Nanny - how much paid sick leave pay do you give?

[Giosveltina]

I am just renegotiating a contract with our nanny and wonder what is the allowance you give to your nannies in terms of paid sick days?

Do you fully pay an unlimited number of sick days per year or do you limit it to say 5 per year? (I know the SSP kicks in after the 3rd day of sickness and wonder what the general practice is outside of the SSP allowance).

If you could please share your experiences that would be most useful.

So fare we have paid all the sick leave days, however our nanny has taken quite a few and we just cannot afford to carry on like this. On the other side, we also want to be fair and follow the general market practice.

Thanks in advance!

It is quite normal to put ssp only into the contract but then to pay what you feel is fair for genuine sickness.

As a nanny I ask for 2 weeks sick pay in my contract. The reasons behind this are that I still have bills to pay if I break my leg/get flu etc and that lots of other jobs will have some level of sick pay.

I've actually found that it's backfired on me a bit - I tend to drag myself into work when I really shouldn't as I don't want my bosses thinking that I am using my sick days as 'duvet days'

How many days has your nanny had off sick? Have there been quite a few days for one particular illness or does she take off the odd day here and there? Most professional nannies will make a real effort to come to work when they are unwell as they realise the knock-on effect it has on their boss and we can usually schedule ourselves an 'easier' day by curling up on the sofa while the children are playing with toys at our feet or watching a bit of tv.

My contract says SSP only but I was paid for my one sick day. I rarely have time off but I've had a particularly bad run with illness this year. If I feel able enough to carry on through the day and give the children what they need- patience and fun- then I come in. But I would never come in with something highly contagious like a stomach flu, of course.
What has your nanny been ill with? And how many days is a lot to you?

i have 4 weeks sick pay in my contract - reason being that dh was se and if became so ill i couldnt work, then to be blunt i would be screwed

this may change in other jobs but i think a weeks sick pay is fair, so 5 days if fulltime

many employers if the nanny is ill will pay them for that day, but i cant take the risk of only getting ssp, which think is £80ish a week after 3 days off, so not even a days wages

the only time i took time off was 5years ago when i had a blood clot in my leg which went to my heart and i nearly died-3weeks off work

tbh most nannies i know will move heaven and earth to get to work as we know if we dont then we are letting our employers down

most of us are happy to come in though have a quiet sofa/tv day