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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

length of time to find a nanny

12 replies

microserf · 10/02/2011 21:05

dumb newbie question: not sure yet when i am going back to work, how long should i leave for looking for a nanny? i am looking for someone later this year, but am not sure when i am going back to work.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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nannynick · 10/02/2011 21:45

Some nannies will know up to 3 months ahead of when they will be leaving their current employer. Others will have usually at least a month's notice to give.

However there are nannies out there who are currently temping, who could be available at very short notice.

So just start looking as soon as you have worked out exactly what your needs are and the costs, plus when you know roughly when you need to start back at work.

Hardandsleazy · 10/02/2011 21:47

Agree with nick- 3 months about right. If you use an agency in my experience they won't start properly looking until 3 months before .

nannyl · 10/02/2011 22:03

i have always changed jobs in September (when youngest have started school,so knew job ending) and have always had my new job sorted signed and sealed by June

Jewel77 · 10/02/2011 22:25

I need to find someone for June. I called a few nanny agenies today and they told me 2 months in advance.

One said they would put up an ad, but they said it was unlikely to get much notice for a few months

nannynick · 10/02/2011 23:13

Saw a job advertised by agency end of March, had Contract in May, Started in July. So agency had advertised it about 3.5 months before the job was due to start.

Not all agencies are alike. Good agencies will advertise a job for you whenever you ask them to do so. They are working for your after all.

Scarlet911 · 10/02/2011 23:54

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

SnapFrakkleAndPop · 11/02/2011 08:47

If you don't have a certain start date you won't find a nanny willing to hold off if they have a definite leaving date as it makes accepting interim temp work difficult.

I'm already getting applicants for an August start BUT I want to get the visa process under way if necessary, I'm happy to have a college leaver who finishes July time and I don't want to be starting a search in May with a 2 week old!

Blondeshavemorefun · 11/02/2011 09:03

3mths seems to be the average

2 weeks to interview nannies,another week to check ref etc and then 4th week to do 2nd interviews and offer job - so thats a month gone

then that nanny may have 2mths notice in contract (as i do)

one job waited 2mths for me as wanted me asap as fired their nanny but knew i couldnt start till later, so they hired a temp in to cover me as wanted me :)

Original poster

microserf · 11/02/2011 14:22

wow, thanks for all the responses. i am thinking of starting back in september but am already thinking about finding the right person. i need to check if my daughter has been successful in getting into an excellent nursery nearby - if she has i will be very flexible on the right candidate, if she hasn't then we will need to hire a candidate that can speak her father's language. i should know within 2 months. Visas might be an issue for me too...

if she is successful, then my unofficial plan was to be around for the first 2 weeks overlapping with the nanny (hopefully not cramping her style) to ease her into a double transition of new nursery and first time nanny.

OP posts:

SnapFrakkleAndPop · 12/02/2011 17:08

What country are you looking at recruiting from? Are you in the UK? And are you recruiting from the EU? If not you may find it very difficult to import a nanny which limits your options to those with a dual passport giving them working rights or those already in the country with a visa enabling them to work.

If language is a key issue I'd start looking now with a start date of September - I'm seeing jobs for French/Russian/Mandarin speakers September starts with agencies already.

Original poster

microserf · 13/02/2011 21:56

that is interesting, i had better get onto it. i am in the UK, and am thinking an EU nanny, but if they are already advertising these jobs i had better get on it. thanks for the heads up, i had a sneaking feeling i should be doing something now.

OP posts:

SnapFrakkleAndPop · 14/02/2011 04:18

Ohhh UK/EU don't worry, especially if you have contacts in the country you're recruiting from or can speak the language to advertise there. It's more if you needed to find someone fluent in Afrikaans (you'd need a dual SA/Brit for that probably) or Tagalog (probably someone already with the right to work in the UK who's moving on).

It's worth thinking about and defining the job/what you want from a nanny etc but advertising now isn't necessarily necessary.

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