The amount of holiday you decide to take from your childcare service is entirely up to you as a self-employed person. When deciding, you should consider the following factors:
Whether you are open term time only or full year
How established your business is
A fairly common way of looking at holiday allocation in the sector is:
For full year placements, take up to 10 days paid and up to 10 days unpaid
For term time placements, up to 10 days unpaid
Plus take any extra unpaid holiday with one month’s notice to the parent
You might find it useful to follow this common holiday allocation, or use it as a starting point, especially if you’re a new childminder.
Recommendations for best holiday practice:
Make a plan for roughly when you will be taking holiday and share this with parents up front at the start of their placement. This will make it more possible to plan holidays at the same time as each other.
Let the parent know 30 days in advance of any planned holiday. Please also let tiney know as soon as you’re aware of any time your setting will be closed in future.
When considering your total working days across the year, remember to include other days you may not be working, including inset days and bank holidays.