Informal Child Minding...
Discussion
Not sure if this is the right section for this but here goes.
Some friends of ours used to have a relative do the wrap around care for their daughter i.e. before / after school but the relative is no longer available, this coincided with the Dad losing his job so he was able to take over for a while but he's now managed to secure a new job. On a few occasions my wife has looked after their daughter when he's had a job interview and been away for the day, no problems doing them a favour like this as she's no bother. My wife also doesn't work at the moment so doesn't have any other commitments. A few weeks back when the Mum was picking her up we were jokingly discussing my wife setting up a childminding business and she said they'd be the first customers. Now the Dad has got a job they approached my missus with the actual proposition that she does look after their daughter before and after school and that they would pay us to do so preferring this to sending her to some random childminder. They partially justified this by saying that they used to give the relative who looked after her some money as well.
Can anyone advise on what the legalities are regarding this, it would be an informal arrangement i.e. that we are just friends looking after their daughter before and after school but they would bung us a few quid here and there for helping out? Not so concerned about any tax implications as it would be well below the personal income threshold. The wife and I discussed it last night and whilst we both agree the extra money would be useful we'd need to understand the implications (if any). It may only amount to a term anyway as my daughter starts school in September and my missus was thinking about looking for some work then anyway.
There are other issues that maybe our two kids may not be so happy having their "Mum" time split with someone else although the girl does play well with my daughter and being a bit older it's nice for her to have another girl to look up to.
On the other hand we may just be over thinking this and informal arrangements like this go on all the time?
Some friends of ours used to have a relative do the wrap around care for their daughter i.e. before / after school but the relative is no longer available, this coincided with the Dad losing his job so he was able to take over for a while but he's now managed to secure a new job. On a few occasions my wife has looked after their daughter when he's had a job interview and been away for the day, no problems doing them a favour like this as she's no bother. My wife also doesn't work at the moment so doesn't have any other commitments. A few weeks back when the Mum was picking her up we were jokingly discussing my wife setting up a childminding business and she said they'd be the first customers. Now the Dad has got a job they approached my missus with the actual proposition that she does look after their daughter before and after school and that they would pay us to do so preferring this to sending her to some random childminder. They partially justified this by saying that they used to give the relative who looked after her some money as well.
Can anyone advise on what the legalities are regarding this, it would be an informal arrangement i.e. that we are just friends looking after their daughter before and after school but they would bung us a few quid here and there for helping out? Not so concerned about any tax implications as it would be well below the personal income threshold. The wife and I discussed it last night and whilst we both agree the extra money would be useful we'd need to understand the implications (if any). It may only amount to a term anyway as my daughter starts school in September and my missus was thinking about looking for some work then anyway.
There are other issues that maybe our two kids may not be so happy having their "Mum" time split with someone else although the girl does play well with my daughter and being a bit older it's nice for her to have another girl to look up to.
On the other hand we may just be over thinking this and informal arrangements like this go on all the time?
You need to think of worst case scenarios. For instance what if the child got injured while in your wife's care, would the parents treat it as a simple accident or would you be in court quicker than you can say 'I only left them alone for a second'? There are so many potential pit falls you need to make sure you're adequately covered, informal arrangements or not.
Antony Moxey said:
You need to think of worst case scenarios. For instance what if the child got injured while in your wife's care, would the parents treat it as a simple accident or would you be in court quicker than you can say 'I only left them alone for a second'? There are so many potential pit falls you need to make sure you're adequately covered, informal arrangements or not.
^^ThisStart here
If informal then you're their best friend until a problem arises. Childminding is a business and really should be kept as such
Thanks all.
Bit of Googling says that if you're looking after a kid that you're not related to for more than 2 hours a day in return for remuneration then you have to register with Ofsted as a child minder. They'll ensure you have the background check, first aid training, insurance, have done risk assessments, etc.
We've quickly reached the conclusion that it would be a bad idea so have said thanks but no thanks.
Bit of Googling says that if you're looking after a kid that you're not related to for more than 2 hours a day in return for remuneration then you have to register with Ofsted as a child minder. They'll ensure you have the background check, first aid training, insurance, have done risk assessments, etc.
We've quickly reached the conclusion that it would be a bad idea so have said thanks but no thanks.
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