Nursery staff won't provide out of hours care?

[ThatMauveSquid]

My baby goes to a council run/owned nursery. I want to go out for dinner next week two nights on the go - with a friend. However baby will need looking after.

Everyone says to ask the nursery staff, which I'm 100% comfortable with them looking after the baby, but it's a council run nursery and I don't think they would be allowed to?

It would be so ideal if one of the workers I already know could do it :/

It's about professional boundaries surely- maintaining appropriate relationships at work which do not turn into anything other than that. I would never have asked a nursery worker. It is like asking the classroom support in DS1's Reception class. It is inappropriate.

This.

This is like asking the John Lewis carpet fitters whether you can hire them privately to refit another carpet after decorating. They are not allowed to pick up work like this - but many do, and it’s very helpful to the customer!

Our nursery set recommended pay rates for babysitting - there was no problem at all - but that was 10-20 years ago. Having your child’s key worker babysit is ideal. They could easily settle him if he woke up - unlike his grandparents…

I’d check the info for parents, which is likely to say it is not allowed, if it says that I’d not ask and get alternative childcare or not go out.

This Is not correct. It’s very normal in my area (south east) and 80% of the nursery’s round here do it. The children already know the staff so it’s a great way for them to make extra money. Endorsed by their jobs.

I don’t understand this point of view. It’s still a professional relationship

I doubt OP will be back. Bizarrely I think she’s expecting to pay £5 an hour for babysitting because that’s what she pays the nursery. Even more bizarrely she is too scared to ask the staff whether they will babysit so that she can see a friend who is scared to use a taxi. She sounds about 12 years old.

I don't think it is. It's someone in a much more casual and personal setting earning extra money- probably not declared.

It can only work if it is absolutely nothing to do with them being one of the workers at the nursery. If they do something she doesn't like or something goes wrong- it can not influence anything at nursery or it has crossed that boundary.

So let's imagine there is a child hurt because of carelessness - nothing to do with nursery, you can't go and complain - and shouldn't- the worker probably is not insured personally, you still have to face them every day with whatever feelings you might have, they may work with your child at nursery-how would that feel?

I would never mix the two up.

This is unnecessarily unkind. And a very strange take

Lawyer here. Our nursery contract includes a clause prohibiting parents from soliciting nursery staff to come and work for them. I see that as being aimed at trying to prevent parents from poaching a nursery worker to come and work as their full time nanny, for example. Legally I think the nursery would be on very shaky ground if they tried to prevent staff from babysitting for nursery parents in their own time.

In terms of how to approach it with the key worker- I would ask them, out of earshot of other parents, if they know anyone who does babysitting. That gives them the in to say that they do, but puts no pressure on them if they don’t want to know.

Don't call it "out of hours care"

Just ask if any of them also do some babysitting.

The language matters. Anyone from teens up can babysit. It makes it clear you're not asking them to work as a nursery worker, which comes with legal implications

I’ve asked nursery people to help babysit before on occasion. I know lots of people who had nursery staff over to help babysit on a regular basis!
I think they are usually so badly paid they are all grateful for some extra cash
poaching them to work as Nannies wouldn’t really work round here- no one has enough income for that

Around here, the nurseries that don't allow their staff to babysit have the rules because of nanny poaching. It happens more than you'd think! I think just ask them, you may be surprised and they may be fine with it.

OP are you expecting to pay £5 per hour for babysitting?

They're traveling from overseas but don't feel comfortable in a taxi?

Go out for dinner if you prefer (and don't ask the policy on staff covering our of hours care, ask the person you'd love to babysitting quietly if she knows anyone who would babysit on X date).

So you’d like someone from the nursery to babysit, but you haven’t asked, don’t want to ask and haven’t checked the T&Cs to see if this isn’t allowed.

in the nicest way possible, are you looking for advice from this thread?

Why on earth is your friend scared to use a taxi? Can you go and pick her up if it's so nearby (taking baby with you)

Just because something is written in a contract, doesn’t mean it’s enforceable.

I doubt the council can do much about preventing their staff from doing childcare after hours as they don’t own an employee 24/7 and presumably the employee is being paid somewhere around minimum wage?

@ThatMauveSquid As others have said, quietly ask the employee when she’s out of earshot of other staff.

Why not word it as asking for a recommendation? Ask the child's keyworker , I'm looking for a babysitter do you know anyone who you would recommend? Someone other parents use regularly or someone who works here? That way if she says oh we're not allowed to babysit for parents, you say oh I'm so sorry I didn't realise and I was just looking for any recommendation, and if she says well actually I'd do it, great.
No one upset either way

Wowsers, a couple of very uptight posters on here. So sad to see a few women happy to tear others down for daring to want to have dinner out with a friend whilst also being a mother.

for what it's worth when my DC was at childcare (5 years ago) it was very normal and common for staff to do out of hours babysitting for cash. It was a private agreement between the parents and the employees as individuals, not as employees of the childcare company. Almost everyone I know - all different childcare companies - used childcare workers for occasional evening babysitters. Not everyone is lucky enough to have healthy, willing, local and available parents nearby to babysit. A childcare worker who knows your child and has qualifications in childcare and first aid seems an ideal babysitter to me!

When I worked in a nursery, many moons ago, lots of our staff, including myself did local babysitting too. It was separate to the nursery and not just for nursery children, usually advertised locally and lots of word of mouth recommendations. Lots of nursery staff are apprentice level or on a low wage so babysitting is a useful top up.

people are being weird about this
just ask quietly if anyone does babysitting on the side.
you’re not employing them as the nursery worker just as someone your child knows who does babysitting in addition to their day job.
it’s not really to do with the nursery.

Just ask or look in your contract. It will be there. I’ve used 4 nurseries and they’ve all been different. Some can some can’t. Just ask.

This! Our bathroom fitter from B&Q is now the person we go to for plumbing and maintenance as he also offers freelance work.

No one is “tearing her down” for wanting a night out. Just wondering why she can’t ask a very simple question of people she sees every day!

Or if you REALLY can’t bring yourself to outright ask if they would babysit, ask for babysitter recommendations. If they are willing and able, they’ll recommend themselves.