Families feel more strongly about illness than any other absence, because nobody chooses to be ill. It can also do the most damage to a childminder's income, especially over winter. A clear sickness clause protects both sides by settling the answer before anyone is unwell.
When the child is ill
Most childminders charge their usual fee when a child is off sick or excluded because of illness. The place is still held, the other children are still being cared for, and your costs don't stop because one child is at home. It's the most common approach, and it's fair as long as it's written down and explained.
Some childminders reduce the charge for longer illnesses, for example after a week. That's kind, but if you do it, put it in the contract so it's applied the same way every time.
Exclusion periods
Your sickness clause sits alongside your exclusion rules. The EYFS requires a procedure for children who are ill or infectious, and you have a duty of care to every child in your setting. I ask families to keep children at home until they've been free of symptoms for 48 hours, and longer where UKHSA guidance says so for a particular illness. Making clear that you charge during exclusion periods means families aren't tempted to send a child back too early.
When you're ill
If you can't provide care because you're ill, most childminders don't charge, because the family has lost the service. Your contract should say so and explain how you'll let families know. If you have a backup arrangement with another registered childminder, explain how it works and that parents must agree to it.
Funded hours
Funded hours are never charged, whatever the reason for the absence. The DfE guidance also says a short illness shouldn't cost a child their funded place. Sickness charges can only apply to private hours.
Say it clearly at the start
Charging for a child who's ill can feel harsh. In my experience, though, families are far more upset by a charge they didn't expect than by one they knew about, and a sickness clause explained at the start heads off nearly every awkward conversation.
Your options
For each kind of absence you can charge in full, charge half or not charge. You need to decide what happens when the child is ill and you're open, when the child is kept away because of an infectious illness and you're open, and when you're ill or have a family emergency and close.
Most childminders charge in full when a child is ill, because the place is still held and they're still open. Most don't charge when they're the one who's ill, because the family can't get the care they're paying for. Half is a fair middle option if you're moving from one approach to the other.
What I do
I'm moving to charging when a child is ill. Illness is outside anyone's control, I can't fill the place for a day, and I'm also the one exposed to whatever is going round. Holidays and booked events are planned, so I don't think it's fair to charge families for my own planned closures. Charging for illness and not for my own time off feels like the honest balance to me.
How it looks in your contract
From a GoChildmind contract
Your child is ill and I am open: charged in full.
Your child is kept away because of illness or infection, and I am open: charged in full.
My unplanned closures (for example, my illness): not charged.
Put your own details in, freeRead the full sample contract
You choose full, half or nothing for each situation, and GoChildmind lays them out in one table so families see the whole picture.