hiring new nanny - paying for 'trial' days?

[thunderandlightening]

Just wondering what the etiquette is for paying a new recruit to do a trial day, during which she will be shadowing our current nanny. In the past I have paid a full day rate but I've been burned when people who seemed to have happy/successful trials then changed their mind about the job a few days later. What is the norm?

Can you add the money for the trial day to the first months wages, esp if it is really a shadow/handover day with the old nanny.

I would call a trial day a day where she spent it with you around to see of she was the one for the job and if that is what you mean then yes I would expect cash on the day if I was being paid for it, some families don't pay you to do any trial time but want you to do it.

Never had trial days tbh thrown in deep end

But if I ever did they yes would expect full pay and ideally at end of day

Some families I know have several nannies doing trial days and no money exchanged hands cheapskates

Difficult one. Is this part of the interview stage or the beginning of her (already offered and accepted, contract agreed, etc.) employment?

I have hired several nannies and au pairs and never done a trial day. Why do you need one? If you are looking to get current nanny's view of her suitability for the job, do you really need a whole day? Could you not do a next stage couple of hours interview?

If you do really want a full day, and you are going to leave her in charge, I think you should pay her on a self employed basis (eg cash) and ensure she has appropriate insurance in place. But, if it was me, I wouldn't bother with all of this.

I assume you are on good terms with departing nanny and value her opinion? If not, I don't know what the value of this exercise is. And if you are, why not just ask her to interview the girl without you there?

I've always done and paid for a trial day, but done it with me rather than the old nanny. Then after you show her around, give her the nanny bible let her spend a bit of time with the children whilst you are around you can go out and go something - or make it a weekend and you could go out for lunch with your hubby.
I wouldn't expect not to be paid for a days work so I wouldn't not pay someone.

I've always done and paid for a trial day, but done it with me rather than the old nanny. Then after you show her around, give her the nanny bible let her spend a bit of time with the children whilst you are around you can go out and go something - or make it a weekend and you could go out for lunch with your hubby.
I wouldn't expect not to be paid for a days work so I wouldn't not pay someone.

As a nanny I have always been paid for my trial days since they were at the parents' request. It is very unfortunate you've been burned in the past, but it is unreasonable to expect someone to work for a day without pay - I believe it is normal to pay for all trial days (although to save costs, perhaps your trial day could actually be a half day?).

There was one job I was interested in where the parents did not request a trial day but I wanted to shadow their current nanny for a day, just to get a better sense of the routine/interactions and whether I was the right fit for them or not. I told them that I did not expect to be paid for it - as they had already offered me the job and it was something I wanted to do for my own peace of mind - but at the end of the day they ended up paying me anyway and it turned out to be a wonderful partnership that lasted several years (until the DC was in school).