Homebased: Holidays and Closures

Holidays and Closures can be created on a service-wide level, or by individual Educator.

Service Closures

If your entire service will be closed, with no Educators offering care on a particular date/days, you will need to set a closure on the service calendar.

1. Navigate to Service > Service Calendar.

2. Using the back and forward arrows on the calendar, navigate to the relevant month, and click on the start date/day of the closure.

3. Select the day type and enter a name for the closure.

4. If the closure is for one day only, leave the Date From and Date To fields as is, or for extended closures, adjust the Date To as needed.

6. Leave the 'Is Open' checkbox unticked.

7. Depending on whether the day/dates will be charged, there are options for discounts, optional charges and WINZ payments*. Check the relevant boxes where applicable.

8. If the closure will be discounted, select the checkbox and enter a percentage value. This will override any default fee discounts.

9. Select 'Save'.

Please note: The Service Calendar is the "master calendar" in Discover. The entries on this calendar will override the Educator and Child calendars.

*We do not recommend ticking the "No WINZ Payments" checkbox for single-day closures, as this can cause issues for the entire week during which the closure occurs.

Service Holidays

If your entire service will be open on a Holiday, but different rates will apply for families and Educators, you can specify the details via the Service Calendar.

1. Navigate to Service > Service Calendar.

2. Using the back and forward arrows on the calendar, navigate to the relevant month, and click on the start date/day of the closure.

3. Select the day type (see Holiday options in dropdown) and enter a name for the closure.

4. Depending on whether the day/dates will be charged, there are options for discounts, optional charges and WINZ payments*. Check the relevant boxes where applicable.

5. If the holiday will be discounted, select the checkbox and enter a percentage value. This will override any default fee discounts.

6. Select 'Save' *.

*If you would like to adjust the Educator payments for these holidays, you can do so via the Educator Payments report, please see guide here, section heading: Adjustments.

Educator Closures

If an Educator will not be offering care for a period of time, this can be entered in to their individual calendar.

1. Navigate to Service > Educator Closure.

2. Select the Educator from the dropdown menu, use the back and forward arrows on the calendar to navigate to the relevant month and click on the start date/day of the closure. 

3. Enter a description and if the closure is for one day only, leave the Date From and Date To fields as is, or for extended closures, adjust the Date To as needed. Times to and from are optional.

4. Specify whether the closure will be charged or not and whether the fees will be waived.

5. Enter any discounts, if relevant, then set the Attendance status as 'Absent' and Funding status as 'Unfunded'.

6. Under Educator Payment Options, leave all fields blank if there will be no change to the amount the Educator will be paid, or alternatively enter the relevant percentages*.

7. Click 'Save'.

* The fields here refer to:

% of ECE Payments To Pay: Refers to the 'Hourly Educator Cost - 20 Hours ECE' in Fee set up.
% of Non ECE Payments To Pay: Hourly Educator Cost - Base Rate in Fee set up (as below).

% of Educator Payments To Pay: Educator Adjustments.
% of Optional Fees To Pay: Charge Adjustments

Educators Open on Holidays

If an Educator will be offering care on a Holiday, this will need to be set up via the Educator Closures tab in the main menu.

1. Navigate to Service > Educator Closure.

2. Select the Educator from the dropdown menu, use the back and forward arrows on the calendar to navigate to the relevant month and click on the start date/day of the closure.

3. Enter a description of the holiday and if the holiday is for one day only, leave the Date From and Date To fields as is, or for extended closures, adjust the Date To as needed. Times to and from are optional.

4. Tick the 'Is Open' box and select whether there will be a charge, no charge, or if only attendances will be charged. You can also waive the charges if needed.

Children on Holidays

If a child will be absent for a period of time, this can be set in their personal calendar.

1. Navigate to Children > Select the Child > Select the 'Calendar' tab.

2. Check the child's holiday entitlements at the top of the tab to be sure they have enough holiday days left. You are able to override the number of days if necessary.

3. Using the back and forward arrows on the calendar, navigate to the relevant month, and click on the start date/day of the holiday.

4. Enter the Away from and Away to dates, select 'Holiday' or 'Absent' from the 'Type' dropdown and type in a comment if needed.

5. Enter in any percentage adjustments that need to be made for the Educator's pay. If their pay will remain the same, leave this section blank.

6. Click 'Save'.