IM A NANNY! HELP!

[Clubfrog]

Hi

I am a nanny and been with a family almost a year... I was wanting to know if what other nannies are getting per hour?

And also there holiday entitlement??

I'm starting to have a few disagreements with my family as she keeps changing the rules when she likes!

Would be very grateful of your advice!

Thanks

Do you have a contract, if not get one.

No!! I have been waiting for 2 months now on my contract. She done up a sample one but I didn't think it was a fair contract as she said I am not entitled to full paid holidays when she is off and also is not willing to pay minimu wage!

A bit stuck on where to go from here!

Gross salary I presume you mean, or do you still go by Net?

Nannies can often be paid an annual salary these days, for x amount of hours per week. So rough hourly could be calculated from that. Salary offered for jobs can vary though, due to location, experience, hours of work etc.
5.6 weeks is minimum holiday entitlement for those working in the UK.

What are you trying to establish? "The grass is always greener on the other side of the river" but are you really wanting a job paying a lot, as the expectations in that job may be a lot higher?
Baby is asleep, other children at pre-school/school, so I'm on paid lunch break... having a cuppa and surfing the web. Perks like that happen with nanny jobs, they don't happen in office jobs (least not one's I have done). So if you are considering if the job is for you, do consider what benefits you may have in your job vs other jobs.

Perhaps it's better for you to tell us more about your situation... are you not liking your job? Are you considering leaving?

Where did you get the info ref 5.6 weeks holiday Nick?

I only get 20days.....is this the law or just advised??

I love my job and always have as I have worked for a few different families.
It started of that I get paid holidays which I did last eats yet then all of a sudden it has changed to half pay.

Also she said the reason she won't pay me an extra £1 per hour is because she supplies me food!

As both me and the mother knows I am usually out with the kids at lunch time and I certainly don't eat £8 a day worth of food!

I am just trying to find a way of telling her about these few points I am not happy with?

The law is 5.6 weeks, some employers may say its 20 days plus the bank holidays but it should be written as 5.6 weeks.

McPhee - that's 4x5 =20 + bank holidays = 28 or 5.6 weeks :)

Clubfrog - all of your issues are getting mixed up.

Getting meals while working as a nanny is normal - is this how you have been doing it since you started?

An hourly rate for a nanny varies widely. It would help to know where you live and how much you get paid.

She has to pay you holiday pay, as Nick says, 5.6 weeks (as explained above)

What else are you not happy with?

McPhee is yours full paid holidays if u don't mind me asking?

Thanks..pregnancy brain

yes full paid holidays including bank holidays

Don't forget 5.6 weeks is based on doing a 5 day week so scale that down if it is a part time job. And it would usually be at normal pay rate. Minimum wage should also usually apply if you are live out.

It's customary to include food in job terms as you can hardly nip out if got kids but that is a matter for negotiation.

Ive never asked for meals to be included as I rarely eat from their home!

I live in northern Ireland and I am getting £5 per hour for 2 children.. One child who is 3 was meant to be going to nursery from sep but didn't get in and the mum said my pay would change if he didn't but when I brought this up to her she said no she can't pay extra.

Also my core hours are 8-3 mon-fri!

One example I had an app a few weeks ago at 3:30 and the mum knew of this and 10 past 3 came and I tried calling her a few times but with no answer! She came home at 3:30 I then missed my appointment and was charged for missing it!

This has happened now on a few occasions and I don't want to come across rude in the way I say to her about this!

You need to get back to her about the contract. It sounds like she's taking you for a ride. Our nanny is paid £70 per day (she brings her own child with her) for three days a week 9am-7pm, all meals are included for her and her dd - she usually has breakfast and lunch at ours, and ds is at nursery all morning until midday (my dd is there all day though). We have a nominal 4 weeks leave, but to be honest I'm very relaxed about it. She hasn't taken the mickey, but this year she's ended up with about 6 weeks paid leave, but as we've easily been able to accomodate it I've not worried about it.

£5 an hour sounds low but you are not giving us full info about that salary. Is that Gross or Net? Are you under 21? Northern Ireland has different laws to England, so it could take a while to check what applies in Northern Ireland. You have mentioned NMW, is that the same in NI as it is in England?

Yes I agree and I feel like I'm being taking for a ride!

Thanks for your advice!

Sorry that is gross.

I am 23 years old!

Yea min wage is the same here as it is in England!

Sorry meant net pay!

As a nanny you are an employee. Hence

1. You have a right to a written contract
2. you have a right to minimum wage
3. You have a right to 28 days paid holiday (incl bank holidays) based on 5 day weeks
4. You have the right to work agreed hours (save to the extent your contract provides otherwise)

You are indeed being taken for a ride. Questions you need to consider are:-

1. is your employer operating PAYE or are you being paid cash in hand. If the latter, your ability to enforce your rights through a tribunal could be more difficult (although you could grass them up on the tax).
2. How easy it would you be find another job (and how easy it woudl be for employer to find someone else)

It may well be true that they cannot afford to pay more in which case (notwithstanding your rights) you will either have to leave or just accept it (which turns on how easy it would be for you to find another job or her to find another nanny). I have a friend in NI and my impression is that nannies are really quite rare and nurseries and CMs are more the norm, but her DC are older now so things may have changed.

£5 net we would need to know your tax code and any deductions (student loan etc) to know whether you were getting NMW whivh is expressed gross.

Either way you need a contract. Do you have nanny insurance? Their legal line should be able to give you some more advice about the best course of action.

Based on past behaviour make sure you get overtime written in.

my core hours are 8-3 mon-fri!

Core hours? That to me indicates some flexibility on the hours. When you agreed to do this job, were you told how many hours a week it was?

£5 Net I feel is still likely to be under National Minimum Wage for your age. If you work 35 hours a week, £5 Net equates to £5.45 an hour Gross, if your tax code is 747L. See www.mranchovy.com/calc/
What is on your last payslip? Does that detail things like Hours worked, pay, income tax and national insurance deductions?

Info about Pay & Payslips - that page also has contact details for The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) which offers free impartial advice on employment issues for those in Northern Ireland. So they may well be worth contacting (have a copy of the draft contact in hand, so you can discuss things based on that contract as well as what you are finding is happening at the moment).

You have been with them almost a year and yet have not got a Written Statement/Contract detailing what you have agreed to work. You should have had one within the first 2 months of working.

With regard to annual leave... the Labour Relations Agency website has quite good info about it LRA: Annual Leave. Legislation is in The Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998, plus the amendments. A key date seems to be April 2009 when statutory annual leave entitlement in Northern Ireland changed to being 5.6 weeks.

The hours that were agreed was 8-3 and I never mentioned flexibility.

Ive learned a valuable lesson about not having a contract straight away as this is what happens!

As I am still new to nannying I am still learning!

Yes all that info is on my payslip and I am getting below min wage!
That labour relation site has quite a bit of info so might call them tomorrow discussing my situation and see what they say!

I'm guessing I'm the only person with these problems tho they are due to my own stupidity!

Not stupidity - we all started somewhere and learnt these things as we went along. The internet is a great help and I still learn the odd new thing and have been a nanny for over 25 years.

Any advice at all is welcome! I really appreciate it guys!