Sick days...

[susansmith]

Thank you Suzie_Homemaker for that input. That explanation makes great sense!

[Suzie_Homemaker]

Thank you Suzie_Homemaker for that input. That explanation makes great sense!

The other way to introduce a change is to amend your master contract so each new child who joins from now onwards, has the new terms. Depending on the age group in your care now it might mean a couple of years before your whole client base has turned over but sometimes it's easier to bring in change as new client's join vs force a change on all already in your care who didn't sign up for the changes.

You will have to try and figure out what is a reasonable amount of time in your area. In Canada, the base number of days leave that people get is 2 weeks and anything more is subject to company policy or length of employment. If you are in a high demand area, then it's easier to implement these changes if you have a good rep and are known. However, if you are in an area that is saturated with options for day homes of a comparable quality, then it's harder to require more "benefits" than other providers charge for especially if your client base are employed in roles where they only get the minimum's themselves.

I know that in my area, 4 weeks leave would be a deal breaker for most clients even if 2 weeks were paid and 2 weeks were unpaid. It's not that they don't value my service, it's simply that a high number of parents are single parents, a lot of employers locally do not offer more than 2 weeks leave, and it would truly be impossible for most people to be home with a child for 4 weeks each year without them being unpaid for part of that themselves or facing issues with their own employer for the extended leave each year. As it is with 2 weeks, I am effectively dictating when my client's get their 2 weeks off since that's the typical leave entitlement for employees. There's no way they would be able to cover my unavailability if I were to have double their leave entitlement and take 4 weeks. What I do commit to is having one full week of my leave on the same dates every year and that way, they can plan for when I am off. The other days tend to be taken as odd days here and there with any unused leave being taken between Christmas and the New year when people are more likely to be off themselves or have family visiting who could cover their childcare needs.