To ask our nanny to also be a housekeeper?

[Soon2BeMumof3]

We have a wonderful part time nanny who we are desperate to keep.

I have gone on maternity leave and will be home until July. We don't need a nanny doing full days at the moment.

We would however like someone to do some basic housekeeping once a week- laundry, change and wash sheets (my most hated task- very unmumsnet of me I know!), organising the children's clothes and linen cupboard etc. Our nanny is a really tidy and organised person (I am not!). I'm sure she would be great, and we already trust her.

She is a trained childcare professional with a lot of experience. Would I be insulting her to ask if she would like to also have a housekeeping role with us?

Would obviously pay her properly and not expect her to mind children while housekeeping and vice versa.

Hi,
I ‘m an NNEB (qualified nanny) although I don’t work as a nanny, during our training we covered it in great detail. Nanny duties included washing, ironing and keeping children’s rooms tidy. Make meals for the children. A housekeeper would do the rest.
This is what would happen in a household that employed a full time nanny so I don’t see why you can’t ask her. Especially if she is going to continue with you and look after the baby. It might be a good idea to let her have the children for some of the time as that is our main purpose we love working with children. It could mean you could spend a quality couple of hours with one child sometimes.
If she likes working for you she may be willing to be more flexible.

@WhinyWa I promise it's no Downton Abby. It's a cleaner once a fortnight, a nanny two days a week (while I am working- it costs less than three sets of nursery fees) and now looking to get a housekeeper because I've given up on the idea of DH doing his bit.

*adjusts her tiara

I think you have more staff than the Duchesse of Cambridge!

I'd love a nanny a cleaner and housekeeper.
Is it a huge house?

^^

Nope. It's a shoebox. Minuscule in fact.

"I'm afraid I can't offer you any more nannying days, especially as I'm on maternity leave. I was about to advertise for a house keeper x days a week though. I don't suppose you'd be interested in that?"

This is fine.

The only annoyance I can see would be if she was expected to let the children help her do the chores you have in mind.

She might prefer the security of your hours and rate of pay over chancing it with an agency.

She might also like to add 'housekeeper' as an additional skill. It would make her quite versatile.

If you are planning on her nannying for you again in July, I would offer her the chance to keep working for you for the 2 days a week. Even though you only want her for one day, I don’t think it’s fair to cut her hours, and change her job!

If she’s happy to do housekeeping, I would pay her for 2 days, as a retainer to stop her taking on a new family full time

Not sure how nannies employment works, but presumably when you’ve got a good one you’ve got to try and keep them!

I'd ask her to come up with a list of extra duties she is willing to do. Several nannies I knew were also well aware that the cleaner was paid more per hour than they were. Maybe mention the cleaning and how much you paid total for the work.

Most people let the nanny go while on mat leave, then hire someone new if their nanny is unavailable when they return to work. presume you’re keeping her on to try to retain her. So IMO it’s a judgment about whether adding new housekeeping type duties is likely to help with that or not. It’s not U to ask.

I live in SE commuterbelt and people I know found it hard to get nannies for after school, so paid them for more hours to do errands, housekeeping (but not cleaning) bit of cooking etc. This was advertised in the role.

Agree with PPs that laundry isn’t really appropriate, except perhaps putting away and sorting through DCs’ clothes.

'I've given up on the idea of DH doing his bit.'

Oh dear. That's not good.
Do you want to show your children you get a woman (paid or unpaid) to cover domestic work the man doesn't want to do?

I don't think you'd 'insult' your nanny by asking, neutrally and without pressure, whether she'd be interested in the additional (!) role, but throwing money at the fundamental problem won't solve the resentment, not really.

How long has she worked for you? Do you not have to make her redundant rather than ‘let her go’ if she’s worked for you for two years or more?

Which appears to be about a tenner 😂

Anyway, I don’t think it’s insulting as such. If you’re going to pay her the amount you paid her before it’s just a different proposition.

The tasks you are describing fall under the role of a cleaner. All the cleaners I know do all of that stuff. Just pay the cleaner more hours

I'd just get a cleaner for an extra day

It is interesting that women still always Say being a sahm isn't a job, but someone (some woman) has to do the shut work... But that is by the by

I really would NOT ask your nanny to become housekeeper (cleaner) as well, essentially you would be asking her to be your maid.....

I wouldn’t say SAHM is a “job” because those of us working have to do a lot of that stuff around work! It’s life work.

As for nanny OP - yes why not. We asked ours when our dcs went to school and she agreed. We also kept her on two days a week when I was on mat leave (she found a 3 day a week job and I said we’d take the other two days) which helped massively when I had two dcs and was most likely undiagnosed with PND.

We had EXACTLY this issue when I had my second baby. We wanted to keep our amazing nanny even though I was on mat leave. We resolved it by me taking short leave (3 months) and using the nanny to do errands, bit of childcare so I could sleep, ironing, cleaning, cooking etc while I was around. It worked great. I loved having someone “take care of me”. Like you I’ve given up on dh doing his share of internal housework. He is a marvellous man and I’d rather pay someone to get the “shut work” done than fight with him. Life’s too short for fighting about stuff that a very small amount of money can resolve.

Don't justify having a nanny, cleaner etc. Spend your money however you see fit. It's not exclusively for your benefit anyway - it's for the household, including your husband. He lives there too. You can only ask her or get your husband to ask her. Why should all the household arrangements fall solely to you.

I think you’d have to be very careful about how you word it and make sure she’s still doing some nannying for you or you could insult her, I would think she’d only agree to it if she couldn’t find any nannying work to fill those hours though.

I’d be offended if you didn’t ask me when you knew Id just lost my other job.

I think it would be really rude to ask her. Maybe get yourself a better husband? FFS, why does this still need saying?
I hope my daughter’s are stronger than you.

I wouldn’t say SAHM is a “job” because those of us working have to do a lot of that stuff around work! It’s life work

This isn’t true though is it? Because whilst you’re not at home you are paying someone to look after your children. You aren’t working and also looking after your children 9-5, are you? I don’t know why posters here always seek to demean SAHP

FYI, these days housekeeper is used as a euphemism for cleaner

I wouldn’t say SAHM is a “job” because those of us working have to do a lot of that stuff around work! It’s life work.

“That stuff”? Taking care of my children? It’s definitely a job, as proven by the fact that, if I don’t do it, I have to pay someone to do it.

Just ask her.
I’m a support worker but when I need too I do cleaning to make up my hours (for the person I support). I would rather do that and have a bit of extra money and I’m sure she would too.

The way your refer to your cleaner is v condescending ... she is also a person doing a job and presumably a good job. Hopefully this is just how it comes across in the posts and not in reality.

I think there are many good comments about how you might approach your Nanny who may or may not be wanting to take up, but I reckon she will so that'll be good news. Good luck.