Nanny working odd days/hours - how to pay?

[mummymum1]

Hello, we are about to hire our first nanny and trying to wrap our heads around all the technicalities about becoming an employer and how to set up contracts/payment properly.

I'm on mat leave now and my plan was to spread my accrued holiday out for the rest of the year so that I'm effectively working part-time for a few months. This means the number of days would change slightly week to week/month to month - ie one week I would do 3 days and another week I would do 4, and the days themselves might shift around depending on when I can take off. From Jan/Feb I'm hoping to formalise a 4-day week contract but there's a chance I'll have to do 5 days/week.

So we're a bit confused about how this translates into a monthly pay slip and what the best way to set things up would be. Does anyone have any advice/experience with this? Thanks!!

My bosses have a varied lifestyle so I am paid for a minimum number of hours per week [50] with the option of working 5 days a week however often work only 4 days - any over time is paid extra, could that work in your situation - will the days be the same each week ?

We might face this situation in the future and I have given it some thought.

I think I am going to agree and annual number of hours and spread them over 12 months in the same way as our nanny gets the same pay whether she is working for us or on annual leave IYKWIM.

It will required v good hour counting and could all go acropper but I've not come with anything better

I might just hang around and see what people come up with if you don't mind.

And you work out holiday in number of hours pro rata. If you want her to take it all in term time/holidays/long days/short days etc then that needs to be discussed upfront and put in the contract.

I think Pacific's approach is best but you will need to find a nanny that your approach works for.

I would pay her for four days now, so that she has enough money to live on so that she doesn't have to go and get a second job. It may be more expensive but if you just pay her for 3 days she may need to get a different job which could mean you have no childcare in jan/feb.
She could come in on the extra day and help you with some stuff or do some batch cooking, keeping toys clean or just giving you a child free day

Annual hours I think would work. Holiday is minimum of 12.07% of working hours.

Have you actually found a nanny who is prepared to do this? Whilst you can work out how to do things, there is little point if no one will do the job.

I would decide upon a set number of hours per year, set salary, advertise that and see if there is any interest. If possible decide on some days as being fixed, so for example nanny will always work on a Tuesday and Wednesday. The more you can fix, the more you are able to give applicants an idea of when they will be working.

As someone else said you could just pay her for the 4days. I've seen jobs like yours for the first 3/4 months it's a few days a week then goes up to 5days a week the nanny working. Which has put me off applying I'm either working full time for one family or part time and finding a job to fit around it. Depending on the nanny if she can afford a 3day wage or the area if there's temp jobs to fit around it to you need her it may or may not work.

We are just in the process of changing nannies and one of the forms supplied by the payroll company we use states under 'what best describes your employment circumstances' as 4th possibility: "Working different hours during term time and the school holidays (annualised agreement)".
I gather from this that this is a recognised arrangement I may suggest that in the future.
It would save us 24 hrs childcare costs/week
If our nanny agrees to it of course.

Yes, before/after school in term time and full time in school holidays. Problem is, how many nannies would agree to that, it is not something that will suit that many people.

Childcare cost has to be viable for parents but it also has to be viable for the provider. Everyone has bills to pay and those bills (thanks BT for increasing fees by three times inflation) are for ever increasing.

Oh, I agree, Cindy.
I totally see that much as for me my childcare costs are high, what childcarers make is not a lot for what they do.

Thank you all so much for the insights.

We have a nanny who has accepted the offer but we need to sort out the contracts and details which is why I'm trying to get my head around it ASAP!

What we have come up with so far is that I would try to alternate between 3-day and 4-day weeks Oct-Dec so it ends up being 14 total days per month. She is really looking for 4-day min weeks (which is hopefully what it will become from Jan- poss up to 5 depending what my work approves) so that means she'd be short 6 days over the 3 months, so we said she could do 6 days in Sept as part of a settling in period to make up the difference, which she said would be ok. Trying my best to make it as reasonable as poss for her but also work for us too...

Still not too sure how to incorporate that into a contract though!! We are going to try and go through one of the companies to get some more advice but appreciate any experience/advice anyone here has!