Substitute Teachers - Childcare

HRQ

We are forming a pool of substitute teachers for our childcare centers to cover when others call off sick, etc. We plan to hire several people to work at multiple locations as needed, and we estimate they will probably work 4-5 days/week but the schedule would vary based on each location's needs and there may be weeks where they are not needed at all.

Does anybody know if we have to guarantee a certain number of hours or pay any premiums to ensure the substitute staff is actually available when we need them? Is there anything else I should be thinking of?

Shadowfax

There are no fed requirements that you guarentee any minimum hours, what AZ says, I wouldn't know. Basically, you're talking about either part time or casual employment. If you call and they don't come, you can stop using them. Maybe the ees will want some sort of gurantee or not agree to be on your list.

marc

We have a "Caregivers Support Network" program that has 7 EEs and 1 supervisor. When Childcare Centers have absenteeism, vacations, etc and need help maintaining ratios as required by licensing, they call us.

Our EEs are all full-time and receive quite a bit of training prior to being placed on-site. Pay and benefits has to be higher than the Childcare Centers or they steal them from you.

We are non-profit, so this deal does not make money, but is part of a childcare quality improvement initiative.

Point is, there is a lot of this type of work, you can people busy full time, but it takes a lot of work to manage.