Accidental damage

[ohmamma]

Hi,

can anyone let me know what's the standard rule about accidental damage to property in a nanny agreement? There is no mention to this in my contract but there must general rules to follow when the nanny damages your property by accident.

Can anyone help?

Many thx

You can't impose a contracutal penalty on anyone for an accident. If something is damaged as a result of negligence then you have a potential claim in tort, but it would be difficult to prove unless it was really outrageous (such as breaking something that she had been clearly told not to use).

The general rule to follow is to claim on your insurance.

much appreciated your advice

many thx

like what?

a car?

expensive vase etc

Agree it depends what and how the damage occurred.

You could either claim on your household insurance, assuming you've got appropriate insurance for having someone working in your home, or possibly pursue it through nanny's liability insurance. But then as nick said to pursue it you'd have to have substantial proof that it was negligence.

IMO it's a risk you take having someone working in your home.

Nanny insurance is unlikely to cover it - Morton Michel for one specifically excludes this (under Main Exclusions: property belonging to you or your family or your
employer(s) or in your custody or control).

Presumably depends on your insurer then. I'll admit mine was slightly special and expensive as it covered any civil responsibility including damage to any property as well as professional liability and my possessions whilst working Europe wide. I did have to search for that from a specialist broker though.

Interesting to see it's generally excluded. The NCMA exclude damage to employer's property as well but nannyinsure don't specifically, although they do mention property in your custody. I'd have thought it was something nannies might want insurance against.

Here thankfully I don't have to worry as responsabilité civil is practically a legal requirement and usually comes with your bank account.

Yes, everything I have posted here refers to the position in the United Kingdom. Other legal systems deal with peoples liaibilities for their actions in different ways so contracts, negligence claims and available insurance terms vary accordingly.

My v comprehensive insurance was British btw.

responsabilité civile - see me after school

I like the fact I can get the accents easily but it's a PITA if I want to type French or Dutch words or phrases without changing from a qwerty keyboard. It changed 'mefiez-vous' to Merida-vous the other day without me noticing. What or who is Merida?! OTOH I've successfully taught it bisous, which it used to change to bison and merci, which it used to change to mercy, so there is hope.

bisous -> bisons ROFL - hope that never ruined any relationships for you!

Oh sorry - missed the grammar check as well - that's even funnier!