Nannies - when out with children at a softplay or somewhere with cafe do you pay for you drink or take it out the kitty?

I pay for nanny's lunch and any teas/coffees while she's out and about - I think it's only reasonable. If they're at home she helps herself from the fridge.

I buy drinks from kitty money.

I also buy lunch/tea with charge from kitty if we definitely have to eat out, but I usually take her food with us!

My boss also pays for my gym membership so I can take my charge swimming. They belong to David Lloyd, if I had to pay for gym membership I would go somewhere much cheaper!!

All that said, I don't actually have a kitty, I pay for everything I buy for her/them and they pay me back at the end of the month, sometimes I forget that I had a coffee or juice that month! I never forget that I had a meal out because we only have tea out on a Thursday!

Any costs I occur while working my boss's pay - whether food if out for lunch (sandwich - jacket - pasta - obv i dont take the piss and have smoked salmon and cavier) entrances to places we go - car parks

If I wasn't working then I wouldn't be buying the stuff in the first place hence why I feel all costs should be paid for

I expect lunch and drunks to come out the kitty. Stuff like that is expensive and I doubt nannies go to soft play barns for fun!

Nick - yes fine for lunch to come out of kitty. I have similar memberships (National Trust etc) which I have personally but allow me to take my charges free, however if we are out for the whole day there (walk round the grounds, trails, look round house, swing park) I think lunch is a fair exchange for the saving in admission price!

Comes out of the kitty. I was told in my first job and many more since that I'm taking their kids to activities so I wouldn't be there otherwise. I don't take the pi55 ever, I just have a drink and not a cake. Lunch also comes from kitty when we go out.

As an employer, I expect the nanny to take it out of the kitty so long as they're not massively taking the piss.

I would be fine about lunch coming out the kitty- we have similar arrangements with our nanny .

I use my own money for cake/coffee. I don't have a kitty, if I want to take my kiddies somewhere I usually advise parents in advance and they give me money for entry.

I would expect it to come out of the kitty

and nannynick - I'd expect lunch to come out of the kitty too

I don't track the kitty expenditure so hard to say. I expect some weeks it may be me paying, whilst other weeks it may be my employer.

I have a related question... I'm a member of a health club at which there is swimming and softplay that the youngest child in my care uses (her membership is £5 per month, on top of my monthly health club membership). So the £5 per month can easily come out of the kitty, but my health club membership is something I do for myself, yet if I wasn't a member we wouldn't be doing swimming at £5 per month, more like £5 per time, so £50+ a month. I do not feel it is reasonable for me to put my health club membership through the kitty - but if we have lunch after swimming, then it is reasonable to put that through. Would you agree? It's swings and roundabouts, it could get a bit petty if tracking each expenditure and deciding if it is or isn't really work related. Or is everything during working hours a work expense?

My nannies have usually used their own although I would be quite happy if used kitty for a drink. I have told them this too - think main reason is nannies have usually preferred not to as it is inconvenient if have to supervise kids too.