what to do when employer doesn't pay on time?

[onthemove]

I babysit for a family of 3 children and they pay me every second Friday. They give me post dated cheques most of the time but when the cheques run out payday comes and she shows up to pick up her children and acknowledges she owes me money and that she will bring it back in the evening and never does. I wait all weekend. She brings it on Monday. This completely changes my weekend. (this is the fourth time this year)

So here I sit waiting in case she shows up to drop off the cheque. I have to go take my bottles in so we can go to the bbq of their youngest sons birthday party with some sort of gift. Dh and I don't have joint accounts and he is out of town so I can't borrow money. I really don't like making those desperate phone calls asking for my money.

I make very little money because I can make a little go a long way but I am coming off of three weeks holidays and worked just this week and it is a regular payday and I am broke. She told me yesterday "this time I will bring it by". sigh. after she said "do I just owe you for this week?" ( last year she paid me for my holidays apparently something has changed)

I guess I feel underappreciated because she has no idea how much I do for and with her children and this just makes me feel completely undervalued.

[Alare]

I don't know why, but this is making me VERY angry--and I'm not even the person in this situation!! They are taking advantage of your good nature, thinking you will put up with their antics.

Maybe you should sit them down and say that for your own peace of mind, you need them to sign a contract with you.

1) payment is due every other friday when they are picked up. No exceptions. If they do not make payment on that friday, you will send them a bill and you will not be able to watch their kids for the next week. Again, you provide them with a service and you expect to be paid promptly for such services. You have a life and cannot sit around all weekend in the event they choose to bring a check to your house.

You could also say that due to past errors you will now be paid BEFORE such services are provided. Or that a post-dated check (dated for that friday) is due at the beginning of the week.

2) Decide which holidays you want off with pay. If they are absolutely against paying you for holidays, then you have to decide if you are willing to stay with them or find another family that will give you paid days off.

Whatever you decide to do, please stand up for yourself! Otherwise you'll get more and more bitter with the situation.

[mommy2two babes]

No advice just wanted to commiserate
I just found ou theta the people whos children I watch bounced a cheque on me

[annettemarie]

You definitely need a contract. I think we have a childcare provider's tribe in the WAHM Well; maybe they could help?

Really, if I was in that position, I would be tempted to get on the phone and say "I'm coming over to pick up the check now".

[annettemarie]

Found it!
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=565083

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

[Jilian]

That makes me really angry too - how rude! You should at the very least call her and ask when to expect her since she promised to come this weekend. It is very rude of her to expect you to sit around waiting for her then not to show. I think you need to address the situation, let her know that you budget for the money and when you don't receive it, it makes things very difficult for you.

[1growingsprout]

I do childcare for 2 families.
A couple rules to follow

1. HAVE A SIGNED CONTRACT, with out this you have no defense. The contract needs to state the hours you are watching the children, when you will be paid, the rate to be paid etc.

2. Get paid in advance. For example, Fees for the following week are due no later then close of business (pick up) on the Friday. This allows you to have $$ for food, supplies, prep for the following week.

3. Bounced checks are subject to bank fees charged you plus all late fees.

I find having this contract keeps the parents from 'forgetting' to pay and keeps them from even asking if 'sally' can stay a bit longer one day.

IN your case, i wouldnt let the mother drop off the kids unless she had cash inhand for you, of course id give her a recipt for payment. but no cash, no daycare.

[D_McG]

Originally Posted by 1growingsprout

I do childcare for 2 families.
A couple rules to follow

1. HAVE A SIGNED CONTRACT, with out this you have no defense. The contract needs to state the hours you are watching the children, when you will be paid, the rate to be paid etc.

2. Get paid in advance. For example, Fees for the following week are due no later then close of business (pick up) on the Friday. This allows you to have $$ for food, supplies, prep for the following week.

3. Bounced checks are subject to bank fees charged you plus all late fees.

I find having this contract keeps the parents from 'forgetting' to pay and keeps them from even asking if 'sally' can stay a bit longer one day.

IN your case, i wouldnt let the mother drop off the kids unless she had cash inhand for you, of course id give her a recipt for payment. but no cash, no daycare.

Yes to all this. I can't believe you're put up with this for so long!

[mommy2naomi]

I'm sorry that you're being treated so poorly. ITA with pps.

[PenelopeJune]

So you have to scrounge for money to buy a gift for HER child after she didn't pay you? Oh, man. I'd have to call and tell her that you are sorry, you can't make it to the party because you had no money for a gift.

I feel for you. DH used to always work for people who didn't pay him on time. They'd go out of town for the weekend and forget to pay their employees. How do you forget to pay the people who work for you? He also worked for a guy who still owes him a week of pay. It's over $500. Um...that was three and a half years ago. :

[feminist~mama]

I agree with PPs- I'd likely say something about needing to have a clearer expectations of one another and then whip out the contract. It's silly for you not to know if you've got paid vacation time- and you totally deserve it BTW!

Not being paid on time is not acceptable! Scraping up money for their kid's birthday because they didn't pay you is outrageous!

Stand up for yourself mama! You work hard and deserve to be treated as a professional!

[KateKat]

Find a new job. Not getting paid on time is a huge signal that something is very amiss in your employment situation.

[captivatedlife]

Please, please please - get a contract. stick up for yourself. Have them pay the week ahead. Do not let yourself get walked all over.

good luck.

i'd be looking for another family to watch kids for.

[onthemove]

Originally Posted by captivatedlife

Please, please please - get a contract. stick up for yourself. Have them pay the week ahead. Do not let yourself get walked all over.

good luck.

i'd be looking for another family to watch kids for.

this is interesting, but good for me to hear, and you are so right. I feel so invested in this family though. I have been looking after the kids for almost 2 years, the youngest was 14 months and he just turned 3.

[captivatedlife]

I probably wouldn't get another family - yet. I'd be looking though, checking craigslist, etc. I feel so strongly about it because I am an early childhood educator (right now, preschool teacher) and I know what goes into caring for kids. Whether it is a home setting, or a school setting. Many, many parents don't respect our job.

And they never will if we don't respect our job.

Good luck

[courtenay_e]

I nannied for decades before I had kids. After a while, I had degrees in education and psychology, so my "worth" in the parents' eyes grew...funny, though, they never treated me like it unless I demanded it. I learned the hard way to demand respect. I made it clear during an interview that I was interviewing THEM just as much as they were interviewing ME. I would strongly suggest that you work up a contract this weekend and have it waiting for her when she comes Monday. I would say that I am sorry, and unless she brings it back signed by Wednesday (give her time to look it over) you will no longer be able to take care of her kids. Invested in their lives or not, you have a paycheck to earn, and the more you let her walk over you, the more often she'll do it. I promise. I've been there!

I would start with WHEN you are paid. I would ask to be paid in advance. No more post dated checks. They need to be available when you are handed the funds. And they come the day they are expected, or she pays a painful surcharge. How painful depends on how much she makes and can afford, but for the families I worked for it would have been upwards of $50 for a second or worse offense.

Then, is she late? I started saying, "you know, I know that you would never WANT to be late to get your children...but neither do I WANT to be late for my evening appointments, and your being late will affect that. When you are late, I get a dollar a minute for every minute you are late." Working that way actually gives extremely wealthy clients a green light to just always be late, so for them I say a dollar a minute for first offense, second offense is two dollars a minute, and so on, up the scale. They started leaving work on time, and I got to my appointments (generally night classes) on time!

I completely understand not having the funds to pay a sitter. This is why we never go out ANYWHERE without the kids unless my mom can babysit. But if she cannot afford to pay you, she either needs to take a look at where her money is going, or she needs to take a look at other parts of her life!

You need to get paid a week in advance, and if you don't get the advance payment, the kids don't come next week...and I made them pay me weekly. I don't care if they only get paid every other week, or even once a month. I expect payment weekly. That way I am sure that I get paid for my work, and that if I don't get advance payment for the upcoming week, they feel the pain of it. I was well known enough that if somebody didn't pay me, I could have work for the following week anyway...so that worked well for me...but knowing I was serious meant that they didn't mess with me after I instituted the surcharge penalty and the "no money, no sitter" policy. Not once.

I am so, so sorry that they feel entitled to mess with your life. Chin up, sister! You deserve better than that!

[lifeguard]

Can you ask for post-dated cheques for the entire year instead of just a few weeks at a time?

How about changing the payday to Monday instead of Friday - then it can't wreak a whole weekend.

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by onthemove

this is interesting, but good for me to hear, and you are so right. I feel so invested in this family though. I have been looking after the kids for almost 2 years, the youngest was 14 months and he just turned 3.

This is not friends, or family. This is a BUSINESS that you are operating, and you need to think of it as such. No matter how attached to these kids you are. No matter how many poopy diapers you have changed for them. No matter how many scraped knees you have kissed all better.

I would draw up a contract stating that you will not care for the kids unless you are paid each Monday for the current week (in advance). And after signing the paperwork, if she shows up on Monday morning with the kids and no money, you should close for the day. It is not your problem if she can't find someone else to take advantage of, and you should not let her make it your problem by stiffing you repeatedly.

You can find other families to work for if she doesn't like the terms of the contract.

[Penuche]

Originally Posted by KateKat

Find a new job. Not getting paid on time is a huge signal that something is very amiss in your employment situation.

I agree. I was a private school teacher, and two paychecks in a row, I was shorted. I turned in my letter of resignation after the second short paycheck and then they overnighted the money owed. Funny how they could get the numbers right when faced with hiring a teacher mid-year. If I had let them get around to correcting the paychecks on their own; it could have taken months.

It's hard when there are kids involved, but you have to look out for yourself. Would they do this to anyone else they do business with? Do they walk out with groceries and say they'll come back later to pay?

[kijip]

I would start charging a late fee (at least $50) and also insist on being paid for the week before Friday. You could say the payments are now due Weds for example which gives you 2 days before Friday they have to see you before the weekend. Get it in writing. Charge a fee for late pick-ups as well.

In a low income situation, I know it would not always be feasible to turn them away because you may need the income, one way or the other.