Take the job or not?

[Bananamash]

Hi there,

Can anyone give me their opinion please? I had an interview yesterday for a job come September. In some ways it is just perfect. It is in exactly the right location that I wanted. The timings work out perfectly for dropping my older son off and picking him up from wrapwround care. The family suggested just term time work which suits me well. They seemed a nice family.

But... and sadly there is a but.

When discussing salary they were asking whether the ammount I had said I charge was gross or net, and I said net, you as my employer are responsible for my tax and NI. They asked how I would feel about being paid cash in hand? I said I would think about it and do some googling and find out the exact consequences of that. Can anyone help me with that please?

Also the other thing I am not sure about on reflection is to do with their DC being at nursery in the mornings. Originally in my ad I was looking for one less day ideally, but as this job on paper ticked all the boxes as above, I thought fine.

They asked me what would happen during those three hours etc, I said well nursery duties, making up a cooked lunch for DC when he comes home, etc all the usual things that get mentioned on here. And they said hmmm not sure they will take the whole three hours.... They said as you were looking for less days originally would you be willing to have the mornings off? I said I would think about it, as I thought maybe it would give me time to walk the (my) dog, nip to sainsburys etc. But thinking about it when I got home, they had said they would like to pay for one hour so that I can make sure a cooked lunch is ready for when DC comes home from nursery. Realistically i don't think is actually in my interests then really is it? Because he is in nursery about a 5-7 min walk away, so shall we say at least 10 min, possibly more like 15 when he first starts, to drop him off and settle him in. So that takes me until 915am, later during the first few weeks. Then if they wanted me to have some time to prepare a meal, say 45-1hr. That takes me to around 10-10.15. I would have to be back at the house at 1145 at the very latest to get DC from nursery. That gives me 1.5 hours, which as my home is 15min one way, so 30 min travelling time.... leaves me with an hour of free time... I don't think i want to do this. The actual time I will have free to do things is so small that i couldn't accomplish anything useful in that amount of time. Does that sound fair to you? I don't wish to come accross as money grabbing.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance. I am off on a school run and then a manic day, but will be back late afternoon. Thanks

The cash in hand would make me run for the hills instantly, I'm afraid. You won't have NI paid so it could reduce your pension entitlements, won't it?

Unpaid time off in the middle of the day is difficult. Most nannies don't have it, especially if it is such a short time. Most jobs have the requirement for a lunch break in the middle of the day which is unpaid, so 1 hour off anyway. It just doesn't seem to be the norm for nannies probably because most nannies have children in the house anyway, so time off is usually just the DC nap time so should be paid! (But if you have this break requirement, you shouldn't work for more than 6 hours without a break so you would have to finish by 6pm if that's the case - they can't have it both ways!).

It sounds like they would like a nanny but can't really afford one. It is absolutely not in your best interests to take the job "cash in hand", your employers are responsible for your tax and NI, why would you work for someone who doesn't understand that. You will have no NI contributions paid if you need them in future and you will actually be colluding with them breaking the law. I also can't see why you would accept not being paid during the morning, as you say you won't end up with any useful time - all your are doing is saving them money. You can bet that at some point there will be some extra things that they want you to do, or they will assume that you will be available if their child needs to be picked up or is sick and can't go to nursery. The fact that they are suggesting these things now doesn't bode well tbh, I would say no to the job.

This is the problem with quoting net. Could you compromise on a gross figure you're both happy with? They will need to factor in employers NI still but it may be more affordable for them.

Unpaid time off they need to be clear you will not be available. That means no sickness cover, no help if the nursery shuts, no care during holidays etc. It isn't great for you to have a gap in the middle of the day especially as it's so short but it's potentially less than ideal fir them as well. Nursery duties can take a lot of time, depending on the amount of ironing! I don't think I ever had a problem filling 3 hours of a morning.

I'd be very wary as they are wanting to pay cash in hand. I'm guessing that they probably haven't realised that although you will be tt only and get 12 weeks holiday per year you are still entitled to some paid holiday - I think it works out at just under 5 weeks per year. As Frak says, see if you can compromise on a gross figure. Point out to them that if, for any reason, they are found out to be paying cash in hand it will be them that are fined and have to back pay the tax. The fine is £3,000.

I wouldn't be happy about the morning situation either - as you've worked out, by the time you factor in the nursery run you will have such a small window of time for yourself. AND I bet they want you to be available all morning if nursery is closed or their child is ill.

I personally would walk away as their is so much compromising to be done here that the job would never feel quite 'right' from the start. You may feel resentful if you feel the compromises swings their way and vice versa.

Thank you everyone who responded.

It has given me loads to think about it. Sadly I think you are all right, which is a shame, i am kicking myself in many respects as the location, hours etc were all what i wanted.

nbee84 Thank you for that advice, do you know where i could find more info on that- holiday entitlement to TT only contracts? I ask because they said last night that they would expect holiday to be taken in school holidays, but would try and be flexible if i needed to have the odd day off during TT every 6 months or so....

I worked a tt only job last year and got my advice from direct.gov - unfortunately the web page says tt only holiday is under review and has said that for at least 3 months! so not much help to you. It would be quite usual for the paid holidays to be taken during school holidays only. The deal with my boss was that if something important came up she would find a way to cover it and asked that I try to give her as much notice as possible.

Ok, so for future ref, in case it comes up again.... (sorry i think i maybe being quite thick and off to have a google...)

Say hypothetically I agree to a tt only job. What the parents in the above situation were saying is that they wanted me to take my holiday during the school holidays when i would not be working anyway, i assume unpaid, as i would not be working during those weeks anyway. So what i am essentially getting at is:

1. Would i be entitled to paid holiday during the TT if i was only working during TT?

2. If parents wanted me to take my holiday during school holidays, what would happen to the paid element iyswim? Would they have to pay me during the holiday? I know that sounds crazy, but surely if i am having to take holiday during term time when i am not employed and not paid, then it isn't really paid holiday time?

Having a school age child, i probably wouldn't be taking him out for chunks of term time, but could see a day or two overlap for example.... and my son's school has longer holidays than most, so he might be off when my boss' children are not....

Thank you so much for bringing this up as i hadn't really thought about it before.

Sorry there is no edit button... what i meant to say in my second para was

"Say hypothetically I agree to a tt only job. What the parents in the above situation were saying is that they wanted me to take my holiday during the school holidays when i would not be working anyway, i assume unpaid, as i would not be working during those weeks anyway. So I wouldn't get any PAID holiday. Is that the done thing?

Take a look at the info from MrAnchovy on Term Time Nanny and Annual Leave Calculation message thread from last month.

So if term time is 39 weeks per year, you would get 13 weeks holiday per year. They would not all be unpaid - if you round it up to 5 weeks paid holiday entitlement you would be paid for 44 weeks per year, so 39 weeks of term and 5 of the 13 weeks would be paid. You are taking your paid holiday entitlement during the 13 weeks of school holidays.

Thank you so much everybody, that has really helped me.