Did you ask your nanny to sign a contract?

[HeadFairy]

A friend of mine who used to work at a nanny agency has given me a copy of their standard contract and nanny job description, I've tweaked it a bit to fit our circumstances, but I'm not sure if it's the done thing to get a nanny to sign a contract.

Oh yes, otherwise how would you prove they had agreed to it if anything went wrong?

Yes - but then I'm a lawyer and believe in having things documented so everyone knows where they are

Of course it is the done thing to get a nanny to sign a contract.

Of course it is the done thing to get a nanny to sign a contract.

Any professional nanny would insist on a contract.

We had 2 copies, she signed both, we signed both and kept a copy each.

lovely, thanks for that, I'll use the one I've got then.

You could send the contract to your nanny as a Draft and let your nanny take a look at it and make suggestions for improvements/changes. Nannies are used to getting contracts, so will have a good idea of things they expect to see in the contract, thus will spot anything that is missing or wrong. Nannies may also have particular things they expect not to do.

The purpose of the contract is to agree formally before starting the job (ideally) of what the agreed duties will be, what the salary will be, what the terms for holidays will be, notice periods, probationary period, disciplinary procedure, what you consider is grounds for immediate dismissal (gross misconduct).

Agree no professional nanny would agree to work WITHOUT a contract

it is also illegal to work without one and I think a contract has to be signed by both within 8 weeks of starting the job

Almost blondes.

A contract can be verbal but a written statement of employment is required.

Either way having everything written down is definitely the best course of action. It covers both of you.

i stand corrected

I thought the employer was legally obligated to provide a written contract within one month of the job beginning.

Yes to contract.

In particular, specify a gross salary, not a net one. Agreeing a net salary leaves you exposed to horrendous PAYE bills if the nanny gets another job, has other income, or HMRC are recovering a previous underpayment through her tax code.

direct.gov says 8 weeks for a written statement.

That said I wouldn't start a job without a signed contract, which should include all those things as a matter of course, otherwise my insurance wouldn't be valid!

Interesting that you mention insurance... looking through mine I can't see where it mentions that a written contract is required, though it does define nanny as:

nanny means a person contracted and paid to look after children, working in and from the
child?s home

But does "a person contracted" mean they have to have a written contract?

With regard to timescale for a written statement... Employment Rights Act 1996 - timescale within 2 calendar months.

I'm 99% sure somewhere in the small print I need a written agreement for the children to be in my care BUT my insurance is not in the UK.

Interesting whether 'person contracted' requires a written contract - we need a lawyer to settle that but my gut feeling (based on an intense mistrust if insurers) is if you didn't have a contract they'd use that as a loophole and claim it did mean you had to be under contract.

Incidentally the one time I dealt with the MM legal team when I had a slightly strange and complex legal question they were very on the ball about asking me about my contract and what it said. Not sure what they'd have said if I'd not had one.

Some good information on the CAB site about contracts of employment, including verbal contracts and implied terms.

Of course that is only relevant in English Law, other legal systems may require contracts of employment to be in writing, or even specify by statute that engagement to care for children is not employment but something else.