Do you Pay Daycare provider for HER vacation?

[whatta_mama]

My dd just recently started at preschool daycare in the past 2 months.
It is an in-home licensed facility.
I was advised that she takes last week of July (including the Friday before) as her vacation so that I may arrange alternate care for dd.

I pay weekly and was never told if I had to pay her for that week.
My contract says that I pay for my vacation or sick days that we are not there, but wasn't specific for her vacation- I was verbally informed once I decided to bring my dd there that she was not available that week.

Logically it seems if I have to pay someone else for that week, how can I pay both... kwim? Makes total sense that I pay for my vacation to keep our spot open... but her vacation?? hmmmmmmmmm?

I know I just need to ask her, but wanted to know the norm for the mama's here that have had to work around a care provider's scheduled time off.
TIA

[wild_reilly]

I think it is standard to pay for days that you miss because of YOUR family (essentially because your daycare provider can't fill that spot for a day in your absence), but I've never heard of a daycare charging you for days that they aren't available to you.

I would definitely be working under the assumption that you don't have to pay when the daycare is closed. Worth checking though, so there's no surprises.

[lanamommyphd07]

when I had a home dc provider I had to pay for her holidays, but she offered one week vacation for the child....of course it ended up being the week she was off, but at least I didn't pay for it.

[russsk]

I've heard of daycares charging for their two-week vacation.

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Around here, it is actually pretty standard to pay for your provider's vacation. She is working full time, often without any benefits and for longer hours than most people with a "regular" full time job. She is taking care of your children, which is the most important job in the entire world. She absolutely deserves a week of paid vacation each year.

I really don't mean to come off as sounding harsh in this, but I was a childcare provider for a year and a half. It was so difficult to have the mama of the little boy I watched haggle over a few days off when I was working my butt off for relatively little money. What we ended up doing was she paid for my vacation (1 week) and for her own (1 week), so I ended up with two weeks off per year. I paid for any sick time on my end and she paid for any sick time on her end, and 4 holidays. I felt that it was pretty fair.

ETA: Just wanted to add that if I had not received a paid week of vacation, I pretty much would not have been able to plan a vacation at all. The mama that I worked for would tell me a week or two in advance of her vacation, so not enough time for me to really plan anything. Also, many providers simply can't afford to not get paid for an entire week.

[purplepaperclip]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_Pie

Around here, it is actually pretty standard to pay for your provider's vacation. She is working full time, often without any benefits and for longer hours than most people with a "regular" full time job. She is taking care of your children, which is the most important job in the entire world. She absolutely deserves a week of paid vacation each year.

I really don't mean to come off as sounding harsh in this, but I was a childcare provider for a year and a half. It was so difficult to have the mama of the little boy I watched haggle over a few days off when I was working my butt off for relatively little money. What we ended up doing was she paid for my vacation (1 week) and for her own (1 week), so I ended up with two weeks off per year. I paid for any sick time on my end and she paid for any sick time on her end, and 4 holidays. I felt that it was pretty fair.

ETA: Just wanted to add that if I had not received a paid week of vacation, I pretty much would not have been able to plan a vacation at all. The mama that I worked for would tell me a week or two in advance of her vacation, so not enough time for me to really plan anything. Also, many providers simply can't afford to not get paid for an entire week.

Yup.

[Alyantavid]

No. We don't pay for any days that the daycare is closed.

[mysticmomma]

yes.

[34me]

I always paid for the week we went on vacation and the week she was on vacation. Any regular holidays I did not have to pay for. This was in our contract however, so it was all up front.

[jennydecki]

I wouldn't pay for her vacation. Not if it was presented that way. I don't get a paid vacation, why am I required to provide one for someone else? She should have worked that into her rates.

Of course, as a freelance writer I don't get benefits or vacation pay and have to make sure I work enough (or at a high enough rate) to pay for health insurance and a vacation if I wanted one.

But...if she's a rockstar with your child and you feel you can't live without her...well then...you're going to pay. I would, because business issues aside, someone that's good for your kid is worth the extra money.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

When my kids were daycare aged we paid for the DCPs vacation weeks (1 over Christmas, one in the summer). We also paid for days she was closed due to illness on her part (she had several surgeries over the years we were there), our vacation weeks and days when we were out sick. It was all written in the contract though, so we knew it was there. If you don't have a contract, you definitely should request one. If you do, it should be spelled out.

Of course, once the kids got to preschool we also paid the same amount each month, regardless of holidays or school vacations.

[Fairy4tmama]

Yes as a childcare provider I got paid for vacation both the children's as well as my own but it was in the contract.

Around here, it is actually pretty standard to pay for your provider's vacation. She is working full time, often without any benefits and for longer hours than most people with a "regular" full time job. She is taking care of your children, which is the most important job in the entire world. She absolutely deserves a week of paid vacation each year.

I really don't mean to come off as sounding harsh in this, but I was a childcare provider for a year and a half. It was so difficult to have the mama of the little boy I watched haggle over a few days off when I was working my butt off for relatively little money. What we ended up doing was she paid for my vacation (1 week) and for her own (1 week), so I ended up with two weeks off per year. I paid for any sick time on my end and she paid for any sick time on her end, and 4 holidays. I felt that it was pretty fair.

[Carita]

we pay the same every month - some months DC is closed for a week for winter break or for 3 days for spring break, or 2 days for fall break, etc.

I do get a bit irked that I pay for essential 3 weeks worth of vacation time. Fortunately I ge tthe same vacations usually so its not such a big deal. This is actually quite standard for daycare facilities like my son's preschool to have "vacations" that coincide with the school system calendar.

[readytobedone]

ours gets 2 paid weeks off a year. it's fine with me because most professional jobs give employees paid vacation.

[kirstenb]

I thought it was standard to pay for your providers vacation. We are in a center but we pay for the days that they are closed. When we were at an in home daycare it was the same. Both times though they were spelled out in the contract.

[MacKinnon]

We're not in an home center, but we get 10 vacation days we can use and not pay for those days. Over that, we pay. We pay for sick days or unscheduled absences, because the staff were scheduled around our kids factored into ratio. We also pay for holidays. We pay, so that they can pay their staff. And I'm FINE with that. They work hard and deserve holiday pay just like I deserve mine. I know many home day care providers don't require parents to pay for vacations, or for their vacations. But as posters have said, if you are working 6:30am to 6:00pm, for $125 bucks a week per child, you deserve a week off!

[claras_mom]

We pay the same every month whether or not we're there. DCP is closed on specific holidays, for two weeks at Christmas, a week and a half in the summer, two days for "spring break." It's all in the contract; she makes her plans a year in advance, so we know when the summer break will be.

Licensed home provider, FWIW. But standard practice for this area.

[mamasaurus]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_Pie

Around here, it is actually pretty standard to pay for your provider's vacation. She is working full time, often without any benefits and for longer hours than most people with a "regular" full time job. She is taking care of your children, which is the most important job in the entire world. She absolutely deserves a week of paid vacation each year.

I agree with all of this. This is true where I live, and if you think about it, it is fair and makes sense.

It is customary to give a nanny a paid vacation, so why not an in-home childcare provider? She is running a business, and most businesses offer paid vacation. Just because she is self-employed doesn't mean she shouldn't have it.

[GuildJenn]

When we had a nanny we paid her vacation, yes.

Now we pay a centre the same each month although the centre is closed for some holidays and the last week of the summer. Same theory, as far as I'm concerned.

It is a pain to have to double pay, for sure. One thing that has helped us with our centre is we know the week up front, so we can choose to schedule our paid-by-our-employers vacation time over that week.

[MissMaegie'sMama]

Charging tuition for a provider's vacation days is standard where I live, especially among licensed/accredited providers (SAHMs and off-the-books providers not as much).

Your provider should have pointed out the fact she charges vacation tuition when she discussed her contract with you, and it should have been in writing. As you were only verbally informed of the requirement, perhaps you have some legal wiggle room (?)

However, I agree with jennydecki that if she's a really awesome provider, you might want to suck it up and pay this time. Which stinks, I know- it's hard enough finding someone to care for your child on a short-term basis without having to worry about how you'll pay TWO people that week!