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Uhhh, yeah, what everyone else said! LoL
Glad you walked away from this one. I have no idea how she can say it's "unheard" of!! It's completely the norm in my area. My rates are very reasonable, and as such I am entitled to time off without going broke. I get stats (paid), 10 days of holidays (paid) and can take up to 4 personal days in the year (paid). If they choose not to bring the child on certain days, I still get paid.
It would be nice if a parent actually did the math on how much we end up getting paid, after food and all other expenses. I know it may seem alot to them, but when you break it down; I'm not in this to get rich!! I do it so that I can stay home with my kids and still earn some kind of income.
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I just opened my daycare, so I am new to running my own business, but I definitely believe that the whole point of having a contract is to avoid having clients walk all over you. I would agree that contracts are not negotiable. I know writing up my contract took a lot of work and thought b/c I wanted to be fair both to myself and to parents. If you were to change your contract every time someone didn't see eye-to-eye with you on a policy you would end up with one that reflected the needs of everyone EXCEPT you!
I also think this mother is being unfair. In my contract I stipulate that all stat holidays are paid holidays and if they fall on a weekend I take the Friday or Monday. And while it is true that when a child is sick the mother may have to take a 'financial' hit, you are running a business so why should you have that financial burden instead? Finally, yes you lost a client, but do you really want to work with someone who possibly believes that their time is more valuable than yours?
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Starting to feel at home...
I learned this the hard way, was nickel and dimed by a family right from the get go and always had to argue about payment when her children were sick eventhough it was clearly stated in my contract. Got to the point that she kept sending her kids sick to me b/c I was going to charge her, when I put my foot down and said you cannot leave your child here today, she is too sick, of course on pay day she tried to tell me that she was not going to pay me as I was the one to send her child home.... yeah, that did nt happen.... if there is anything I have learned in my short time as a daycare provider is that good parents who appreciate you makes all the difference in the world!
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My question to her would be "Do you get paid for Stat holidays?" , if the answer was yes then I would say "why shouldn't I then. I also charge for the child's sick days but not if I am sick. If the child happens to be ill for an extended period of time then it is full fees for the first five consecutive days then half fees for consecutive days after that. The parents pay half fees for their vacation time but only in one week blocks, meaning if they decide to keep little Johnny home on a Friday only then it is still full fees. I do not charge for my vacation though.
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Starting to feel at home...
The only other thing I can suggest is set up an interview FIRST. Your just starting, you need to fill spaces and get as many contracts signed...I'd be leaving the contract signing to the last step. When a parent calls me, we discuss if I can meet the initial needs like days, age, hours etc. Then meet in the dayhome, then if they choose to sign up they bring me a registration fee and registration forms and then they get access to my website with all my policies and then lastly we sit down and sign and go over contract. Let them fall in love with the wonderful idea of you caring for your children, then talk logistics and policies! Good luck
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The Following User Says Thank You to FS2011 For This Useful Post:
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My standard repy to parents who ask not to pay for a sick day or a "day off"...I cannot manufacture a kid to take your spot for the day...so you pay! This is why I have a "flat rate" policy..they pay for the whole week whether their child is with me or not!
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