Cleaning as a nanny

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I'm a nanny and since the youngest children started nursery, I do some bit round the house. Washing, ironing, beds etc all fine. But on the weeks the cleaner isn't there I'm being asked to clean the bathrooms. I personally don't think this is my job. I know for a fact I get paid less per hour than the cleaner. I wasn't employed as a nanny housekeeper, and I wasn't asked if I would mind, it was just assumed. AIBU?

You start at 12 and what time do you pick the kids up? It doesn’t take that long to prepare tea and do beds so I guess they are trying to justify your time. They should change your title to housekeeper/nanny though.

I think you are within your rights to say you don’t want to clean the bathroom as it’s not in your job description. They may cut your hours though? Seems a luxury to have a nanny at home from 12 when the kids are at nursery all day.

Tbh if their kids are at nursery and they only need childcare for pick up and dinner time for example they may just reduce your hours as who needs a nanny while the children are in childcare.
Rightly or wrongly they are trying to justify your hours.
You could always renegotiate your position as nanny/housekeeper and ask for a pay rise?

To be fair to them it probably isn't possible to directly compare your wages with the cleaners charges as she is probably self employed and therefore pays her own national insurance and doesn't get paid holidays etc where you should be employed and therefore the family have to pay employers national insurance and paid holidays.

I was going to say what user said. I'm a cleaner and charge 14 p/h but my net is around 9 p/h

How many of the 19 hours a week are the kids not at school / nursery and are with you?

When I was a nanny I was expected to clean the baby's room, playroom and bathroom but they had a cleaner to clean their bathroom. They need to pay you more or do it themselves.

I agree that you shouldnt be doing cleaning if not in your job etc.... however you say you need to start at 12 to change 4 beds.... surely you arent changing all the beds every day?

You should talk to your employers but be clear about what you want the outcome to be. I can't really tell whether you want not to do the heavy cleaning and would be happy with a cut in hours or whether you would like more money for the work. I think either is reasonable but you need to be clear.

Lots of people who employ nannies take the piss, I think it's part of their personality tbh.
YANBU, they should give their cleaner more hours if they want more cleaning done.

Ok to clear some things up. I do 2 days a week. One day I work from 7.30am until 6pm. That day I get all 4 kids up breakfast and get the oldest 2 to school. The little ones are with me all day. They have various activities that happen during the day and they no longer have a nap.

The other day I do 12-7pm. I leave for school about 3 so I have just under 3 hours. Cooking 2 meals can take an hour. Ironing 4 sets of bedding plus whatever other clothes is easily another 45 minutes. Then stripping and remaking 4 or 5 beds, hoovering up and down, doing any laundry that needs doing.

I appreciate they want to fill the hours but I would say they're already quite full. I don't mind if they want to employ me as a nanny housekeeper that's fine but I object to essentially being the stand in cleaner because they cut her to every other week

I think you later post makes things clearer. On one day, your job is heavy on the childcare so you’d struggle to do much else with 4 of them. On the other day, I can see how your 3 hours would be filled with the cooking, beds etc. I think you have to say that you can’t add in anymore. If you’d be willing for an extra hour, you could suggest being paid more but otherwise you need to be firm about what is feasible.

I’d have thought you’d be in a strong position re stating your case as sorting childcare for 4 can’t be easy so they won’t want to lose you.

Your update makes things much clearer. If you don't have time then just tell them

Your days are already very very full. I would speak to Your employer, cleaning the bathrooms a) if its not paid extra is taking the piss..and b) you really don't have the time unless you drop the ironing AND changing the beds for example. Something has to give.

Why are you ironing bedding?! I realise this really isn't the point of the thread, but what a complete waste of your time this is!

And you should definitely not be cleaning the bathroom unless you are being paid extra for this. TBH, I wouldn't even suggest you should be paid, I'd just point out that it's not your role as a nanny.

@BIWI ironed sheets are soooo much nicer to sleep in, plus look much nicer

Really? She's doing this for 4 or 5 beds. If they're fitted sheets, they stretch over the bed so you really can't feel the creases. It's just 'make work' I think!

Fro your update it's clear they're taking the piss. On your first day there's no way you'd have time for any cleaning. On the other day you're already busy and anyway bathroom cleaning isn't in your job description.

If they are cutting the cleaner and the kids are getting old enough for nursery/school I'd have concerns about your job security if you aren't happy to take on some household duties. Obviously fair enough if you don't want to but it sounds like the parents are cutting back.

Sorry I didn't meant to drip feed, in my head I had explained but re reading I really hadn't!

I definitely skip the sheets, no way am I farting about ironing round elastic. But it's still a lot.

Job security doesn't massively worry me. They kept me on when I went on mat leave. I think they know finding a nanny for 4 kids isn't easy! They both have very good jobs so I don't know if something has happened to make them suddenly want to cut back

Why are you ironing bedding?! I realise this really isn't the point of the thread, but what a complete waste of your time this is!

Because her employers want it ironed?

I know an iron is a foreign object on MN but there are quite a lot of us out there that like ironed bedding (and clothes!)

Me I iron bedding! But then again I iron tea towels as well.

I do have an iron - it's not a foreign object Chez BIWI! But I really can't see the point of ironing sheets. And nowhere has the OP said her employers want her to do that, I don't think?

I do whatever is in the basket and there's always bedding sadly!

Op you seem to have slipped into a nanny housekeeper role. Written contract terms are irrelevant because you have verbally varied them (am emp lawyer). You have time without the kids where you perform cleaning/housekeeping duties rather than childcare. Question is whether you have time for these extra jobs and that’s an entirely different issue and one you should discuss.

Our nanny also did ‘housekerping’ jobs in her role. This is because she stepped into my shoes and became ‘me’ when I was at work. So that involves cooking, cleaning, laundry etc, as I would do when at home. I didn’t just spend my time solely looking after the children so nor did she. We had a cleaner too though for the weekly deep cleaning but then our nanny didn’t have any period of time with no kids around her. If my kids were at nursery I too might clean the bathroom if it needed it, so I might ask the person in loco parentis to do this too if I was at work.

You don’t want to leave. You have good hours that suit you and your own child. Think very carefully before you challenge - is it worth it, if you piss them off and they reduce your hours, even if you are technically/contractually right?

I don't think you're being unreasonable but I think you need to be clear what you're saying to your employer.

Are saying you are happy to do all the household tasks they give you apart from the bathrooms? Or saying you will do the bathrooms but only if you get paid more?

You say that the cleaner gets paid £3 more an hour, are you then expecting £3 more an hour for the hours you are cleaning or just for the hours where you're cleaning bathrooms.

Personally I think it is easier to define your boundaries as cleaning to do with the children and household laundry, but not general cleaning.

If their cleaner comes once a fortnight I don't think bathrooms need a thorough clean every week, they just need to stick some bleach in the toilets in the week the cleaner is off.