When to advertise for a nanny?

[IWantToGoToThere]

I was after some advice on when I should start advertising for a live-out nanny. I'll be returning to work in February 2014 (I accept I'm possibly a little ahead of myself thinking about this now!) and will be looking for a nanny for my sons who will be 4 (starting school in September 2014) and 1 year old. We are going on a family holiday over Christmas to New Zealand, returning mid January so would like to have someone lined up before we go.

I don't want to leave things too late but I wondered how far in advance nannies seem to start looking for their next role so when would be best to start looking. We live in Chelmsford, Essex if that is relevant. It will be the first time we have had a nanny so am feeling a bit anxious about the whole thing. Thanks in advance.

I would start late Aug / Early Sept. That way you can have contract agreed by Xmas. It may restrict choice of candidates though as not everyone will have a long notice period in their job. If someone needed to start late Jan could you accomodate that?

Thanks nannynick. We could accommodate a late Jan start - anything to get the right person really. What's the usual notice period for nannies?

There is no usual, though for many it may be a month. Sometimes the nanny may want to give a terms (about 3 months) notice even if contractually they only have to give a month. Some nannies may only be on a weeks notice, others may not be in current employment and thus are available immediately.

So if you got things decided before xmas, the nanny may be wanting to start as of end Jan/beg Feb, though it will depend on the particular person at the time.

I would start looking a bit later, probably November time.

I think asking somone to commit to starting a job 6 months in advance is asking for trouble, as who knows what could change for the nanny in that time.

It's very unlikely that a nanny would know in Aug/Sept that their current job will end in January/February, so the employed won't apply, which means you'll get applications from the unemployed. I would wonder what sort of nanny was willing to be unemployed for a further six months before starting a new job? Probably one who can't get one in the interim 6 months!

If you were looking for a September start, it would be different. Lots of nanny jobs end in September when the youngest in the family goes to school. This is something everyone knows is going to happen so the nanny is able to look well in adavance. For a September/October start 6 months in advance is ok, any other time of the year I'd say look nearer the time.