This help centre article was written for anyone thinking of applying to become a childminder in the Koru Kids' Home Nursery service
Holiday allowance
Your earnings include money you could set aside to cover 20 holiday days.
Our standard contract requires families to contribute towards 20 days of holiday, including bank holidays (there are 8 bank holidays per year in England). The 20 days are pro-rated if you operate your Home Nursery part-time.
It's important to bear in mind that families won't pay you whilst your setting is closed for a holiday, but they will have been paying you a small amount each month to put towards your holiday, so essentially you've already received your holiday pay.
We recommend you set this amount aside as a 'holiday pot' which you can then use to cover your costs while you are closed.
Some other facts to keep in mind -
The holiday year runs from 1st January to 31st December.
This means you have 20 weekdays a year where the extra earnings you make during the year can be used by you to cover the cost of having your setting closed (pro-rated if you join part way through the year).
If you choose to take any additional holiday days over and above this allowance, these days would not be accounted for in your earningsāfamilies will not pay extra fees for these days.
As you are self-employed, it is your right to take additional unpaid holiday, but we advise you to avoid it wherever possible, as parents rely on you for childcare and will have to make alternative arrangements. It may impact your relationship with your families.
If you are offering funded hours and take holiday during term-time, you may need to refund the unused hours to your Local Authority. You can read more about this here.
You will need to give families notice in advance for any holiday you plan to take. You can read more about this here.