Nanny holidays

What does your contact say? That’s the starting point and you can’t change it unilaterally without consultation with her. That’s why I say YABU. If you are employing her you have responsibilities. If you plan to change her contract you need to do it in writing with the required notice. She can leave if she is not happy or you can terminate in accordance with her contract. What you can’t do is make it up as you go along. It almost doesn’t matter if you think she is being unreasonable because if that’s what her contact allows then that’s what it allows

What a load of rubbish. This nanny is doing the job she’s paid for, she’s entitled to holiday and books it. If she’s not needed and @FrayedAndConfused likes to do the ‘nursery duties’ AND has other help in the form of a cleaner etc, there’s no actual impact whatsoever on the employer

if you like your nanny @FrayedAndConfused, if she’s good at what she does, you trust her and your child likes her, she’s worth gold dust AND YOU KNOW IT.

if you want to stipulate 2 weeks of her holiday, legally you can, but she’s entitled to a holiday no matter what job she’s doing and you DO have to make alternative arrangements as any other employer might have to.

tell her that this year’s holiday is agreed, but as of next holiday year 2 weeks out of the 4 will be stipulated by you.

This

As the employer, you can dictate when she takes leave - just like any other employer. Your nanny is taking the piss here.

She needs to abide by her contract or sack her. What a cheek! Get rid if you can.

When I had a nanny, as others have said, 50% of her holidays were taken as her choice, 50% ours. I think 4 months notice is too much but a month is reasonable.

4 months notice? No that's wild.

Just stop telling her your dates that she's getting free holidays. Let her know the week before and then it's just time off that if she wants to she can arrange something last minute. If you're giving her paid time off you don't get to control what she does with that time off. Either utilise her during those dates, or accept that you don't need her and she can do what she likes.

She should be able to take her annual leave whenever she wants providing she has given you suitable notice (4 weeks). Although if I was in a job where I needed to give 4 weeks notice for a day off I'd be pissed off, but I suppose nanny's know and accept this it its in their contract.

What happens if your son’s dad was ill so he suddenly can’t go over when planned? Would your nanny then not be able to cover that time either?

Don’t tell her your dates in advance as she should be working on those dates anyway she doesn’t need advance notice, if she wants to plan something then she needs to book the date regardless

You need a new nanny.

Leave requests and allocation should be set out in your nanny’s T&Cs, and what she does when you are away but she is not should form part of the agreed job description. You now want to change things because you didn’t make this clear to start with and you don’t like how it’s going.

Fwiw, it is quite normal to ask a nanny to take 50% of their leave when you say, and the remaining 50% at their choice. It is also normal to ask a nanny to do child-related tasks while you are away. I would ask mine to sort through clothes and toys to check which were outgrown or damaged, and to give the children’s bedrooms a good tidy up, making sure everything was put in the right place. It would generally only take her one day out of the week I’d be away, then she could have the other 4 days off as bonus time, but it kept on top of a job that would grow into a bigger task if we didn’t keep on top of it.

It is not unreasonable to ask for 4 months notice of holidays. My employer has just told me and my colleagues which weeks leave we have for the period Oct 24-Apr25. This is miles away. However, once again it is in the T&Cs that this is the way it is done. Any other days off at shorter notice are by agreement with my employer subject to need. Otherwise you work the days you are told. As long as this is agreed and understood, this is fine.

In our contract we agreed we’d choose 50% of holiday dates and our nanny chooses 50%.
think that, or having to clear hol dates with you, is standard. She’s taking the mickey imo

Perfectly normal for employers to ask for annual leave dates at the beginning of the year bar 5 days for odds and ends.

Half and half choice is standard with nanny contracts. So I’d change that.
Four months isn’t reasonable though. I also wouldn’t make her come in to do other jobs for the sake of it.

does your ex live nearby - does he need a nanny? maybe she should go work for him when your son goes there.

Technically you can stipulate when she takes all of her holiday. I think it would be fair to dictate half - and ask for a minimum of 4 weeks notice for the other 2 weeks.

Also, given how much you are away - I would see if I could reduce what the cleaner did for the "childs" areas - and get her to do it on your weeks away.

I'd stop telling her the dates that your son is going to be away until the week before and ask for 4 weeks notice of her holidays.

I don't have any experience with nannies, but are you not able to have as part of her contract when she has to take holidays?

Surely it's no different to eg.school staff who have to have school holidays (they can't just decide to have a day/week off in term time?

I think that you are being rather unreasonable assuming that she's a good carer for your son. Generally speaking employees should give double the notice of the length of leave requested as a minimum.

She should be working when paid. I’m sure you can find work to do.
buying and wrapping party gifts
sorting out yours son’s clothes
Organising the toys
cleaning his bedroom

You are being a mug

No you can't ask for four months notice reasonably

But you add to the contract that 50% of her holidays must be when you are off. So she gets two weeks of choice, two weeks dictated by you. Xmas and any other time off you give her.

You could also ask her to come in and do jobs on her 'extra' hols such as clean the toys or deep clean playroom.

FOUR MONTHS! No. That's absolutely ridiculous

The OP asked for 4 months notice!
Which is beyond the bounds of ridiculousness; no-one should have to give 4 months notice of holiday