Pregnant Nanny - lots of Qs

[timetomove]

Our nanny has just told us that she is expecting her first child (due late April). We are delighted for her. I have got lots of questions and hope to be pointed in the right direction (I tihnk i have found the answers to some by looking at old posts, but not all):-

1. I understand that she is entitled to maternity pay which I must pay her but that I can claim this back from the Revenue. Is this right? I have a nanny payroll agency so I assume i just need to let them know and they will sort all the paperwork?

1. I know she is entitled to time off for appointments. All of my children are now at school. Am I allowed to ask her to arrange her appointments for mornings (we can cover school drop off with no difficulty)rather than afternoons? Can I ask her to avoid the half term week etc?

1. She has indicated that she would like to return with her baby. I dont think I would have a problem with this given the age of my children (all school age and fairly self-sufficient) - I think they would postively enjoy having a baby around. However, i have heard that it does not always work out and wonder if I can agree to try it on a trial basis for (say) 2 months without then needing to go through the contractual dismissal process if it does not work for us?

1. She has indicated that for financial reasons she would like to return fairly quickly (once the 90% pay runs out, which i think is after 6 weeks, with accrued holiday tacked on). I think she is being unrealistic about this. Her thinking is that it will be pretty much as easy (or hard) for her at our house as at home (and if my children were her children she would have to manage the baby plus the older kids from birth iyswim). However, she does not live that close to us so would have a commute etc, and it will be her first baby. I assume, however, that if she wants to return quickly she has the right to? Has anyone had experience of a nanny returning so quickly in practice?

1. if she sticks with the idea of returning after 6 weeks, I will need a fairly short period of temporary childcare cover. My worry is, however, that she will (quite sensibly) change her mind shortly before her return date and I will then need to find alternative cover. I would much rather that my children have as much continuity as possible, but I guess I just have to deal with the uncertainty? I know she is supposed to give something like 8 weeks notice of her return date (which if she sticks with her current thinking means she will need to give notice of return pretty much at around the time she goes off), but if she gives this notice and then realises she will not cope with coming back so early, I would not want to hold her to it, meaning i may need to find further temp cover at short order. What is the best way to find short term flexible cover? There are no after school clubs that work with our logistics.

6 Pay - from a couple of things she has said she seems to be assuming that coming back with her baby would not affect her pay. I know there are different views on this? On the one hand, she has been with us nearly 4 years now and is a great nanny and I am sure she will care for my children just as well, at least once she gets into the swing of things. On the other hand, we already pay her for more hours than she works during term time (so we have guaranteed holiday and sick cover). She does use some of this time to help us out around the house, but I think she would inevitably end up doing less of this kind of stuff if she has a baby. Also, pay review time will come around before she goes off. I would normally give a small rise. Would it be wrong/tight not to do so this year (bearing in mind that I probably would if she was not pregnant).

1. We have a very pie in the sky plan to relocate at some stage. Realistically, this is unlikely to be in the next year or so (if at all), so I have not mentioned it to her. Do you tihnk it would be fairer to do so? If this did get accelerated for any reason, I assuem the fact she is on maternity leave would not prevent us from making her redundant? This is all highly unlikely, but thought I would add to my long list.

Thanks in advance for help

1. That's what you pay them for :)

1. You can request that insofar as she can she arranges her appointments when children are at school/for mornings/not in half term but if she gets a scan date in the holidays it might be worth cosying up to other nannies at school to see if they wouldn't mind covering for a day (for a bit of extra cash).

1. What has been done in the past on MN (I think) is that nanny uses her 10 keeping in touch days to come in with the baby. By that logic say 'yes, but only on the condition those days work out and have backup childcare in place'. Do bear in mind that it will probably necessitate extra equipment lying around you house though! Nanny doesn't have a right to bring her baby to work so you could ammend the contract to allow her to bring baby and specify a trial period in that too.

1. She can do that if she wishes but I imagine she'll be knackered. Especially as it's going to be the summer holidays in the not too distant future when she gets back and that presumably means long days? No experience, though, sorry!

1. Either an agency OR could you consider an au pair to provide the short term cover you need and be an extra pair of hands over the summer holidays? Presumably you'll need before/after school care when she's off and that way if she doesn't come back you have at least an option for the summer (although you may need to pay the au pair more and investigate playschemes etc). You should be able to find a student to cover the summer if she bails out at the last minute.

6 Given that she's coming back to an existing job I'd not be inclined to adjust her pay downwards. I would say that instead of the rise, she gets a freeze and can bring her baby along unless her contract specifices a pay RISE. If she were starting a new job I'd say she shouldn't expect the same rate.

1. You can indeed be made redundant on ML. I wouldn't mention it if it's unlikely to be honest.

Well done for being such a thoughtful employer and wishing your nanny a healthy pregnancy!

I returned to one of my nanny jobs when by baby was about 6 weeks had planed 8 put was two weeks late. I only worked two days a week in term time (Tue and Thur)they had three children. Twins aged 4 and another boy aged 6 I had looked after them since the younger two were 10mths and they only had a year until they would be at school. I had verbally agreed to see the younger two into school but I new they couldn't hold me to it. When the boys were in full time school the job then ended although I did the odd day sick cover and baby sitting. They always gave me the choice but I don't remember turning it down.

Your nanny only has the right to return to return to her old job under the same condition (minus her baby) so any different to that and you will have to re-negotiate.

I stayed on the same pay as when I left. I started providing my own lunch and my babies. They got out a box of toys for my baby.

I am very organized but I did have a half hour drive to work. AS my baby got bigger I would get their and do hand over earlier so I could give her breakfast. I fed mine tea as they sorted out tea for their children ( so I ended up staying longer because it was better for my child and I still hand to do a hand over.

You could pay her for the hours she works and then pay her for more if she is able to still help you out round the house.

HMRC: E15 - Employer Handbook SMP

As a small employer, you may get Statutory Funding. Contact your payroll administrator, as they will be able to sort out that side of things for you I would expect.

SMP is at 90% for first 6 weeks. So age of baby returning will depend on when SMP starts.

Baby returning with nanny would in effect be a new job... so agree new contractual terms. It would however I think would still be continuous employment for purposes of things like Redundancy Pay.

The commute to work whilst pregnant may be bigger problem than she currently thinks. Obviously being a bloke I have not experience of that... but based on my observations of pregnant women over the years (have known a few), getting about especially in the last few weeks of pregnancy can sometimes be tricky and very tiring. So you will need to keep an eye on things and if it gets too difficult for her to do her job (even with modifications to make it easier), then she may need to start SMP earlier than she may plan. Saying that, my younger sister worked up until the week of birth for both of her children.

I went back to work when my child was three weeks old it was fine, I think it is fine as nannying is a different sort of job to most. I think your nanny will be able to do as much work as before, after all if they were all your family you would carry on as normal. Its no different.

You seem to have most things covered - also pregnant nanny here.

Don't forget that you will need to provide her with a risk assessment (things like dissuading her from heavy lifting, getting the children to be more self-sufficient with things like baths so she doesn't slip, etc.).

With regard to her coming back when baby is 6 weeks - SMP starts when she leaves, so if she leaves at 38 weeks say, then her 90% would run out when baby is 4 weeks old if born at 40 weeks. I think it's unrealistic, too, but some people don't want to be at home all day with a newborn and enjoy their job so more power to her if she is one of those!

Technically she may not have to give you notice of return as quickly as you'd like but as it's a nanny job which is of course more personal (and you're providing her a huge perk with being able to bring her own baby back) it's not unreasonable to ask her to be very sure of when she's returning so that you can sort a temp. After all, it's you who will be stuck paying 2 nannies if she decides to return sooner, or not having cover if she at the very last minute decides to have more time off.

Also remind her of the fact that babies come early sometimes (!) so her finish date should leave ample time for that sort of thing.

Not unreasonable to ask her to sort her appointments for the mornings - every single scan/appt I've been given has given me the option of a morning or afternoon slot - however the dates are unreasonable to ask - her scans could fall in the middle of half term and they won't reschedule you as they have to do the scans during a certain period (I'm sure you're aware of this!).

I second frakk in proclaiming you a good employer! :)

to be scrupulously fair (and legal) I would suggest you give her a pay rise as normal (assuming it is before her OML) and then separately decide on and discuss the terms and conditions relating to her returning with her baby post-pregnancy; many on here seem to think that somewhere in the region of a 20% cut to account for new baby is acceptable, but depends on your situation and how much you value her and whether you anticipate that demands of baby will limit her in terms of looking after your children (bear in mind for example that she won't be able to do stuff like take them swimming and similar any more).

I think an au pair might be the best option for the short maternity leave period.

Thank you so much for all the responses. I had not thought about an au pair as maternity cover and really appreciate the suggestion. The reality is that (although we have been trying to avoid someone living in to date) we do just about have room and my children are getting close to an age where it is going to stop making sense paying for a full time nanny, but are are not yet old enough to be left entirely to their own devices. i think it might be a good idea to think of this as a trial to see how an au pair arrangement might work for the future, and i suspect an au pair for 6 months will not cost much more than a temp nanny for 2 months. This would take the pressure off my lovely nanny - i don't wont her to have to worry about letting us down at the last minute if she finds she cannot cope with a quick return after all, and even if she does come back after 6 weeks or so as she currently thinks, it gives her a bit of extra support while she settles back in. Really a perfect suggestion, although i will need to come back nearer the time for advice on how to find a good au pair!

I am also pleased to hear examples of people going back to work quickly and it working out.

Thanks again.