New Childcare law

[carron81]

Hi

My friend has just been on the phone tellng me about the new childcare law where your not allowed to leave your children with a friend whilst you work, it has to be imediate family

What a joke. what if you have no family available and you and a friend take turns so you can work. At least that way its free. Whats the point in spending all your wages on childcare if you have a friend down the road who can do the same job and its free!!! i'd rather keep my money and be able to treat my daughter at the end of the month to a family day out rather than be skint and sit in the house all month

What if you have an uncle thats a peadophile, is it okay to leave with him but not a life long trusted friend!!!!

I've got no family available to look after my wee one and there is no childcare facilities on our island so what are you meant to do!!!! i have friends who could look after her but would i get in trouble!!! what nonsense

[daffy654]

It isn't a new law, it is part of regulations introduced in 2006.

[fredpuli47]

The case hangs on 'reward' The policewomen's case is not one where there is reward.It's nonsense. No lawyer would say that being able to go to work while your friend looked after your children was 'reward' to the friend !'. An understanding that you will do the same does not alter the case, since neither one is reward. To argue that one is so ignores that the supposed reward is cancelled, as the very essence of the deal, by the reciprocal supposed reward. If I give someone £5 on the basis that they'll pay it back that's not reward! This is no different.

[Buenchico]

Daffy correctly points out that the legislation isn't new. However the rules on child care, for periods of over two hours, outside of the child's own home have actually been in place since 1989. The rules specifically excluded care within the child's own home in order that 'babysitting' shouldn't fall within the scope of the relevant legislation. But that has created an anomaly whereby it's perfectly acceptable for your friend to come to your home to look after your children (irrespective of whether there's any form of 'reward' involved) but not for her to look after your children in her own home.

Chris

[albaqwerty]

I heard on the radio last night that if you call yourself a nanny that is one way to care for your friends child(ren) as it is a loophole in the law.
If I can remember the name of the interviewee I will post.
It also begs the question (in my mind anyway) will this prevent sleepovers? Presumably the child will be staying in someone else's house for more than 2 hours?

[horselady]

I can remember from years ago when my children were little, that I could look after my friend's children in her home and get paid, but if they came to my house I would have had to become a registered childminder. There have always been odd rules like that. This current situation is ridiculous, a perfect solution for two working mums turned into a farce.

[fredpuli47]

Eddies, if the two policewomen had gone to each other's homes and looked after the children in the children's own home, the question of being a child-minder could not have arisen ! As I say, in this case it shouldn't have arisen anyway. It has because some idiot hasn't understood even the law that applies to the situation that did exist, but Buenchico is perfectly correct in saying that, had each policewoman been in the other person's home to look after that person's children no breach of the regulations would have occurred then.

It follows that a baby-sitter is not in breach of the regulations,since a baby-sitter is looking after a child in the child's own home. The same applies to a friend who looks after children in the children's own home.