If your nanny got a parking ticket

an alternative would be one of the many lovely schools closer to home

Athena Noctua

would LOVe to take train... we even live practically next door to the main trian station...

BUT the train station is a 25 min walk from school (I did it last week when there was a huge accidnet and all roads grid locked) and MB and DB really think that it is too much for a just 5 year old to be in school from 8.25 - 3.30 AND have a 25min walk either side AND a 20min journey too... (seeing how tired he is i agree)

the reality is that taking the train takes even longer

we could leave the house at 7.45 on the dot (no scope for being even a minute late) and me and 3 year old might get home by 9.30 IF i sprint that 25 min walk from school to station, or else not home til 9.50.

If we did the train for the afternoon school run we wouldnt even be home by tea time (4.30)

its because the train times are all wrong .

We did it last week.... left home at 7.47, missed our train, waited on platform for half an hour, and 3 year old and i didnt get home til 10.50 and we missed our music class

It really is only possible to drive (and i realy wish there was another alternative)

I have a pass for the school road (with about than 20 spaces for 180+ children and also pay and display for anyone using the museaum and University librray and the park over the road) and the unwritten rule is that if you park on double yellow lines with your pass displayed (and its the double yellows blocking the gates that are seriously NEVER EVER used) OR the surriounding roads (again with ahrdly any spaces that are always full) where the pass technically isnt valid, and you are supposed to pay, but dont, then the traffic warden wont give you a ticket.... this works most of the time, unless its a traffic.
warden having a pedantic day.

The fact hat 90% of the time even traffic wardenss dont give you a ticket when illegally parked shows that its not dangerous parking.

because MB and DB see the situation and understand there is no alternative they agree to pay the parking tickets if when i get one

We use the nannytax contract. That says very clearly that if nanny gets a parking ticket, nanny pays.

I would pay for tickets if nanny drove a DC to the GP/hospital and couldn't find a space in a hurry. I have never paid for parking tickets on playdates. I had a nanny who tried this on, and when I said she should pay, never got a ticket again.

snickersnack - friendly, reliable and caring are good qualities to find in a nanny - keep her

regards to fish fingers, dont buy them and then she cant feed them to your children

No, I wouldn't (and haven't) paid my nanny's parking tickets. Most people who drive for their jobs also pay their own tickets. (cab drivers, delivery drivers etc).

NannyL, so realistically, could you take the bus or the train? I mean in the city centre next to a museum? Surely there is public transport that doesn't require a parking space.

I started my first driving job in london around 6 years ago. On the start of the job my boss told me that they would pay first ticket and I must pay subsequents... I was thinking hmmm they must have had a problem with past nanny to bring that up!

I have had 4 tickets in 6 plus years of school runs/play dates etc. 3 were not my fault and successfully contested so no fine.

1 was clearly my fault. I was having a ditsy moment as parked the car and walked away without even thinking about getting a pay and display ticket!!!

Needless to say I told my boss but also paid for it straightaway as was def my fault.

ok...

my job is a NANNY... i park where the parents would park

there is NOWHERE to park that isnt double yelow lines.... they are double yellow because there are gates that are unused and ALWAYS locked... the gates belong t the museum and were used before the vuilding itself became a museaum.... the double yellow lines go in fron of the gates AND miles either side for if the gates were used which they never ever ever are.

if my bosses tooktheir own children to school they would park where i park... it is not dangerouse and doesnt block any view becuase the gates are not opened at all ever.

if when i get a parking ticket my bosses WILL pay and are fine with it...
they accept a couple of parking tickets a year on top of the school fees, not that i have had any yet.

it is the middle of a busy city centre...
there is NO alternative parking and the school run takes me 2 - 3 hours per day, so i wont leave earlier and walk for literally miles either.

I park my car in a safe place not blocking anyone, and when a pedantic traffic warden enforces it, rather than walking past likehe NOMALLY does, and i get a tickt my bosses will pay and wont bat an eye lid

they have the same parking problems when they do the school run...

oh ad if i walked to school i would never actually make it there or home

Next time we employ a nanny, there are a LOT of things I'm going to talk about before she starts that I didn't discuss this time round

sounds interesting - like what?

personally think I'd pay the first one for the sake of an easy life, but would make it clear no more......

SHE parked illegally whether or not she was working at the time, so no i wouldnt pay, she could have found a proper parking spot if shed tried.

I think the main point to come out of this thread is that we should all add this to our lists of things to potential talk about with potential employees/employers when car usage is being discussed!!!

snickersnack - maybe its worth saying now that you are happy to pay this time, but make clear that if it happens again, or if she gets points/fine that you wont pay, or she might expect it

My au pair got a ticket yesterday. She shouldnt have been using the car at that time as everything locally is accesible by walking.

So I told her she would have to pay. I'm paying it initially and taking £5 from her wages each week.

She has accepted it was her mistake and is happy to pay a little each week.

So has she actually said she wants you to pay it? Maybe she was just telling you in case you get something through the post as presumably it's your car. I would give her the benefit of the doubt and then if she is expecting you to pay, discuss it. With her.

snickersnack - is the car the nanny was driving owned by you, or by the nanny? If owned by you... perhaps they were just letting you know, as it would be your REG that was recorded.

The nanny should pay, i got one for using the bus lane at MB's insistance and DB paid it after finding out the reasons or it's issue.

I had a school run job job to do and the nearest parking was almost a mile away, i noticed alot of nearby drives were empty at school drop/collect times, so took it upon myself one weekend to knock on doors and ask if it would be possible to use their drive as had twins littlies and 1 of the families where happy for me to park on their drive for those minutes, the children gave them a bouquet at easter, summer and christmas as a thank you, made our walk to school gate all of 3 minutes.

I"ve never had a parking ticket (yet) but have had a fine for stopping inside a box junction. Since it was my employers car the letter was sent to her but i apologized and paid it. I could have said i wouldn't have got a fine if i hadn't been taking my charge home from an activity but it was my fault for stopping in the box not my employers so it never occurred to me to ask them to pay
Maybe your nanny was just letting you know and said sorry because she feels bad and wanted you to know not because she expects you to pay. NannyL it is your choice to do the school run - you took the job

Near where my mum lives, there is a school with yellow lines outside. About 1/4 mile away there is a residential street, where parents would park at school drop-off and collection time.
The local council put a single yellow line on that road, with signs indicating that the restriction was between 8am and 10am.
Clearly that council wants to stop parents parking in that road when they drop their children off, for some reason - yet don't mind them parking there when they pick up in the afternoon. I'm surprised the council got away with it - surely people protest still these days. A yellow line at this could be claimed to be sexist - as the majority of parents dropping off at school, will be mothers.
If there is a yellow line somewhere that you feel it should not be, ask others in the same situation and go on mass to the local council to demand that the times are changed, or the line is removed. Complain, Complain, and keep complaining.
If the line is there for a safety reason, then then council will be able to give you the reasons for why it is there, plus probably traffic research (traffic counts, accident stats). If the line can't be removed/changed, then the council may be able to make alternative arrangements for parents who only need to park for 20 minutes twice a day.

As a nanny I would respect the rules. But if I objected to the rules, I would find out why it was there and complain if necessary.

nannyl - sorry but you have a choice: break the law or not break the law. You park somewhere else and walk the extra or you leave earlier. simple

i suppose you could get a job where the beastly parents didn't have children?

The parking restrictions around schools are usually there for the children's safety. Lot's of cars coming and going in the place lots of children are walking is a recipe for a tragedy. Don't you think it's a tad selfish to think you deserve to park near the school completely disregarding the highway code? And do you think this is an appropriate lesson to be teaching your charges?

Look, Little Johnny, I know we are not supposed to do this but we are going to because we don't want to walk half a mile to get here. And how are you going to explain the difference when little Johnny thinks it's okay to break the rules at school. I would expect a nanny of all people to know to lead by example.

Now, I'm not saying that parking illegally in itself discredits your nanny skills. But, every day? Surely you should have a rethink about what kind of example you are setting. Why don't you take the bus? Or walk? OR get some bikes? Or just park further away?