AIBI to refuse to reduce work hours

[Tapestry12]

AIBU
I am nanny to family. It started off as 2 days. After 14 months I agreed to go down to 1 day, as I found other work. Now they want me to reduce hours to before and after pre-school. The reason they have given me is that I have other work now.
I am really unhappy because I have taken other jobs to work around the day I work for them.

Check your employment contract and work out what is right for you. If you are going to be seriously out of pocket then refuse this offer. Nannying has to be a flexible career as the children's needs change, but you also have to pay your bills.

I guess the decision is whether is it better for you to be made redundant & so have no income on this day unless you can find other work or accepted the change in hours & reduced income whilst looking for a job for all day on that day or a full time job & give notice to your other families. What is your current family going to do during school holiday, if your child is ill etc? If you are expected to step in, then either continuing to pay you full time or some sort of retainer is appropriate.

Could you offer to do general tasks for them while the child(ren) is / are at pre-school eg shopping, cooking meals for their freezer? I appreciate this isn't a nanny's remit, but perhaps that might be a suitable compromise.

I suppose the strength of your bargaining position depends on how much they need you to look after the child(ren) outside pre-school hours. If they'll struggle to find alternative cover, then you're in a stronger position

You can't really refuse though , as long as they have given you enough notice of the change.

Pre school being (I imagine) 9-12. So you would do what in those three hours!?

They are being ridiculous! especially jf they are relying on you stepping in if little one is too ill to go to preschool or needs collecting early.

I'd simply say that you need a full day's pay and you will find an alternative full day's work elsewhere if necessary.

Just as they will have to find alternative before and after school care if necessary.

How many hours are they at pre-school for?

I don't know if it's worth refusing but you can look out for other work and hand in your notice.

Check your contract. You should have contracted hours (when I was nanny my contracts always stated the days and hours of work) Sounds like your employer is trying to change your contract - please check with ACAS as I don't think your employer is able to do that without giving you the option of redundancy. If you've been with your employer for 2yrs then you need to check about redundancy payments.

Might be worth posting this on the nanny boards as well.

Since when can an employer change someone's working hours and conditions without their agreement and the employee have no right to refuse?

Do nannies have a different contract from everyone else?

Pinkrose
During my 10 years as a nanny I have come across some parents who don't have a clue as what being an employer entails. They are genuinely shocked that they have to pay the nanny' tax and national insurance (it doesn't help that nanny agencies are still advertising net pay rather than gross), got to give their nannies paid annual leave and notice periods, etc I could go on.

If you refuse they may make you redundant which may be better for,you and you can then try and fill the day.

Erm, Pinkrose1, I work for a local authority. They change t&c's without consent. If you don't agree they alter your contract anyway, if you still don't agree to it then they say you are choosing to terminate your employment.

By the way OP, yanbu to leave the job.

I have contract. 10 hours on the one day.
LO at pre-school for 4 hours.
During those hours I would do nanny duties, clean children's bedroom, bed linen, laundry, clean playroom, batch cooking, plan activities. I will not do household cleaning!
Am I being Bolshi?

Have put on nanny thread now too.

I guess you can refuse if you wish, but then they can make you redundant if they wish. As long as you're happy with that, refuse away. I would imagine most famines who use nannies for babies/toddlers would then switch to using childminders once children at school.

That I really quite annoying and unfair. Maybe its a good time to look for another job if there are others around?