Using ( not resident) nanny during lockdown?

[Ladyinamask]

So found out today my SIL and BIL are still having the nanny take care of their children . Nanny does not live with them btw.
I am rather horrified but not completely surprised they do this. Not key workers but both highly paid and quite frankly extremely arogent at the best if times.
They live in a rather nice part of West London by the river so hardly a remote hamlet with no known covid cases nearby.
Is this against the rules or is everyone still doing this?

The lockdown has now been reduced to mere 'guidelines' now.

I definitely think schools should reopen in THREE weeks time, but for the moment we are still seeing many many deaths and I do not think for a minute we should open schools now, nor do I feel nannies, cleaners etc should be put at risk.

Still if everyone is now thinking its okay...

It is annoying. I don't see why I can't in that case give my baby to the childminder. She also wants to work and I'm not allowed to drop my kid off but someone else can come to my house. Doesn't really make sense.

I'M jealous!! I don't even care about admitting it.

I'm a single parent with 3 and 7 year old boys with endless energy that they channel into fighting and screaming when bored. I have them from 6 in the morning until 10 at night when eldest finally goes to sleep.

My life was finally looking up with School/Nursery/Ex having them EOW and I was doing online courses, starting fully in September, training in mental health. Now my own mental health is screwed up so much that I just want to die. I haven't seen another adult properly in forever. I cook and clean and stress about home schooling and break up fights all day long and I have no pleasure in anything anymore.

If you can use a Nanny then use a nanny. My boys may not have a mummy much longer.

What it does highlight is a massive gulf of how people are experiencing and reacting to this lockdown.

The lockdown and enforcement is built on consent, and it will certainly unravel overnight if others are seen to be bending the guidelines to suit themselves.

Many that continue to work and put others at risk be it with nannies and cleaners, going to second homes and seemingly indifferent to the risks they are creating for others, and those that are following the advice to the letter because they care for others and want to do their part to minimise the spread, they are making big sacrifices.

Ladyinmask is right. Cleaning and nannying are not essential jobs. Unless you are a key worker , you can not work from home and your nanny needs to look after your kids while you are at work, nannies should have been furloughed . The families that are still using nannies and cleaners when is not absolutely necessary are selfish. As a nanny I would love to be furloughed , stay at home and protect the NHS not putting myself at risk , travelling to work just to provide cleaning and nannying for the whole family.
If my employer would have pushed me to work just because they found difficult to look after kids during the lockdown, I would contact the Employment Tribunal.

We learned during the MPs’ expenses scandal how people will do immoral things and claim the defence of “Oh, but it was within the rules!!!”

Doesn’t always make it right.

@amelisa1 You are wrong. If you read the actual guidelines, nannies are still allowed to work. People are also allowed to work in your home eg tradesmen/cleaners if they are well and if you can maintain social distancing.

@Tootletum It is annoying. I don't see why I can't in that case give my baby to the childminder. She also wants to work and I'm not allowed to drop my kid off but someone else can come to my house. Doesn't really make sense.

You CAN. If you are still required to goto work (not furloughed/unable to WFH etc) then you can use childcare. The biggest difference is that schools will generally not take your children unless you're key workers.

@bumbleymummy

People are also allowed to work in your home eg tradesmen/cleaners if they are well and if you can maintain social distancing.

But nannies simply cannot maintain social distancing. Their charge counts as a member of the household and the very nature of their role means that they will need to be very close to that person almost constantly.

@hawai40 We discussed carefully with our nanny who was hugely bored at home and loved with one person on furlough and she has returned.
Let`s be honest here , was she bored or afraid that she may be losing her job?

Such an emotive and fractious issue. But lots of posters seem to blindly ignore what the guidelines state and the function of furlough.

I'm not clear if the parents are wfh or going to work. There's a massive misconception that only "key" workers are going out to work. But the guidelines are that you can travel to work if you can't perform your job from home. And if you refuse you may not be paid. Also lots of key workers are working from home (care coordinators, Social Workers, Payroll and finance teams) and they can't manage this with childcare.

Nannies are employees- unlike nail technicians or dog walkers- therefore they can be furloughed if there is no work for them- i.e parents themselves furloughed. But if there is work for them - parents still working f/t- then furlough wouldn't apply and the employee would be expected to work.

The fact we’re all on here even able to debate this is clear evidence that the rules in this area simply are not prescriptive enough.

The rules are perfectly clear. PP have quoted them. Some people think that the rules are wrong - that's there prerogative. It doesn't mean that the rules aren't there though.

@hiddenmnetter well no, I can't if I'm following the rules. Dropping kids off in childcare is not one of the permitted reasons to leave home. I work from home. It's just that I am finding it very hard to do so with a 2, 4 and 6 year old. But under the rules, that does not mean I can drive them to the childminder.

We are both key workers and are using our minder, who lives elsewhere. No option! We are taking all possible precautions but not everyone can work from home. Tbh I think there hasn’t been enough attention paid to childcare in general...it doesn’t just magically happen

I really feel this key worker thing is a band wagon that needs to be jumped off. They are both still working, and have a nanny to look after the kids whilst they do so- and? Many parents would love to be able to do so, as it's impossible if kids are a certain age to properly devote the tome required to schooling kids for 3-4 hours a day and working 8 hours a day. They are not sitting around sipping Maritins whilst the hires help is raising the kids. Although even if they were that's their choice. Nannies need to leave their house to work- and that is permitted. Life would be much easier here if I could afford one, and I'm comfortable admitting that.

I still go to work as a nanny and I absolutely still want to. I'd go out of my mind with boredom if I was furloughed. We operate in a 2 household bubble. They don't go anywhere and apart from going to work, nor do I. We both have weekly food shops delivered. My husband works at home. They made it very clear that I was to let them know if I felt uncomfortable coming into work. I walk out of my front door, get into my car and drive to work where I park outside their house and go straight in. I spend 6h a day doing homeschooling etc with their children while they work solidly and then I go home. They may not be key workers but they are still doing their jobs and we are in the fortunate position that I can support them in that. It's perfectly understandable to be annoyed that nurseries and childminders are shut but I can't quite understand begrudging someone who IS able to have some support. If they didn't work it would also put several others out of work within their company. The government guidelines are clear that this is allowed and until they change those guidelines I'll continue to do as I'm doing now.

SuperDuperJezebel. Well done! You deserve the nanny lockdown prize!
Are you sure that you are not the employer?

If it's within the rules, there should be less judging. People have to cope, and not all jobs are doable whilst minding children, especially the younger ones.

I would never dream of expecting our cleaner to come here to do our cleaning once every fortnight. Having your nanny come to work in your house is clearly not breaking the guidelines, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do, if you're WFH. It would be a different story if you had to leave the house to work.

We really are going to have the highest death rate in Europe and it's very clear why. And I'm not bothered if I do sound judgemental right now, probably because I've been unwell with COVID-19 symptoms for 8 weeks now, and it's been an absolute nightmare, which is still going on.

There are some people who are refusing to take in how serious the situation is with COVID-19 is in this country.

Thanks I'll pop round and collect my trophy on my way to work but leave it on your doorstep cos I don't want to break isolation. I can send you a link to my childcare.co.uk profile if you like 😂

We really are going to have the highest death rate in Europe and it's very clear why. And I'm not bothered if I do sound judgemental right now, probably because I've been unwell with COVID-19 symptoms for 8 weeks now, and it's been an absolute nightmare, which is still going on.

No that would be because our government started the lockdown too late!

They've also set the guidelines, ones which allow this nanny to work!

I'm aware that some jobs are not easily doable when also minding DC. My DH is finding it very tricky to WFH, as he's constantly having meetings with his team. It's been made even harder with me being unwell. Sadly it's meant that homeschooling isn't really happening and we've had to accept this.

I confess that I'm desperate for our DDs to be able to go back to school, and I'm frustrated to think that this could be delayed by people continuing to not take social distancing seriously. In some cases there's no alternative, I really do get that. But we're talking about people who are choosing to ignore them.

I know the government is guilty of locking down too late; my DD2 (8) and I went down with this during that key period of time. But people ignoring social distancing won't be helping at all.