We recently hired a new nanny to look after DSs, 2.8 and 8 months when I go back to work in December. We've been out of the country for the last few months, due back at the end of the month, and so used an agency to help find a good candidate, mainly because we are looking for a French speaker and we didn't have much success with ads on Gumtree etc and being out of the country made it harder to meet people. The agency found someone who seemed great so we spoke on the phone several times, Skyped, had a close friend meet her in London and after much thought decided to offer her the position so that we had someone lined up rather than leave it until we arrive back in the UK as that would give only 2 weeks before I go back to work. It now seems that neither us or the agency have heard from her for the last 10 days. We've emailed and phoned/left messages but no response and her mobile no longer seems to be working. Of course, she could just be on holiday but it just seems strange for her to completely drop off the radar! If we don't hear soon, i.e. by next week, then I'm thinking that I really need to look for someone else asap but what if she then resurfaces? We also paid the agency a HUGE fee for this candidate which had to be paid within 7 days of her accepting the job despite me telling the agency that I was concerned that something like this may happen. They will replace her but still! Am I panicking unnecessarily??