Nanny with own child -issues regarding extra hour pay

When I worked for a head teacher they worked out what I would earn in a year and then divided it by 12 as they get paid very mouth it was easier for their finances and helped me not pay more tax and then have to claim it back.

You also need to be employed so you can get maternity pay.

I use to bring my own food for me and my dd and only claim mileage when it was for their children if I was going somewhere which was for mine child but that hers would enjoy I paid.

I was their nanny before having a child so we had a really good relationship and they trusted me
If you can find a good nanny job it can be really good to take your dc but you must be happy, your child must be happy and you must agree with the way they are bring up their dc

Good luck

I agree with the advice of getting a new job!!

Vikiseed - this is an old thread - where did you find it?

I was reading and thinking know what my reply would be - leave - and low and behold there was my reply saying that

I would also say that some nwoc won't get £7-9 nett - some nannies I know struggle to get that wage without bringing their own child

Plus we always talk in gross wages on mn :)

Hello there!

I am a nanny too with my win 14 moths old coming with me to work. He has been with me since he was 8 weeks old.

What this family is doing to you is unexceptable! You can not be self emplotyed as you are a nanny. the national minimum wage is above your wage and you are entitled to 4 weeks paid holidays (28 days incl bank holidays full time).
A nanny having their own child can usually offer so much more! they more empathic, discreet and patient they can understand how the mum feels leaving their child at home. You are able to offer a playpal straight away that teaches their child how to share, important social skills and gives her a potentially life long bond with yours. A nanny with own child gets an avarage 7-9 GBp NET per hour. You must also write down the hours you work and whilst you may agree to take time off when hubby is at home, you can;t be expected to work unreasonable hours without notice! Change your job immediately.
Lots of families will be happy to have you, ttrust me.
there is a fab website.www.childcare.co.uk you can find other parents there too.

Keep me posted on updates, would love to know what is going on.

XXX

Julinka - most nannies I interviewed brought written references from previous employers but not including their current employer. By the time we'd chosen one it was pretty much a done deal - we really liked her - and the reference was just 'is this person a serial killer or is she okay?' type call - took about two minutes - with her present employer.

Also, I was told by the nanny we employed about her current service conditions (appalling) and was quite prepared to be given a lukewarm reference because they didn't want her to go. But it's actually illegal to make derogatory statements unless you have evidence of them. I would suspect your employers will just say 'yep she's lovely, we're sorry to see her go'.

Finally, there's an issue regarding HMRC in that if you have not paid your NI and Tax, your next employer can become liable for it and it comes out of your wage packet (ie they deduct it from your pay. I had this happen to me when a previously employer miscalculated my pay two years earlier . No warning, nothing, just got a letter from HMRC one day. And the HMRC don't give a stuff if you weren't getting NMW they will still take their part!

We found our nanny on Gumtree, and also used childcare.co.uk

Good luck, go find another job. Lots of nannies bring their own child, they tend to charge 50p or £1 less an hour than the normal rate (here it's £8 net so £7/£7.50 with a child of your own).

only give the number of your current employer to the new parents once you give your notice.
trust me if any new parents warm to you and beleive that you are honest and hardworking they wont mind about your reference.
you should even tell them how your current employer treats you and i am sure they will understand.
by the way how old are you and your child and also how long have you been working for your current employer?
(sorry to be nosey)

As an employer I would want to know- you can turn it into positive thing as presumably you have dealt with balancing your own dc needs with charges , how you balance activity requirements for both of them, equipment food etc you bring and that which gets provided, what do you do if your dc sick etc. That way you can use the months you have worked, had sole charge etc to show you can do job despite difficult employment circs.

Fwiw I am amazed/ saddened at some stories of how shit employers can be. As you say it's a massively important and trusted job so you would want to be completely straight and fair with your nanny.

When I worked for a teacher, when I left I left at the end of a school term... I left in the early July so giving them entire Summer holidays to find a replacement. So if you find another position quickly starting say in the summer school holidays, then you could give notice and say you will leave at the end of this term.

Well hope job hunt works out fwiw if it is difficult with current employer can you get pre ml refs from old job? I think in circs if you explained your issues here ad other refs stacked up it wouldn't be a Bar to employment.

Julinka - it doesn't matter that you filled in return saying you are se as you aren't. If hmrc investigate they will penalise your employers for not withholding Paye etc and may also investigate you as even if mistake was made in good faith you still filed a return on wrong basis so there may be penalties.

Typed long post but it was lost but would echo nicks advice about thinking how to handle references. Also am sure other nannies will back this up, but contracts are essential as cover hours, holidays, overtime etc.

I say look for a new job now go on websites such as www.childcare.co.uk (its really good)
don't tell your current employers you are looking for another job and i say give at least 2 weeks notice seen as you didnt have a written contract. carry on as normal with your employers so that you can get the reference that you deserve

You will probably want to use them as a reference (your next employers will most likely want to speak with them), so you need to aim to leave in such a way that they are reasonably happy about the situation. So you may well want to give them the notice you agreed to orally.

Is getting another job realistic in your area, are there enough jobs around which will accept someone with their own child?

6 weeks notice is a long time and given the lack of written contract will be hard to enforce. 1 week during first year of work is the minimum expected in the event of no written contract. See ACAS: Notice periods

You may have got confused with Childminders - they ARE self employed as they run a business from their home and can tax deduct certain expenses. As a nanny you can't deduct things like Household Expenditure (heating lighting, water rates) as you are not using Your home.

Not sure where you found information to say it was normal for a nanny to be self employed... suspect it may have been about Childminders.

Given what you are saying about the family, I'm afraid I would agree with the others that looking another job may be for the best. If you asked your current employer to change the way things are done... would they? I get the feeling they may just ask you to leave (hmm, that may be the thing to do once you line up another job).

It's not normal to be - you don't take financial risks, you don't set your own hours, you don't direct your own work - so you fall more squarely into the 'employment' category.

Childminders are SE, nannies aren't. IMO it's much better (as you have more rights) to be employed.

Thing is you do have an oral contract of employment, so you have some rights, but when it comes to things like hours/overtime it becomes a bit 'he said, she said' and it's for those situations that you need a written statement of employment (or for SE people a contract for services).

You agreed to take the job on a contract-less basis so it seems to me you are just as much at fault as your employers when it comes to skirting the law. The whole point of having a contract is so that there is no misunderstanding about the terms. Please do it right next time.

we all make mistakes, just learn from them