Extra dudites for our nanny when the children are away..

[AuntLucyInPeru]

We're off next week Tues - Fri with the children, and our nanny isn't coming with us, and doesn't have any holiday leave left this year so we need to pay her. Can anyone come up with 35 hours of reasonable things we can ask her to do (not cleaning or gardening - we have a cleaner for that so the place will be pretty much spotless when we leave..) that it's reasonable to ask her to do?

Ooh - what are these dudites I wonder - perhaps like crudites but a little cooler?!
Needless to say I meant duties..

My kind bosses have always given me the time off with pay. They have never expected me to come into work to do extra duties when the children are away.

Same Derbys - if my bosses are away then I have the time off - as live in, I might buy a pint of milk for when they get back but that's it.

Get her to sort and mend all the children's clothes? Take the stuff beyond wearing/passing on to the recycling bank, stuff you want taken to the charity shop. Deep spring clean of children's stuff and rooms? Sort out and put together all those fiddly toys that get mixed up. Tidy all toys generally.

Get stuff together to plant a spring garden when they get back? Plan activities/meals/excursions with them over the next few months.

I'd give the nanny time off.

I have more annual leave than my nanny but I certainly wouldn't expect her to work unpaid as a result. The disparity remains to give me the odd day of free time.

They wouldn't be extra duties, just replacement ones. And looking after the children's things is usually in most nannies' contracts.

Work unpaid?! I mean work or take unpaid leave.

Get all the children's laundry up to date
Spring clean their rooms
Sort through/rotate toys, books, clothes etc
Meal plan/cook for the freezer
Do some shopping for birthday cards/presents for any upcoming parties, or get some spare ones for last minute invitations
Make any dentist or optician appointments they might need
Plan some activities for when they're back

We normally just let our nanny have the time off. We only give her 4 weeks paid leave, so I don't see the harm in letting her have a bit more. It seems a bit mean to make her work just for tha sake of it, rather than because you have something that actually needs doing.

Don't be tight let her have the time off.

If there are a few child related things that you need doing (like the things mentioned above) there's likely to be only a days work. You could ask the nanny to do them and say that it's up to her whether she does them in one day or over a couple of mornings/afternoons, then the rest of the time is her own. I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

Another option, but one that you should give her the chance to refuse if she's not ok with the idea, is to give her the time off paid in exchange for 1 or 2 evening babysits. Some nannies are happy to do this, some prefer not to - you can only ask.

In the past in a similar situation, we've asked our nanny to pop round to do (the kids') washing and ironing, water the plants (in summer). I agree with the idea that if even you add tidying up toys/cupboards, changing kids bedsheets, one off jobs such as washing dressing gowns, cooking for the freezer, etc, you probably still only have two half days' worth of work in there. She would appreciate the time off, and is one of the upsides which I like to offer my nannies, and strictly speaking it doesn't cost me anything more.

I think if you have child-related things that need doing then fair enough to ask her to do them while you're away.

To ask here what things you could possibly get her to do so that she doesn't get 4 extra days holiday this year is really mean!

Why is it mean to ask our nanny to do other non-manual household stuff whilst we're away? My post wasn't 'how do i manufacture meaningless and demanding tasks for my hapless house-navvy to do, so i can cheat her out of a days rest?, it was, ' there's a bloody ton of household, admin and other misc work to be done that's piling up all around, so what can I reasonable ask a well paid, lots of hols and bonuses nanny to pitch in with whilst we're off with the inlaws for a fee days'. I can't think of any jobs where if your contracted work-area has no immediate work on for a week, you're sent home on 'bonus' paid week off and not asked to lend a hand elsewhere. Does this actually happen outside nannying?
Fortunately our nanny is quite a cheerful, help-out kind of a person who doesn't expect handouts so she's going to be:
Taking some old children's clothes and toys to the charity shop
Trying stain removal on a few felt- pen spoiled 'good' clothes
Machine watching soft toys, and dishwashing plastic toys
Feeding the cats
Ebaying retired kiddie stair gates, playpens etc from the garage
Freexycling unused larger toys
Going into our office 10 mins walk away for an hour a day, to answer the phones and give the receptionist an hour off for her lunch ( I normally do this)
Packaging up the broken pushchair and getting it sent off to the repair place.
Drawing up the new year planner with all the school dates, birthdays, public holidays on it for the notice board.
So thanks for those who suggested stuff, less so to some other posters!

'Why is it mean to ask our nanny to do other non-manual household stuff whilst we're away?'

It's not if you have stuff to be done (which is what I said if you look carefully). You do have stuff to be done. Fair enough.

'it was, ' there's a bloody ton of household, admin and other misc work to be done that's piling up all around, so what can I reasonable ask a well paid, lots of hols and bonuses nanny to pitch in with whilst we're off with the inlaws for a fee days'

No it wasn't. Re-read your OP. It was; 'Can anyone come up with 35 hours of reasonable things we can ask her to do'. The asking people to 'come up with' things for her to do is a different question to 'is it ok to ask the nanny to do x,y,z, because it needs to be done'. Asking for '35 hours' worth of stuff seems like you really want to squeeze out every hour you're owed; that's mean/tight/stingy.

'Does this actually happen outside nannying?'

That's not really relevant because you're asking about your nanny!

BATMAN i agree

I actually LOLed at the OP's response and I never LOL...

OP:First you want people who are really a bunch of strangers and know nothing about your family and household to "come up" with things for your nanny to do and fill those 35 hours, and then you come back and say that there's a "bloody ton of household,admin and other misc work piling up all around"

So you knew what to ask of her already,you just wanted what,a longer list?
You then didn't like the replies you got and wrote a very snotty response
Backfired...

i have always had time off and paid when my employers go away - previous job went away 11/12 weeks a year and i had all off paid

and agree with batman , does seem a little mean to have to find 35hrs of duties to do

different if you had duties she could do, but you didnt, as you needed to ask on here

tagada said it doesnt cost the employer anything to let the nanny have the week off,as will be paying her wages anyway - this is true and having an extras week holiday is always a bonus :)

and yes fair enough find her child care duties to do, ie tidying up playroom and sorting out kids clothes

but asking her to go along to your office for an hour to replace your receptionist during her lunch hour seems a bit ott imho

Ooooo, I'd love to come over and do your jobs while you're away. Rather use your heating than mine in this weather, use your electricity, eat your food, watch a bit of telly, play some music, drink some tea, charge my phone, iPad, laptop...

And makes a nanny happy and grateful to her employer.

Apart from the hour in the office all the duties op has listed are related to the children. She mentions in her 2nd post that nanny has lots of hols and bonuses - doesn't sound like someone that would begrudge a couple of extra time off next week but then her original post says nanny doesn't have any holiday left and we need to pay her - that to me doesn't read like nanny gets time off paid over and above what she is due. Don't know quite what to make of this TBH.

... do my washing, drying and ironing, have a shower and use your internet to look for another job.

Lol at Hamish

very true nbee - nanny is a 4 day one assuming from 1st post of tue to fri so would normally have 23 days holiday

pmsl hamish - behave