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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU Nanny Travel costs

258 replies

intheshedyes · 01/02/2021 23:18

Hello all,

We hired a new part time nanny who does the morning and after school runs. Two of my children need a train to get to school so pay my nanny travel costs from going to take them to school in the morning and then when she is bringing them back home.

In the mornings, my nanny rides her bike and parks her bike near our closest station. She asked me that once she drops the children to school, can she use the top up travel card, to come back to the station and pick up her bike to drive home.

AIBU to say no. I don't want to pay too much travel as it is!

OP posts:
AhNowTed · 02/02/2021 08:46

These are not "travel expenses" like your commute.

She is doing these journeys on your behalf. You would have to pay for yourself to get back home after drop off and pick up.

I can't believe this needs to be explained.

Original poster
intheshedyes · 02/02/2021 08:47

Oh bullshit you don’t claim for your own work travel expenses!

Yes Smidgen. This post tells me your it a nice person.

I don't claim travel expenses. We knew about claiming them when I started. But knowing when to calculate and when from blah blah. I found it all confusing. So didn't bother.

OP posts:
Confusedandshaken · 02/02/2021 08:51

I'm just chiming in to agree with the majority. Your nanny shouldn't have to pay for any expenses incurred whilst taking care of your children. She is only responsible for her own journey to and from her home to her starting workplace.

nancypineapple · 02/02/2021 08:52

So I think op knows the right thing to do now. Hope this morning you pay your nanny all the backdated train rides you owe her, apologise and say how thankful you are for her/him.

SmidgenofaPigeon · 02/02/2021 08:52

Well if you can afford not to bother claiming for you travel expenses, you can afford to pay your nanny properly. And revealing why you only pay for two hours a day when I suspect the nanny is working more than that (an hour each way to collect your children, bring them back to school/home, then back to her starting point) would not be ‘outing’ in the way you mean, though I suspect it would be ‘outing’ in the sense you are not paying for her time correctly.

dottiedaisee · 02/02/2021 08:53

@intheshedyes

HoppingPavlova

What? Confused

I see the difference. I travel to many places due to work but do not claim back travel expenses. When I started, unsurprisingly (as people on this board have called me stupid with no common sense... thank you Smile) I was baffled on how it would work out. So it was easier not to claim. Reading this thread, it seems like I need to!

You must be extremely well paid to not claim travel expenses. It is usual policy for most professional companys. I just cannot believe you are so lacking in self awareness to not understand/comprehend what is wrong with your attitude!
Bookwords · 02/02/2021 08:53

I don't claim travel expenses. We knew about claiming them when I started. But knowing when to calculate and when from blah blah. I found it all confusing. So didn't bother.

More fool you! But your nanny obviously doesn't find it confusing, so justifiably wants to claim.

So you do understand that it's reasonable to claim expenses, but wanted to withhold it from your nanny?

C8H10N4O2 · 02/02/2021 08:54

I don't claim travel expenses. We knew about claiming them when I started. But knowing when to calculate and when from blah blah. I found it all confusing. So didn't bother.

So basically you have money not to trouble yourself with claiming work incurred expenses and you assume therefore that as an employer you don't need to pay your employee's expenses? Honestly?

Being a new employer is not an excuse for being a bad employer - you have a responsibility to check this stuff out properly when you employ someone at home just as if they were working in your workplace.

luxxlisbon · 02/02/2021 08:54

@intheshedyes

Oh bullshit you don’t claim for your own work travel expenses!

Yes Smidgen. This post tells me your it a nice person.

I don't claim travel expenses. We knew about claiming them when I started. But knowing when to calculate and when from blah blah. I found it all confusing. So didn't bother.

It is interesting the posts you reply to and how agreeing with you makes them "a nice person". You generally can't claim for travel expenses going to your workplace, but the majority of people claim travel expenses that are part of your work.

So you don't claim your drive to work, but if you have to drive for meetings within the work day you can claim the train or milage for this purpose.

This is the same situation as the train fair to the school, since this travel is within her work day and literally part of her job is to take the children to school then you are responsible for her return journey.

Original poster
intheshedyes · 02/02/2021 08:54

Bye Smidgen

OP posts:
HoppingPavlova · 02/02/2021 08:56

intheshedyes okay, well maybe you can claim if you are in this same situation.

Where does your nannies workplace commence - is it your house or the station? Where do they first intersect with the children as this is the first workplace location. The first location someone turns up for work related business is considered ‘the workplace’ as the starting point. If you are then required to travel from that location to another location your employer is bound to pay for your travel to the next location and any other location from there where you are conducting business on their behalf AND then back to the starting point of the first workplace location.

If YOU are being made to go on to another workplace location from your initial workplace location and then back to your initial workplace location and your employer is not paying your expenses for this then yes you should be claiming, no idea why you haven’t?

What you can’t do is claim travel expenses from your own personal starting point to the first point of the workplace or from another workplace location back to a personal endpoint. You can only claim from one workplace point to another and back, not travel to/from personal locations to workplace locations.

Original poster
intheshedyes · 02/02/2021 08:58

I think some of the posts have been pragmatic. Being called tight, no common sense, stupid, fool, is very offensive.

The people who I have spoken to do not pay for their nanny's travel fares, even when they take their children out to various of places.

OP posts:
SmidgenofaPigeon · 02/02/2021 08:58

Bye? I’m dismissed from the thread at your say so am I?

Wow. You have a bad attitude OP!

SmidgenofaPigeon · 02/02/2021 08:59

Then the people you’ve spoken to don’t know anything about having a nanny either.

LolaSmiles · 02/02/2021 09:00

I'm just chiming in to agree with the majority. Your nanny shouldn't have to pay for any expenses incurred whilst taking care of your children. She is only responsible for her own journey to and from her home to her starting workplace.
I would also agree with this.
The Nanny has to get herself to her place of work. All work-related travel is calculated from that starting point.

I can't believe this is even a question.

C8H10N4O2 · 02/02/2021 09:01

The people who I have spoken to do not pay for their nanny's travel fares, even when they take their children out to various of places

You might want to broaden your social circle to include good employers as well as bad.

SomersetHamlyn · 02/02/2021 09:02

The people who I have spoken to do not pay for their nanny's travel fares, even when they take their children out to various of places.

Then they are exploitative, immoral of employers.

LolaSmiles · 02/02/2021 09:02

The people who I have spoken to do not pay for their nanny's travel fares, even when they take their children out to various of places
Cross posted with this.

People you know seriously expect nannies to be out of pocket to do their jobs?! I bet they'd be the first to complain if the nanny wasn't subsidising their family lifestyle too.

What a horrible attitude the people you know have OP.

CeeceeBloomingdale · 02/02/2021 09:04

Think of your home as your nanny's normal place of work. She should pay to get there once at the start of the day and once at the end of the day to get home. Everything in between is work related and should be covered, regardless of where she lives.

Bookwords · 02/02/2021 09:05

Bye Smidgen

The irony when second post yesterday was "I'm not engaging" @intheshedyes

You really do have a strange attitude!

Lochroy · 02/02/2021 09:05

@intheshedyes

Oh bullshit you don’t claim for your own work travel expenses!

Yes Smidgen. This post tells me your it a nice person.

I don't claim travel expenses. We knew about claiming them when I started. But knowing when to calculate and when from blah blah. I found it all confusing. So didn't bother.

WTAF! I can only conclude that if the OP isn't stupid, as she claims she's not, then she's fabulously wealthy hence can afford to pay her employer's travel costs. However such an attitude is inconsistent with being so tight with money for her own employee.
Iloveliberty · 02/02/2021 09:06

OP if you don’t want people’s honest opinions, don’t post on a forum asking if you are being unreasonable, then get defensive when everyone says “ yes you are”!!!

AhNowTed · 02/02/2021 09:06

OP you're suggesting that if I (as I regularly do) travel to London or Manchester or whatever for meetings on behalf of my employer, that I pay my own fare or mileage.

Or that my employer pays my fare there, but I have to pay the return.

That is the logical outcome of your frankly ludicrous stance.

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 02/02/2021 09:07

The fact that the nanny lives near the school is fairly significant and should have been included in the OP as it changes things.

If she doesn't need to take the train after morning drop off to get home, then the OP shouldn't have to pay for the nannies decision to bike to work in the morning so that the nanny has the benefit of her bike during school hours. Nanny has decided to bike to work in the morning and it's then up to her how/if she retrieved her bike.

If she lived nearer to OPs house and needed to take the train back in order to get home that would be different. But it doesn't seem this is the case?

Bookwords · 02/02/2021 09:08

The people who I have spoken to do not pay for their nanny's travel fares, even when they take their children out to various of places.

How odd that

A. You've come on here to ask
B. You've got completely different responses

Who are these "people"?

Certainly not mumsnetters.

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