New nanny's a smoker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

when i smoke i have two puffs then i'm ok. i don't sit in my car languising for hours over a fag. it's an awful addiction

custy - of course she can smoke in her own car - what I said was that if she is contracted to transport the children during working hours then the car is part of her workplace and she can't smoke in it during working hours ie when she has someone else in the car with her.

I think as an employer you have a right to not hire a smaoker if you don't want to. It is a helth risk, and something I prefer not to have around my children. 'tis my right as an employer to not hire someone I don't like (within the law of course, it is not legal to discriminat on the basis of race, sex, etc.) But, as far as a I know it is legal to discriminate on basis of being a smoker.

Hower, I do think this was a conversation that should have been had at the interview or even before.

FGS!!!

It is not like she is a heroin addict! just ask her not to smoke in work time - quite simple.

You would think she was injecting herself the way some of you go on, are you saying you would turn down a nanny who was absolutely perfect just because she liked the odd cigarette?

As long as you are upfront and make it clear from the beginning then whats the prob?

oops, could NOT imagine!

I have never smoked, but some of my nanny friends do, and they can control it all day. what would bother me more is the car thing, i HATE getting into smokers cars, and thats with my lungs that are used to being in smokey clubs/bars (roll on july 1st!!) I could imagine how a child would feel!

I was a Nanny for 15 years and a smoker. I NEVER EVER smoked whilst at work and never even thought about it either. It was a routine i gt myself into right from the start and my brain just commuted that i didnt want one in that time(it was strange, but i seriously never thought of them then).Mrs fish; it is possible i promise.

I think smokers can control themselves if they have too, but you need to talk this through with her and make it clera your not happy with her smoking in your time.

The car thing is more tricky. If she is smoking in her time then that should be ok, but yes the car will then smell of cigs when your kids get in. Having your car for her to use would be good??

In Ziopin's defence here, it wouldn't occur to me that someone who aspired to being a professional Nanny would smoke or bring children somewhere smoky. Nor hit them or use bad language for that matter! Are these normal interview questions also?!

Surely part of being a Nanny is keeping children away from harm?

I am very naive here.... yikes..

i can't believe thats actually the law.

its your OWN car, surely if youe employer wants you to use your vehicle in a certain wa it would require a change of contract>?

our HR department are pretty - no excellent on this stff and we have had nothing about this is will ask.

i am a non smoker by the way - 4 days

Custardo, not if she is going to be transporting colleagues or clients in it.

SOme of my colleagues use their own car for work but are going to have to display no smoking stickers if they transport colleagues.

40plus, if the car is her car - not te employers - she can still smoke in it.

I am a heavy smoker and have been since I was a teen. I have held 3 nannying positions (pre kids) I smoked at 1 (parents both smoked and was allowed) The other 2 I didn't as I was asked not to. I would go all day quite happily if the children were around. If the children were at nursery/school I could smoke in the garden and it was agreed I could if they were in bed sleeping. Both sets of parents were very accommodating

Yes a smoker smells but it doesn't transfer just by being with someone. As for reeking of it, if she had smoked in the car, she would smell worse than if she had smoked outside as it is a small confined space. So she could smell just as bad by having 1 fag in her car all day as she could by being a 20 a day person

Would you not hire someone that lived with a smoker either? They would smell too

OK, not read the thread but....

I am a massive non-smoker. Have never smoked, ever. Not even one puff. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

However, I don't think I would let the nanny being a smoker outside of my home bother me if she is great on every other level. The smell is not great but then I have a friend who wears Calvin Klein Obsession and it drives me to distraction

Sorry if I am missing the point.

New law does have some exemptions. The offenders are allowed to smoke in their cells, despite officers needing to access them as part of their work.

NannyL, under the new laws the NHS are sending letters to anyone due a home visit stating that if they smoke 20 mins before or during the visit the nurse/midwife/chiropdist will refuse to work there.

However apparently care homes are exempt so not sure how the law totally works.

My company's new smoking policy (whihc I have had to circulate this week) states no smoking on company premises including the yard and no smoking on any sites. Cigarette breaks are prohibited, the only time a worker may smoke is on his/her unpaid lunch break and they have to leave site completely, something a nanny can not do.

JV is right - anyone could fail to pay attention to your children and the nanny relationship is about trust HOWEVER I wouldn't want the person I was when I smoked as a nanny because FOR SOME PEOPLE a nicotine addiction is a very great incentive to find opportunities to be away from the children for short periods / alternatively to be distracted and short-tempered...

Yeah me too, it was on my questions for CM's. However i'm not sure in the end if I really liked one i would have not chosen her because she was a smoker, there would just have to be rules IYKWIM

I do feel as though I can smell on myself though, after being with smokers. I find it just lingers. May well be in my head, but I still wouldn't be happy with my childcarer being a smoker. But I would definitely have checked that in such an interview.

Ie from your post she does not sound like a casual smoker so I suspect you are better off letting her go with two weeks' pay now.

fortyplus yes you are absolutely right, i dont think she should smoke 'on the job' but what she chooses to do outside is her business, for all you know youre nannies could be drug taking whores come the weekend but hey not a smoker - god forbid.

agree hula you can smell it on people who smoke, but i dont smell it on people who have just sat with someone who smells of it, thats would be bizarre

So she smokes.
If its not going to be during her hours or round your kids then whats the problem?
Re the smell issue, what if she wore the shittiest smelling perfume, would that be grounds for firing her?
And if you cant trust that she wont smoke during the time shes with your kids then you're stuffed really, cos you could replace her but how do you know that anyone you leave your kids with will not do anything that you're against while you're not there?
You dont.
When you employ a nanny you are putting your faith in them 100% (or else surely you wouldn't be able to leave that person with your children). You like her, trust your instinct. I'm actually astonished at people encouraging that you bin her because of this, even let her start then get rid at the end of the trial period.
Madness.

I think it depends on the person. When I smoked I would have struggled horribly to get through the day without a cigarette and would have been distracted and grumpy by the end of the day. I think a lot of smokers would look for an opportunity to top up their nicotine levels during the day - am not sure a casual smoker (ie someone who could happily get through the day without a cigarette) would be smoking in her car...

As far as I am aware, even being near someone who has had a cigarette that day increases the risk of cot death in the very young. Depends how young your youngest is, but I sure wouldn't have a smoker looking after my kids. If you would rather find someone else, you should be able to give her her two weeks notice before she even begins - no risk to you then and no cost I suspect. Just the hassle factor of finding someone else...