of morning snack do you provide if the children come early and already and have already had breakfast?

I have noticed that many of you are from Ottawa and there are different expectations of daycare providers in different areas. I appreciate your input.

Is there anyone in the Hamilton/Halton area that can add to this thread? Specifically about parents keeping their children at home and how much vacation per year and sick days?

I made up my contract recently to give myself two weeks unpaid off. Parents pay regardless of attendance, meaning they pay if their child is sick or if they take holidays. I do however give them three sick days unpaid per calendar year. I also ask for a two week deposit which is for the last two weeks that the child is in my care. I do that as a safety net, as they can never just walk away leaving me flapping in the wind. I have also decided to be paid in advance from now on, so that's in the new contract as well. If care commences more than two weeks from the signed contract, I require 20% of weekly fees until the start date. In addition to this, I require the contract to be filled out along with other paperwork and the deposit to be returned within one week of the interview if they want the spot. I just had two kids sign on in the past week under the new contract, and parents from both families deemed my contract as "standard".

One thing though...I just signed on a teacher. She said that she knows that it's normal for her to pay holding fees, but I haven't decided what to charge for that yet. I have an entire year to worry about it though, so I am not stressing.

Hi,
Any chance you could share your contract. I live in Baden, so I'm definetely not competition :0 But I am just beginning to provide care and hoping to open in July, and I want to have a set policy in place before I start interviewing,

Thanks so much

HomeTogether: I don't think I would be able to share here, I don't know if you can upload files? (sorry!). But I just wanted to say that I put together my contract by using what I found online. I googled "home daycare contracts" or "home daycare paperwork", etc. Many sites popped up that had free versions.
Good luck!!!