Clients on rotating schedules

I have a long term full-time client who wants to go part-time on a rotating schedule.
Normally, I only do set days per week(3 minimum)
I had previous shiftworkers who paid me full-time because I can't fill the spot on the off days when it changes like that. They won't pay FT when only PT is needed.
Do I allow them the days they want(3 a week rotating) and charge them stats to partially offset the $ lost per month, or make them pay 3 set days that don't work with their schedule? I am losing about $400 a month versus a FT client. Or, do I just let them go?

If it was me, and their days were hard to work around, they would either pay for the whole full time spot, or else find other childcare arrangements.
How easy is it to fill their spot with a different family? If you won't have any trouble finding a new family, I would tell them you can't accommodate their schedule.

If they aren't willing to pay for full time I would let them go, losing $400 a month and dealing with a rotating schedule is not fair for you.

Agree. Just because their schedule has changed that doesn't mean YOU should take a pay cut. I would say they are more than welcome to pay full-time and only send their child on the days they need but you are not able to take a cut in pay. I used to have a part-time family with a crazy schedule. I had them paying me for a guaranteed 3 days a week although some weeks were 1 day some were 5. I found that mom was changing her schedule and not letting me know until last minute which made it hard to plan for. I then began charging them for the set days they gave me and then if they switched the days they still paid for the original days as well as the additional days. It wasn't too long until they gave notice. As much as I miss the family I sure don't miss the crazy schedule along with kids who were constantly out of routine.

Full-time care or no care would be my options to give them.

It always amazes me the amount of parents who think they can go from full-time to part-time and expect their providers to accommodate. I wonder what they would say if their boss told them their job was going from full-time hours to part-time hours? How many would be OK with that. They forget this is OUR business and not for them to TELL us what they are doing.

Rotating means you have no option of filling the other days with another child. I would tell them that you can certainly continue caring for their child but will be advertising for a full-time client and if you are able to find a fulltime client then you would no longer be able to provide care for them. End of the day you would be taking a significant cut in money and it isn't fair for you to have to do that...unless you want to.

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Originally Posted by Busy ECE mommy

They won't pay FT when only PT is needed.

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But Full Time care is needed!! Aside from the money lost, make it clear to them that in order to accommodate their changing days, they need a spot on every day for their child in order for that flexibility to be had. If they only had a part time spot then it would be for set days. For a rotating schedule they absolutely need a full time spot and they know this I'm sure they just don't want to pay for that unique service on the days of the cycle that they don't require care. Either explain this and make it very clear to them that yes they do need a full time spot or offer them the alternative of a daily rate which is equivalent to dividing your weekly rate by 3 and make it clear that if they only want to attend on certain days each week which will leave you with 2 days a week that are impossible to fill then they can do it with pleasure but at a premium. I'm sure they aren't stupid and know what they are asking you to sacrifice at your financial expense. It implies that they think they are in charge and calling the shots when they are in fact not your boss and you are the one to decide what is okay and what isn't.

My only regret is accepting part time children in the beginning. I am slowly phasing part time out but it is hard!!

I offer a $10 discount per day when a child isn't here. I would let them know they would have to pay in full for the days they use and than pay the holiday fee for the days they aren't here. It would either be that or find another daycare.

My very first clients that signed with me were on a rotating schedule and since I needed them, I took them in. They were thinking that they would only pay for the days they were here....some months they were only needing care for 7 days!! We finally came upon an agreement that they pay me a minimum of 3 days per week whether they needed those days or not. It's working out OK, but I wish I had been more business savvy in the beginning and insisted on full time payment for a rotating schedule. I had an opportunity to take in another part time client but couldn't make it work around the rotating schedule. I live and learn.....and I KNOW they know they are getting a good deal!

My contracts are based on a fee for the days reserved for a child not their attendance. If someone has a rotating shift, they need every day reserved for their child and so need to pay for all 5 days. I can't fill these ever changing vacant days based on their work schedule which means, taking them as a client under the terms they hope for, results in me taking the entire financial loss of their work situation! Nope - can't do that. They have to pay for the full place if they want the availability of the full place.

No different IMO than those who take an extended vacation and have to pay for their place and no different than those who work for the school board and have to pay to keep their child's place during the summer.

I cannot and will not reserve a Monday - Friday 100% place and only receive 50% income from it. I fully understand that some parents don't want to pay for a full time place and also that some can't - and they are more than welcome to find a carer who better suits their needs :-)

I also don't take those who extend their days to 12 hour shifts in order to get every second Friday off. I fully understand that it's great they have that flexibility with their employer but since most would need a 14 hour day from me in order to travel to/from work, that's not something I feel obligated to figure out for them either.


Admittedly it's a bit of a side issue - but my personal pet peeve is when parents with these needs, place an ad for a "flexible day care provider".

This is my personal red flag that their view of flexible won't match mine - i.e. they don't want to pay for days reserved but rather days attended.

All well and good until 6 sets of retired grandparents roll into town for Christmas and suddenly, the day care is empty for a couple of weeks as grandparents provide free care and frees up those day care fees for extra gifts. Pretty crappy for the carer when she's got no gifts under her tree.

I have dealt with this , for me it was a gong show ! I was expected to be able to accommodate care with 15 min notice at 6:00 am each morning ! Lol being new I tried it ! Ugh no thanks I lasted 2 weeks and then was just annoyed after I figured out they might need me everyday but it averaged 2-3 days a week ! So lesson learned !
If they want or might need every day , they pay for every day or I charge them a daily drop in fee IF I have room !
It never ends with some dcf !! I feel like hanging a banner that says ,I'm not your grandma , aunt , sister , I do not owe it to you to make your life as easy as possible !
I can understand life constantly changes but I don't expect everyone else's life to change because mine has !

That are using a full time spot because that are using all the days just not all if the time .... If they don't want to pay for the spot .....NEXT

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Originally Posted by Secondtimearound

I feel like hanging a banner that says ,I'm not your grandma , aunt , sister , I do not owe it to you to make your life as easy as possible !
I can understand life constantly changes but I don't expect everyone else's life to change because mine has !

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This did make me chuckle but only because I've had similar over the years.

I don't have a partner and so for me, it's important to finish on time at the end of the day, in order to get my teens to appointments, get to the bank, and do those things we all used to do on our lunch breaks but no longer can due to changing professions to carers. However, I've lost count of the times when I first opened, that a client would show up late or call and tell me that they were going to be late but if I needed to go, I could leave their child with my teenager to watch until they got here! Erm, no. My teens are very good with the day care children but they are not day care employees, they don't work for free, they don't want to watch your child until you show up, and they are not a resource available to you!