Nanny needing break

[Cousinmuffin]

I am an after school nanny so don’t work enough hours during the week to require a break - all fine. Although sometimes I do full days during strikes, half terms, weekends etc. On those days 99% of the time, the parents still are WFH but never offer me a quick 10 minute ‘go for a walk’ breather.

child in is KS1 and struggles on these days knowing their parents are home but not playing with them and as I am so familiar to them, they will often be a lot more challenging in the delivery of these emotions than say they would to their teacher. It’s not often but sometimes I do get overwhelmed and really wish I could step away for a minute. AIBU to think I should be able to do this?

I know in reality I won’t because it feels far too awkward to ask a parent to step off the computer for 10 minutes when the child has been getting more frustrated and pushing boundaries for an hour because at the end of the day it is my job?

A quick mention, I love this child honestly and enjoy my time with them. This is just on full days where they get emotional that parent is home but not able to give them their time.

Of course not. And in that situation the OP would know she'd not get a break and could choose to continue in the role or leave, based on how much a break mattered. But in this situation a break may be possible and, assuming she's a valued employee, shouldn't be shy of asking. The fact that other nannies don't have the opportunity isn't really relevant to her negotiations, which hang purely on whether her employer values her enough to try to accommodate her.

It’s more the fact you wrote ‘I'm very surprised at the thinking that people in this role should put up with conditions that would be unreasonable and unlawful in other jobs’. Nannies are lone workers and often alone in the house with the children. It’s just the way it is and that’s what their job entails.

Yes, op can request a break however it’s not unreasonable for her employers to say it’s just not possible. Even working from home, some people are full on and don’t have a break themselves.

I think most parents would question whether a nanny needing to actually be relieved to get a break was one who was good at their job.

What the OP is asking for is beyond the legal provision for employees. One of the things she wants as part of her break is to be able to leave the building and go where she pleases (albeit for only 10 minutes). This is not a legal requirement for breaks in the UK. Employers can require you to remain on the premises. A nanny should be able to engineer a break that allows her down time within her working day without requiring relief.