PRobably daft question about holidays and nannies

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Our nanny started with us in March, two days a week. That gives her 9.5 days leave this year.

She has taken 1 day (booked off in June), and 1 (when she failed to turn up for work due to a transport crisis, but I let her have it as holiday retrospectively under the proviso that didn't happen again).

The contract says 4 days should be taken between Christmas and New Year - but looking at how the dates fall with her working week it will only be 2 days, to come out of her 2014 allowance.

It also says 2 days to be taken at our (employers) direction.

We went away in June, so there were 2 days when we didn't require her to work, and I stupidly didn't get into whether it was annual leave or not, and she's obviously been paid.

However, we're now going away at short notice again next this month, next month, and in December, so a total of 6 more days she won't be working.

How should this be handled? Is it bonus paid leave? Unpaid leave? Can I move 2 of her 'Christmas' leave days to earlier in December?

Presumably I can ask her if she can work some alternative days - so 3 days one week, 0 the next? But if she says no, which she's obviously entitled to, what do I do? Argh! Have gone all English about this and don't know how to raise it.

I have always had it as paid time off. Not expected to go into work.

Employers I feel are in control of when their employee takes holiday and thus should manage the holiday calendar. If employers take additional holiday then that is not the nannies fault.
If you don't need nanny to come into work then give them it off as additional paid leave.

You want to keep nanny happy. An unhappy nanny may move on quickly. A happy nanny may stay for many years.

I think I have just found the perfect solution. As part of her employment contract I asked her to take a more up-to-date First Aid certificate (we were happy to pay for the course fees), but it hasn't happened yet.

I've just found one that will be run on the two days we are away one week. It's shorter hours too.

Perfect

Perfect solution this time

Why would you do next time?

And personally I feel that the nanny should have an up to date first aid and DBS - and up to them to keep them up to date. VEry nice of you to pay

Assuming as a 2 day one you need her to be ofsted reg for vouchers?

Tho saying that the first aid I did was one day and suitable for ofsted

I agree that ideally I would have preferred a nanny that kept her professional certificates up to date herself, but we hoped that she had experience if not qualifications, and were happy to make that compromise.

There have been more compromises than ideal here, but fundamentally the kids are happy and having fun with her, and some basic house stuff is done well. It would be lovely to have a nanny who was so engaged with her job she wanted to come in and come up with educational craft projects, or who we felt happy getting to batch cook for us, or I could delegate sorting out old clothes etc to, but - whether it's down to us or her or a combination of both - that's not the situation we're in. So this arrangement will carry us through to 2015, and then we'll see if things have changed in terms of the duties she's taking on.

My main question was what to do when you have considerably more days that you don't require a nanny for than allocated leave at employers' direction, and the answer from most of you seems to be to ask her to come in and do some child related stuff.

My answer would be that she gets extra time off paid and you hope for flexibility elsewhere on an ad hoc basis. Personally I wouldn't ask her to come in and do other stuff, but each to their own.

PS if going to be a very regular thing, next time you could negotiate a certain number of days off on half pay per year in exchange for a slightly higher hourly rate? may or may not be worth it depending on the number or days per year.

Blondes - I have done a 6 hour Paediatric first aid course and trying to find out if it's valid for OFSTED - what made tours "be valid" so to speak?

*Yours

Have no idea sorry. It was a TIGERLILY course. Will have a look through my emails and see if can find it

We just googled and found one in our area. Think was £80 and said suitable for ofsted

I'm Not ofsted reg but my friend L is and did the course with me and D another friend who did the first aid with me that day has recently become ofsted reg and both have been accepted so doesn't always have to be a 12hr one iyswim

OP: I think the nasty comments about the day off for the transport crisis are just that. In any professional job not turning up in those circumstances requires unpaid leave or holiday and could also result in a warning where there is no appropriate communication/planning on the part of the employee. Same applies to nannies.

Holidays: by the same token, you are absolutely within your rights to ask your nanny to do nursery duties on those days or take them from her holiday entitlement if she prefers not to turn up. And I would amend the contract to say that you pick holiday dates though she can apply for holiday at other times and you have discretion whether to grant them or not. Same as other employment relationships. We do this with our nanny and with professional behaviour on both sides there has never been an issue.

On the subject of First Aid, Ofsted accepted my six hour course when I initially registered, as it was paediatric and contained all the required elements.
I have since done a blended 12 hour paediatric, 6 hours online , 6 hours attended. It is suitable for Ofsted child-minders and nannies.
OP I think if you have extra days holiday over the statutory allowance then by all means ask your nanny to come in and do other tasks.
Paying for the First Aid course is very kind. I happily funded my own and did in my own time.

I also did the Tigerlily 6 hour first aid course that Blondes did (same place too!) and I am OFSTED registered. They didn't even ask to see it!

I too have been nannying for 20 yrs + and never had to go in and do chores when any of my families have been away . It is quite usual that nannies are having more than the standard, minimum allowance.. I think it should be a bonus to be honest as we have to fit around our employers holiday dates for the majority of our holiday , for instance I am off now, would not at all be my chosen holiday time as far too expensive and is school holiday time..

I know that some nannies are having it stated in their contract , that if the family go away over the allocated holiday time, the nanny still gets paid ... It should be made very clear at the outset, whether the nanny has the time off, comes in and does chores or works the time in lieu ..so that everyone knows where they are.

Thanks, will give mine a try!