Nanny charging mileage

[siliconglen]

Hi
I use a nanny who lives approx 4 miles from where she picks up the children to start her working day.
However, she also has a day job which is 1 mile from where she picks up my children and she starts the day job first
In order to bring the children back to the house from the pick up point, it's approximately 8 miles.

She is presenting me with a bill for 46 miles a day - the distance from he house, via the pick up point, back to the house and then the return trip, i.e. 23 miles each way. As measured on Google maps it is 13 miles each way making a total of 26 miles total, not 46.

I am arguing that I'm only paying her for hours she looks after the children not the costs of her getting to/from work, ie this is just the 8 miles from pick up point to drop off at the house.

Separately since she is actually doing another job first, I don't see why I should pay the costs of her getting to that job.

I feel I'm being taken for a ride here and when I questioned it, she handed in her notice. I then said I would pay her for the last week after I had properly audited the previous week's bill, meaning she would get paid on the Tuesday following the completed weeks work the previous Friday.

Can someone actually clarify what mileage it is conventional to pay for in these circumstances?

thanks

I would pay nothing. And you are well rid of someone who hands in her notice for this.

She quite clearly doesn't want the job.

Do you employ her?
I don't have any experience of Nannies but I have never been able to claim mileage to travel to my place of work, only if travelling to another site temporarily.
Sounds like a total piss take

travel from home to usual place of work is not allowable for tax , so its taxable , for staters.you should either be deucting tax before paying it to her or she should be declaring it .That is assuming she is employed by you

secondly she is taking the mickey, i don't get paid to travel to work

do you have a contract?
in most contracts it probably says the employer will pay reasonable travelling expenses incurred whilst working.
I would argue that travelling to and from work are not reasonable travelling costs as nobody gets paid to travel to and from work
travel costs incurred whilst transporting your children would be reasonable to claim for
so, you are in the right and she is in the wrong
sounds like you are well rid of her

Travel to and from work is at the expense of employees in England.

You should only pay from the pick up point to your house. If she was at your house and travelled to collect the children and bring them back to your house again then she should be reimbursed for the whole journey as it starts at work not at her home. Any travelling from wherever she is until she starts working is considered travelling to work therefore she cannot ask to be reimbursed for it.

I am a nanny and would never charge my employer/ask for mileage costs from my house to work or to nursery if that's where I collected the children from to start work. I would only charge mileage once children are in my car or if my boss wanted me to do jobs at theirs first then from their house to nursery/school and home again as it would be during working hours.

Basically we can only ask for mileage expenses to be re paid during working hours of that job.

She is def asking for too much and should be writing down all journeys and mileage for you so you can see how much each trip costs. It is def not am issue for handing in her notice for unless she knows she has been getting/asking for far to much and knows you have now found out an may be asking for some back.

I assume as you say she is your nanny you employ her ie pay her tax and ni out of a gross wage and provide paye slips etc, so you tell her how much you are happy to pay mileage back at. Aa recommend 45p a mile but some employers pay less. If she is self employed ie pays her own tax and ni then she bills you for her time and mileage at her rate but again should be no higher than 45p a mile or she pays tax on the extra. (But as a permenant nanny she can't be self employed according to the hrmc)

Mileage is paid from Your Home to the pickup point and back again, plus any other travel done with the children in the nannies car. It is not paid for actually getting to/from work.

As she is not starting from your home but from her other job... what is the mileage difference? Your Home to Pickup Point vs Day Job to Pickup Point.

In order to bring the children back to the house from the pick up point, it's approximately 8 miles.

So mileage should be around 16 miles - your home to pickup then back to your home. Actual mileage will vary and I feel should be done from the mileage reading on the car, not via mapping systems, as actual distance may be a little different... though not a lot.

She is presenting me with a bill for 46 miles a day - the distance from he house, via the pick up point, back to the house and then the return trip.

What return trip? Is that the trip back to her home?

With regard to salary, it is not just the mileage but also the time... so her start time for calculating working hours should be the time she is needing to be at your home, to be able to leave there to get to pick-up point on time (a bit early ideally).

I feel I'm being taken for a ride here and when I questioned it, she handed in her notice.

Sounds a bit odd for a reason to give notice, so maybe there is more to it, such as it being a hassle for her doing one job followed immediately by another.

Payment in arrears for nannies is pretty standard in my view. I and I suspect some other nannies are paid monthly and submit mileage records monthly.

You should only pay the mileage from the school back to your house (and any other mileage during the hours she works for you). Getting to and from work is her responsibility.

Have never charged from my house to work

I get a works car but the odd day I have used mine or friends who use their car - then they charge from leaving works home

Are you sayin that her other job is nearer where she picks up kids from so as she is there anyway or closer then from
Your house that you shouldn't pay petrol as isn't coming from
Yours ?

If part of her job is driving the children from A to B, then she needs to travel from home in her car, so I can see her point. Because she couldn't get the bus to point A and drive a car to point B. Having to drive the children takes away the option of using public transport.

But I'm not sure of the tax implications of that.

And also, if you live rurally, then public transport might not be an option.

I used to work as a nanny and was allowed to charge mileage for anything I did which meant I had to take the children there. I never once charged for getting to and from work - even when evening baby sitting - and if I was running errands for me with the children I did not charge. If I was doing errands for the mother and me I charged half or nothing at all. Do not pay her her travel costs for getting too and from work.

I used to start work one day a week at the nursery and would take that as the start of my work day the same as I would arriving at their house to do a school run. I now do an after school job where my day starts when I collect from the school to take back home. I charge from the school to home. Not from mine to the school.

I think the consensus is that this is a piss take on her part.

So her day goes like this:

1. Drive from her house to her first job (4 miles)
2. Drive from her first job to get my children approx 3pm (1 mile)
3. Drive from pick up point with my children back to house (8-9 miles)
4. Drive home 13 miles.

Total miles billed per day 46.
Mileage I am prepared to pay for - step 3 above
Actual distance on Google maps to/from her house to my house 26 miles round trip.

I'm considering reporting her to the police.

This is not a police matter. Maybe she misunderstood how the mileage reimbursement works and you need to sit down with her and explain ...

I think reporting to the police is an over reaction tbh. You haven't told us what is in the contract. Most decent contracts specify that home to work mileage will not be paid.

If there is no contract then a generous interpretation is that she is unsure and has claimed everything. More likely is that she is being cheeky and is trying it on.

Are there any other issues - her resigning and you considering the police suggest there may be?

Sounds like you need to agree with her what you are prepared to pay, then let her take you through small claims court if she feels you should pay more. It is vital that you refer to any written (email) agreement you have with regard to salary, mileage payments.

You are most likely the employer, so you will have drawn up the contract. If the work was very ad-hoc then she may be self employed and thus you should have agreed terms of business - so check all communications.

Consider if you really need the stress of worrying about this any more. They have handed in their notice, so come to an agreement and move on. Learn from the experience by making sure you determine what mileage is and is not paid for before employing someone, or using the services of a temp nanny.

Reporting her to the police is ridiculous.

She has been open and honest about how much she's claiming, she hasn't deceived you in anyway. She's asked for 46 miles, you're going to say no. What's the crime?!

She has a cheek! And to say she quits? Arse

Reporting her to the police? Good grief! Don't you think they have better things to do than adjudicate between a stroppy nanny and a peeved employer? I was in total sympathy with you until you said that. There is no crime here. All that has happened is that she has asked for an unreasonable amount of mileage and you have said no. She has then thrown a strop and quit. You don't call the police. You call a nanny agency or gumtree with your ad for a new nanny and remember to clarify mileage at interview next time.

thing is, if she didnt have that other job, she could drive to your house and maybe put some washing on then drive to pick up point, assuming school etc - then charge mileage from there to pick up point - so 8/9 miles - which is a bit pointless

instead she drives to 1st job then your pick up, and you want to pay then from pick up to home 8/9miles

so i think 16/18 miles a day is fair - both journeys from/too your home

and yes reporting her to the police is way ott

what for? fraud? she is being honest how she is calculating mileage, you just disagree with it,fair enough, from hers to yours shouldnt be charges

There is no contract.

As I say the police was only a consideration, I do think it's ridiculous though.

Under law in the UK (England, Scotland, NI, Wales - I think are all the same in this respect) there will be a verbal contract in place, as a contract is formed when someone does something for someone and payment is made in return.

Under employment law, the employer is supposed to provide the employee with a written statement (sometimes called a contract) within the first 2 months of employment. So if you have not done that, then you would be in the wrong.

Nanny has given notice, you are happy for her to leave, so I would suggest you come to a mutual agreement with regard to payment and both of you move on. Both of you can learn from this - get things agreed in writing before childcare is provided.

Why is she taking your children to her house?