First Nanny - what do I need to know?

[Backinthebox]

I go back to work in 3 months, and have a rather unusual work pattern. As advised here I started looking for a nanny 3 months in advance and found someone the first day! She is well qualified, experienced nursery staff but wants a more independent job where she can also look after her baby niece too. I was always happy with the idea of a nanny with own child, as I know the hours I am needing are extremely unusual and so need to be flexible. Her niece will attend the same pre-school as my own children, so there will be no drop-off/pick-up problems. The potential nanny is well known to my own children too, having cared for the older one in a non-nanny situation before.

So kids and I are happy with the candidate, she is happy with the job. We just need to hammer out terms and conditions. Where do I start? I know I will be the employer and am fairly happy OH will have the salary paperwork under control, but what else do I need to sort out? What would you make sure was in a contract? I live in a very rural area, and the candidate is a non-driver but lives only 300yards from me, so is familiar with public transport limitations in the area. I am considering a taxi kitty for emergencies and planned appointments or outings - anyone done this? Also what kind of insurance would I need?

What practicalities am I likely to have forgotten? Eg, getting her a key cut, meals for her, etc. Also what kind of 'other little jobs' is it reasonable to ask a nanny to do? I have a basic cleaner already who just dusts, hoovers and irons once a week. I assume it is not unreasonable to expect a nanny to pick up toys and kids clothes, and prepare food for the kids and tidy away afterwards?

I have never had an employee before - only self employed people like the cleaner and grass-cutting lady, and they tell me what they are doing! I just want to make sure we both get off on the right foot from the start.

Insurance-wise you need to check whether your home insurance has employer's liability insurance. If it doesn't you may need to either change provider or find specialist additional cover.

Guidance on what needs to go into a written statement here which is what the document absolutely has to contain. Sample nanny contract here - I recommend the first one with the following caveats: salary must be written as gross, holiday as 28 days (pro-rata) rather than 20 days plus Bank Holidays, SSP only in the contract (you can then use your discretion whether to pay or not).

I would also include who pays for what given that she's bringing her niece - generally you pay for her and your children, she (or the child's parents) would cover the cost of the other child. Having an emergency taxi kitty, presumably on top of the standard one for entry to children's groups and the odd pint of milk, is a good idea but it may be worth setting up a business account with a local firm and seeing whether they'll give you slightly preferential rates. That way you're also using a firm which is known to you.

Have a clause to cover what happens in the event that her niece is sick (and therefore can't go to preschool) - is she still welcome to bring her along? What about if your children are sick? Presumably you will expect nanny to work as usual. My feeling is that if the children are together all the time anyway they'll pick up what's going.

Is she being paid to look after her niece? You might just want to clarify that.

Not necessarily in the contract but agreed somewhere:
discipline - will she treat her niece the same as your children?
food - again issues about treating them the same as well as what you do/don't want the children eating. In general she will eat with the children so just budget an extra adult portion.

In terms of extra duties it's reasonable to ask nanny to do anything to do with the children - laundry, changing bedlinen, tidying up toys, wiping kitchen surfaces, preparing meals and tidying up afterwards - generally maintaining the house to roughly the same standards as you do whilst she's working.

To add to Snap's excellent advice, in the contract be as specific as possible in the Gross Misconduct section so that it is very clear as to what things you consider are Gross misconduct rather than just misconduct.

Also think about the future. What happens if her niece becomes a big sister. Would you be prepared to have neice and the new baby come along? What about when children go to school - would that mean there would be changes to the arrangements. You may not need to write things into a contract at this point but giving possible complications some thought may help you both consider soluitions, so if/when the problem does occur you are ready with a soluition.

I'm assuming you want a long term arrangement, thus the need to think about the future.