First time nanny needs advice!

[CelticCub]

Hi Everyone!

I just started my first Nannying job a week ago; I'm completely new to this and there's some stuff going on that I don't know is usual or not so if anyone can advise me that would be bril!

I'm working for a family in their house, they have three children who are lovely so that's a start! The thing is the mother doesn't tell me anything: Our original arrangement was for me to start at 2.30 each day and not to collect kids from school because she wanted to do it herself. In reality she has told me to come half an hour earlier than arranged and wait for her to tell me whether or not I'm to pick them up! This isn't a huge problem but it means I don't know where I stand in terms of schedule. On top of that on my third day she didn't bother to tell me that none of the kids would be there until late evening, and had me cleaning the house until they got home. I took the job on the basis that I would work a set number of hours but she frequently sends me home before the agreed time. (Also she's in the house all the time which is a bit uncomfortable for me!) She has also talked about "just letting me know" if she wants me to work sundays, which means I can't plan my weekend.

I would just like to know if, as a nanny I have the right to say that I need to know my hours in advance and have some sort of roster. And is it acceptable for me to say that she needs to tell me where the kids are! As I said I have no experience in this regard so I dont know what my rights are (I get paid cash in hand as well, I don't know if that makes a difference to my situation)
I'd appreciate any advice or wisdom from nannys and parents!

for starters cih is illegal and if your mum is caught she could face a £3k fine and possible jail sentence for tax invasion

what days and hours did you agree to, ie 2.30- ? tho seems you have to be at the house at 2pm

did you agree to working weekends

what does your contract say (tho sounds as if you havent got one)

if she sends you home early that is her proghtive but she MUST pay you till your agreed finishing time as you are willing and able to work till then

im assuming the mum doesnt work or works at home so is about

yes you have a right to know your hours in advance

my advice would be to sit with the mum and have a chat about hours/days/duties (all should be agreed before starting a job and be in a contract) failing that, find a new job as the mum is taking the piss

Thanks for the replies! Blondes: the hours we agreed on at interview were 2.30 - 8.30 but so far I'm doing 2 until whenever she feels like sending me home. She advertised for three afternoons a week and then at interview mentioned occasional Sundays, which I agreed to on condition of a good bit of notice (she said sunday is their "family day" but she'll occasionally have to work).
She does work outside the home but is working from home for the next while but stays in a different room. I'm considering asking her to set out a contract with me but friends/family who I've mentioned that to say she'll prob fire me on the spot if I try to assert any kind of rights! I was very glad to get the job but the vibes of the whole situation just don't feel right - the thing with the kids not even being in the house pissed me off, if there's no kids there surely I don't need to be there?

without a contract stating days/hours/duties/pay as the mere basics, you havent got a leg to stand on tbh

so yes write a basic contract (there is one on nannyjob asa basic rough guide, though some things need to be taken off imho and also add ) and present it to your boss

if she doesnt want to agree to it then you have no other choice to leave

if she only wants you 6hrs a day for 3 days then 18hrs work a week, so she needs to pay you for those agreed hours

did you agree to do duties such as childrens washing/ironing/cleaning etc

if so then you can do those duties when the children are not there

yes in theory if they children are not there then you dont need to be in the house BUT if she is paying you to be there, then you cant have it both ways iyswim

i still think you need to find a new job

can i ask how old/what experience you have?

It sounds like she's taking the piss.

Get another job - and forget about this woman for a reference, she doesn't seem to have much integrity.

I'm 23 and have no nannying experience but I do have three years exp as a home school teacher - she interviewed me for 5 minutes and asked me to start the next day, in retrospect it was a bit odd that she didn't take any time to think about it! The job description specified "light housework" and I have no probs with tidying up kitchen after meals and sticking on the kids washing; so far she hasn't asked me to do any of the proper house cleaning.
TBH its the mum herself who I have the problem with and her belief that I don't need to be told whats going on. For example she sent me to the supermarket to get a few household staples but neglected to tell me that the kids aren't allowed eat white bread, and only after 2 days of letting them have little snacks in the living room did she tell me they're not allowed eat in there! Also when I was sorting out their clothes and couldnt work out what belonged to who (3 boys all same height and near age) she told me to "use my common sense" and wouldn't help me identify who owned what. But as well as this she's very particular about some things which i would deem relatively unimportant, eg dinner has to be called "tea" and t-shirts have to be folded a certain way. It seems bizarre that she can be that picky about some things but not bother to tell me where her kids are!

Apologies for the rant, I'm going to put forward the contract thing and establish my conditions and if she doesn't like it then I'll just leave - I'm in Ireland and the recession is so bad here that without this job I'll probably be unemployed for a while before I find something else, but I agree with the replies that I don't have a leg to stand on rights-wise the way things are at the moment

You need to look for something else. You don't sound happy in the job... the job doesn't sound like it's being done legally (though laws in Ireland could well be different to England).

It is easy for us to tell you to leave... we aren't in the position of not having a job. So only you can make that decision. I think you have already decided that this job probably won't work out, so is a short term filler. So actively job hunt, see what comes up - meanwhile plod along in this one as you need the money. Though talking of money - do make sure you know how much you are getting and when... so a written agreement of some kind is really needed so you know what hours you are working, what days you are working, how much you will be paid, your expected duties.

You're right nannynick and maryz, I suppose that if so many things making me unhappy have happened in the first week thats not really a good indicator of things to come!
I really appreciate all the comments, I've never done this before and don't know anyone who has so I had nothing to compare my experience to but I know it just doesn't feel right.
So I'm going to plod along in the meantime while I'm job hunting and if it gets too much to bear I'll just leave - the good thing about the whole situation being illegal is that I won't have to give her notice or anything!

Thanks again everyone, I'll keep posted if anything develops!

agree you need money to live off, so plod away (come on here and moan) and hope you find a new job soon

Just be aware that no notice means no chanxe of a reference. You should be ae to explain leaving, particularly if you got advice from someone like citizens advice on the situation, but references are important and if you leave her in the lurch then give her name as a reference she has every right to tell your next employer about it.