My opinion is this , charity is something totally different than changing the rules/contract . To me you have a couple of choices
A) practise charity - give up the wages as a loss and let her start again next pay period as negotiated
B) charge the late fee and let her pay when she asked
C) stick to your contract
This is your business and you get to make the choices you can live with . I have given leeway when I have chosen to and have had good results and bad . As the other ladies have mentioned , with their experiences, this is not a new story and usually if there is a problem after 4 weeks .... There will prob be problems as Christmas ect comes up . I personally have had the same experience and wished I would of termed a lot sooner . That being said if you are practising charity , in my opinion , that's a different story and only you can decide how to go about it . It will not make sense to everyone . If I was choosing charity I would inform her of the break I was giving her and move on . Whether she keeps up with not paying you or expecting you to help her out may be the result , the break may allow her to get her feet under her . It's always interesting to see how it goes !!!