Going back to work, looking for Nanny advice.

[RubyGrace17]

Hi everyone,

I posted on the boards a while ago, saying I was considering going back to work but DH was reluctant and would rather I was at home with the children. I applied for a position for a DHT and decided if I didn't get it, I would wait to return to teaching when youngest DD was in school, however, I got it and so will be returning to work in August. I'm so excited at the prospect now! :)

As DH is reluctant to hire a nanny, mainly because he would prefer me to be looking after the DC, I want to find someone who he (and I) feel totally comfortable with and who the girls will adore. This is our first nanny so I sort of have no idea where to start and I'm not sure if what I'm looking for is practical

I have three DDs, aged 5, 3 and 7 months. DH works very long hours so it's my hours that will have to be considered in terms of hours for the nanny. I'll be working full time and will need a nanny from 7am (to account for my travelling time of 20 minutes and I like to be there early to get things out of the way so I don't have to take too much work home) until 6pm each night, except Friday where I'd like to leave school by 3 o'clock. DD1 will need to be dropped off at school and picked up, DD2 will be in nursery 3 mornings per week so she will also need picked up and dropped off. As well as this, I'd want the nanny to take DD3 to her two baby groups that we go to, as well as taking DD2 to her activities when she isn't at nursery.

I'm not too worried about the housekeeping aspect of it, as long as the girls are looked after well and are happy, I'm happy. As such, I'm planning on getting my cleaner in 2 days per week for 4 hours on each day and once a month get her in for a weekend to do a big clean, when we go away to our holiday cottage anyway.

I'd really appreciate any advice on what sort of things I should ask any potential nannies and whether or not you think this position would suit a nanny as I know the hours are quite long and there will be a lot of dropping off/picking up each day with the girls activities.

In terms of salary, I'm thinking of offering around £10 per hour (net), does that sound reasonable?

Ruby

The other thing I wanted to ask was about holidays. She won't be needed in the holidays as I'll be off but how does that work with a nanny?

Ruby

On MN app so can't refer to your post but I'll deal with what I can remember. It all sounds reasonable though.

First congrats on the job!

Hours - it's an early start and an 11 hour day but many nannies will do that, especially if it's an early finish and TT only.

Duties - sounds reasonable. With 3 it's usual to have 1 in school, 1 in PT nursery and 1 home FT going to various groups. You are likely to want someone relatively experienced purely for the time management aspect. They should be able to fit in at least a few nursery duties and, of course, meal prep etc.

Pay - negotiate a gross salary! Here is mranchovy's fab calculator which will help you work out the nanny's gross salary (which goes in the contract) from the net equivalent and also your employer's NI contributions. Are either of you able to get vouchers through work? If so getting an OFSTED reg nanny may help but you may be asked to pay the registration fee.

Holidays - you can specify that they're taken outside term time. Depending on how many weeks you teach, and how much cover you might want in holidays for inset days/meetings will depend how much pro rata holiday your nanny has of the 5.6weeks, which includes bank Hols.

Other things to consider:
Do you need a driver? Will they be using your car or theirs? You will need to budget for insurance or mileage.
How much will the nanny need in work related expenses? This needs to cover entry fees, miscellaneous shopping (bread, milk, nappies etc) and anything else she might reasonably need to spend money on whilst working. Most people budget £20-25/week in a kitty.
Liability insurance - she should have get own, you need employers liability which often comes with a household policy but do check- the co-op doesn't offer it for example.
Agency or self-recruiting? You will need to budget for agency fees or placing an ad. If you have time on your side and can sift through applications I would bypass the agency. You will need to check qualifications and refs in any case. Try nannyjob, Gumtree, netmums and on here (some people place ads even though they aren't supposed to!). Be strict when checking applications and CVs. Consider what is important and make a checklist. If an applicant looks fab but doesn't have a license and you need a driver don't even try to make it work. It will end up being more of a hassle than you need.
If you need someone for September then remember nannies in jobs will have a notice period of 4-6 weeks. That makes your timing quite tight. If you, like me, absolutely need someone the end of August then be very clear about that when advertising.

Good luck

Gross salary - not Net. So around £10-£13 gross would be about right for an experienced nanny, assuming you are not central London.

Are you looking for nanny to only work term time? That may be harder to find than a full-time nanny and once holiday entitlement is added in there may not be that many weeks difference. Would it not be helpful to have nanny around for a couple of weeks during summer holidays and covering things like half-terms?

There is a message thread on here in past two months about working out holiday entitlement for term-time only. Can't do link as on mobile.

Your timescale for finding someone sounds very short if you need them to start beg August. A nanny currently in a job may need to give 4 weeks+ notice.
However there are nannies out of work looking for jobs, so you may find someone who is able to start quickly.

Checked back

Questions for nannies:

Are they happy with the start date, hours, pay and duties? Sounds obvious but it's kinda non-negotiable....
What experience do they have with children the age of your DCs/families with more than 2 children?
What are their views on activities, discipline, nutrition?
A few scenarios to test their first aid knowledge and how they might handle tricky situations
Their strengths and weaknesses
Why dud they leave/are they leaving their last job(s)?
Are they/are they willing to be OFSTED reg?
Do they have liability insurance?
Do they have appropriate car insurance?
How long have they been driving and is their license clean? If driving your car have they had any accidents in the last 5 years?
Ca they provide references?

On CVs look for:
Qualifications - what, when (especially things like first aid which run out)
Previous jobs - length, duties, ages of children
Hobbies/interests - anything you do as a family/want to encourage

Congrats on the job!

Make sure your dh is fully engaged in selecting childcare, and takes equal responsibility. sounds like he's being a bit unsupportive. Is completely reasonable for you to return to work. It shouldn't all be on you to find childcare that HE's comfortable with or take the blame if things don't go as planned down the line (not that they won't, just in case).

Working it out on 53 hours per week (4 x 11hr days + 1 x 9hr day) @ £12 gross per hour gives a wage of £636 per week.

Presuming a 39 week year, holiday works out at just under 5 weeks, so if you pay for 44 weeks a year that gives an annual salary of £27,984 - monthly salary of £2,332.

I've worked it out like this as I feel it is a good way to present the wage to the nanny - the reason being, a lot of nannies will shy away from a term time only position - they will be thinking that not working for all the school holidays will leave a lot of weeks without work and it can be difficult to find work during the holidays. But actually because you are paying a good wage (and you should be aiming for someone with lots of experience at that rate) and it is a lot of hours per week, when you annualise the salary and pay it monthly it is a very good wage and has the perk of lots of holidays. There are ni savings for you and the nanny if you pay like this rather than paying each week/month for hours actually worked. Paying this way though be aware that if the nanny leaves part way through a year (sept-aug year) you will end up owing some money when she leaves.