Childminding question

afterglow

Hi all

Just posting a question on behalf of my mum, she is not on boards as she is not that tech/internet savi, though she does have a laptop etc.

I will try be as accurate and give as many facts i know as possible.

My mum's neighbours asked her to mind their little girl, they live next door, and this was around the time when I myself had moved out of the family home (approx 2010)
My mum had always gotten on well with the parents before she started minding the little one, and so when she was asked was happy to do it. She is not qualified, but has raised 3 of us.
All was going ok until recently, though the fact that whenever her dad was meant to pick her up, he would always be late.
My nan recently has been diagnosed as having terminal cancer, so as you can imagine, the family are rallying around, helping look after her.
Last week, when the little girl was late being picked up again, my mum mentioned it to her dad.
The following day, a note was in with her money. The note basically laid out a lot of hours, with kind of a plan for each hour, and was trying to make out that when the little hgirl is in school, my mum is not on call, so should not be paid for these hours.
I guess what it comes down to is that now she will be paid less, and work more hours, she thinks that by the woman sending her the note she is trying to make her say that she thinks it's two much and that she will decide to stop minding the little girl.
Just wondering, does she have any reason to be annoyed? She is not qualified, but feels that they are taking the pee a bit, wanting to pay her less and her to work more, andn also trying to make out like she should only be paid for the hours when the girl is in her physical presence, maybe I'm wrong, but i would think that she should be paid for the hours when she's in school two, as she technically is on call during these hours also?
Opinions would be good, and also, what would be the going rates for minding a 6 year old in your house?
Thanks

KKkitty

I presume your mam is the only one who can pick this child up from school during the day? Would she pick the child up if they were sick or had to leave early for anything?

afterglow

KKkitty wrote: »

I presume your mam is the only one who can pick this child up from school during the day? Would she pick the child up if they were sick or had to leave early for anything?

Exactly she would

SparkySpitfire

Tell her to tell the neighbours to stuff their stupid money and she won't be childminding for them anymore. This sounds like way more hassle than its worth!

A note is a very sly way to pass on a message as well...they're literally neighbours, what's stopping the lady of the house from meeting your mum face to face?

afterglow

SparkySpitfire wrote: »

Tell her to tell the neighbours to stuff their stupid money and she won't be childminding for them anymore. This sounds like way more hassle than its worth!

A note is a very sly way to pass on a message as well...they're literally neighbours, what's stopping the lady of the house from meeting your mum face to face?

Hi

That writing stuff down and putting it in with the money was done on purpose. Also she didn't come in to pick her up the day after my mum mentioned her dad being late to him. it's gone ridiculous now alright. and it's sad because my mum never wanted things to be awkward like this

SparkySpitfire

afterglow wrote: »

Hi

That writing stuff down and putting it in with the money was done on purpose. Also she didn't come in to pick her up the day after my mum mentioned her dad being late to him. it's gone ridiculous now alright. and it's sad because my mum never wanted things to be awkward like this

Yeah I got that, it's just so sly in my opinion. Like the woman wasn't prepared to stand and look your mum square in the eye with her terms.

If it was me I'd let them p!ss off. They can get themselves another childminder and pay through their nose for one too.

It is sad, cos it sounded like it started as a favour, and she was getting paid for it but now it's taking a turn for the nasty and they're counting on your mum rolling over and taking it.

Again, this is only my opinion but I wouldn't give them that satisfaction.

the_syco

afterglow wrote: »

All was going ok until recently, though the fact that whenever her dad was meant to pick her up, he would always be late.

The following day, a note was in with her money. The note basically laid out a lot of hours, with kind of a plan for each hour, and was trying to make out that when the little hgirl is in school, my mum is not on call, so should not be paid for these hours.

There's two ways to play it.

One) Your mum lets it be known that there's a extra fee when the father is late picking up the child

Two) Your mum tells her that it's no longer worth her while, and that the neighbour should find another childminder.

If going for number two, ensure your mum has a figure of money that she's happy with (such as the pre-letter rate) on hand for when the neighbours come back after seeing how much the market rate is.

KKkitty

Your mother should be paid while that child is in school simple as. I've seen similar with a friend's mother. She looked after very well off people's kids before during the day and a good few times for overnight stays in her own home. Because she wasn't a professional childminder per se she was paid poorly no matter how long she had them for.

GarIT

They said she isn't on call so I would confirm that. Let them know she wont be doing any early collections. Set a hourly rate and that she wants double or even triple for out of hours work, if the child is off for the day etc. Also she wants her standard hours pay whether the child is there or not.

The Corinthian

Being on call may not mean that you're 'working' but neither is it your own time either. Your mother wouldn't really be able to make plans, for example, that would take her out of range of picking the child up at a moment's notice. And she'd have to remain contactable. She could not commit to anything 100% either as she might have to cancel at a moment's notice.

It's not uncommon for someone to try and avoid paying for someone to be 'on call', using the argument that they're not 'working', but at the end being on call is a little bit like insurance and do you think an insurance company would accept not being paid unless you make a claim?

Your mother should seek a lower rate for the on call time (say 20% - 50%), which reverts to the full rate if she does have to do something or, as some have suggested, just tell them she's not interested.

Moonbeam

IS your mother getting the same amount as she did before the child started school?
Is she in primary school or play school?
If it is primary school then the going rate for after school is 5 euro per hour and I would not expected to be paid for the hours that the child is in school.
If the mother says that she is not on call when the child is at school then as she has it in writing I would take it as fact.

afterglow

Moonbeam wrote: »

IS your mother getting the same amount as she did before the child started school?
Is she in primary school or play school?
If it is primary school then the going rate for after school is 5 euro per hour and I would not expected to be paid for the hours that the child is in school.
If the mother says that she is not on call when the child is at school then as she has it in writing I would take it as fact.

5 euro? God that's extortion!!!!!!!
It's not written down it's just implied. She is not getting the same amount as she was originally no, hense the entire point of this thread. She is in primary school. How anyone can expect anyone to do such a stressful job for 5 euro an hour is beyond me, please tell me that's not really the going rate? For god sake....
The sickening thing is that the mum of the child works in kildare so could not just drop everything at a moment's notice to come pick her up and give her to my mum so she bloody well knows that my mum would pick her up and for no extra money it's just such bad form. She was mant to go to a better school than she is and right before she was due to start she was pulled from that one and put into one close to where her house is, this is all so in a few years she will be able to come and go by herself, and not need looking after by her parents who really in truth want to do as little with and for the little girl as possible. Anyway rant over

Moonbeam

5 euro an hour for after school in my opinion is a good rate in the minders own home,going to the kids home is a completely different scenario as min wage applies.

Childminders can also earn 15k tax free so the income under this is subject to PRSI but not PAYE.

ash23

5 euro per hour for afterschool care is pretty standard and it's what I paid for years both with a creche and a childminder.

She was minded from 3pm pickup and collected between 5.30pm and 6pm for €15 per day.

On half days or sick days she was collected earlier and I paid for those hours, same with days off.
My childminder had her own kids so was usually available to collect on half days and if she wasn't available in an emergency I'd leave work and collect her myself.

Moonbeam

A nanny in your own home is an employee and you need to register the and pay their taxes so unless there are a few kids it is normally cheaper to send them to a childminder.

if your mother is unhappy with the situation it is not good for her or the child,she needs to talk to them about her terms and draw up a contract.

Deenie123

If it were me, I would talk to them basically outlining that when she mentioned the father's lateness collecting the child it was because of the time, not the money, and the reason behind mentioning it is that her own mother is now terminally ill and her time is very precious to her so the father being late was a major inconvenience. She knows that things do crop up at work and buses are late/traffic can be heavy and so on, and she would understand if it was a one off, but it seems to be a regular occurrence on the days when her dad picks her up. With her own new circumstances in mind, she had been hoping to open a conversation on how best the hours could be managed so that she can plan time to see her mother. She's really saddened that instead of coming to speak to her, they chose to send her a passive aggressive note which is so disappointing because she values them as friends and neighbours and is mad about their little girl. However, minding a child and being on call is a full time responsibility and, given that she doesn't want to fall out with them, if they are unwilling to talk about punctuality and are no longer willing to make it worthwhile for her to mind the child, it's probably best if they find a new childminder. She doesn't want to see them stuck or caught in a difficult position, so if they would like to she can continue to mind the child at the previous rates until they do find a replacement.

Frog Song

What Deenie123 said is bang on. It's a horrible situation, very hard when they're neighbours. Lousy of them with their silly note. Hope your mum can sort it out.

CrazyRabbit

Send a note back outlining the cost of other similar child care services...which will likely be far more expensive.

blond45

the one person i feel sorry for is the poor child, im sure she hears mum and dad chating/arguing , tell them she cant do it anymore cos of your granny not being well..poor kid i bet is late going to bed cos of dad being late picking her up..they should put an ad in the local news paper looking for childminder.

afterglow

Hi everyone

Sorry for not coming back before now.

Unfortunately they have decided to put the little one in some kind of after school place. my mum won't be minding her from after christmas.
She is sad to lose her and we all just feel so sorry for the little girl as we were all very fond of her and i'm sure she'll miss us.
Thanks so much for all your replies

blond45

afterglow wrote: »

Hi everyone

Sorry for not coming back before now.

Unfortunately they have decided to put the little one in some kind of after school place. my mum won't be minding her from after christmas.
She is sad to lose her and we all just feel so sorry for the little girl as we were all very fond of her and i'm sure she'll miss us.
Thanks so much for all your replies

Maybe its for the best ,she will miss ye guys and vise versa.