Advice regarding paid vacation

[CW888]

My concern is why you left her after only 3 months. If it was for deceitful reasons - like child was on a wait list for another program and you finally got a spot, etc. then realize that you have put the provider in the position of having told other prospective clients that she didn't have spaces and now is facing a loss of income. That likely explains why she feels she needs to be compensated. I assume that you gave the proper notification as is in your contract and plan to pay for that period even if you don't use it.

I gave her 3 weeks notice instead of 2 weeks, to give her time to get another family and the last week (which is this week) I wasn't going to send him all the 5 days but to do it gradually and already gave her the cheque for the week.

The reason we decided to terminate is that we had some concerns about her. She basically got angry at me over the phone when we discussed the holiday thing and accused me of trying to trick her.

I've seen her stressed a few times and she has a scary look on her face when she's upset. She's cold and abrupt at times. She was perfectly fine when I gave her notice. I was a bit worried when I gave her notice in case she would get angry or snap at me. I don't think a relationship with a provider should be based on fear and have trust issues.

We were planning to leave our son in her care until next year. Thankfully my in-laws has accepted to look after him for a few months, until we get a spot at a centre. I don't think we will look for a home daycare based on this bad experience. I know there are very good providers out there but I really don't want to go through something like this again.

Anyway, my husband is going to look at the contract again today. If it says we have to pay her 2 weeks upon termination then we'll pay her. But if it's not specified and I only need to pay for 10 days per year, then we won't pay her anything. She also hasn't booked any vacation yet. If she had, we would have paid her.