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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

What do you do about your nanny when you go on hols?

38 replies

MrsFogi · 29/09/2006 15:43

Does she come with you/get paid and not work/enforced holidays for her etc etc?

OP posts:

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DarrellRivers · 29/09/2006 16:00

Generally, we split her holiday in half, so she gets choice of 1/2 dates and we choose the other 1/2.
i get more days off work than she does so i generally have a few extra dates in hand, which I can give her extra day off(paid) if we take extra holiday .Overall, we both have had to be flexible.

Uwila · 29/09/2006 16:23

Either. If you want her to come with you, then you pay her travel and accommodation and pay her in the usual way. If you want her to take her holiday when you take yours, that fair too. But I would only do this if planned well in advance. If DH and I up and decided to run off on hols next week, I would turn to the nanny and say "Oh your taking 5 days hols next week". I suppose you are legally within your rights to do that, but I dare say nanny wouldn't be impressed.

I'm an obsessive compulsive planner type. So nanny and I sit down and agree the holiday dates when we sign the one year contract.

Original poster

MrsFogi · 29/09/2006 16:34

Both ways sound good - I can't decide whether I'd want the nanny on hols with us or will want to have dd/our little family all to myself while on hols (but then I wonder if I'll really get a holiday).....

OP posts:

Uwila · 29/09/2006 16:42

You could bring her along and shift her hours round. Like take the kids with you during the day and let nanny off on her own. Then, she's on duty in the evening and she can eat with the kids and you and hubbie go to dinner in peace. That way you can spend time with your kids, but still get grown up dinner time. And nanny will probably be happy because she will get a lot of free time during the day and basically a free holiday (although it's not entirely a holiday because she'll have to work in the evening)

wakeupandsmellthecoffee · 29/09/2006 19:08

but if she comes on holiday with you thats still classed as working so she is still entitled to her for weeks paid holiday a year 2 weeks her choice and 2 weeks your choice.

Uwila · 29/09/2006 19:38

yes. I just meant that since she would get most of her time off (i.e. all day) she would sort of end up with a (mostly) holiday for free, in addition to her holiday.

CountessDracula · 29/09/2006 19:40

I tie mine up and put her in the cupboard under the stairs

wakeupandsmellthecoffee · 29/09/2006 20:26

hi uwila, not being picky but mostly dosnt cut it with most nannys they still want their four weeks . I suppose because they are still working some of it .

wakeupandsmellthecoffee · 29/09/2006 20:31

uwila ignore me if I sound rude ,I have that flu bug at the moment and feel rubbish . I just wanted to put a point of view into the equation as the nanny might still want to take four weeks holiday .

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 29/09/2006 20:42

don't think uwila was implying otherwise. she's a stickler for details and contracts etc. . in answer to the op the important thing is to have it all clear in your contract. our's has 4 weeks leave a year of which 2 she can take when she likes and 2 are to be taken when we like. in theory that would give us scope to ask her to come with us on hols but havent yet done it. We tend to self-cater - usually with friends and never part feel particularly inclined to go out at night - plus taking her would just be too expensive. we costed it for skiing once and decided a. it was too expensive. b. you really do need f-t childcare when you're skiing and I'd feel insufferably mean heading for the slopes every day so would end up giving her lots of time off, which would defeat the object.

Uwila · 29/09/2006 21:15

Yes yes yes she would still have her four weeks holiday. How many times shall I say it?

wakeupandsmellthecoffee · 29/09/2006 21:17

Sorry I really do feel crap I knew my brain wasnt in gear .

DominiConnor · 29/09/2006 21:32

I think if we require her to come, that's work, and doesn't count as holiday.
Our view is that two(ish) weeks have to be taken at the same time as ours, but we feel obliged to give a good long notice so that she can plan.

When we've taken a nanny with us, she's been happy to count this as holiday, and in return for us footing all the bills, she helps out a little with the kids.

Although there is a legal aspect to this, I think the main issue to to negotiate reasonably, not push them into giving up their hols.
They may actually want to come, since often you are able to afford a better holiday than she can, and of course the marginal cost of one extra person is very low on some types of holiday.

We also have what we label "random days". On top of the 4 weeks and bank hols, we do long weekends etc, and those aren't counted as holiday but she's free to go off, sleep etc. Conversely, these days are "free", so we choose them to suit us, but again to be reasonable we tell her when we know.

Uwila · 30/09/2006 14:58

DC, you take her with you and it does count as her hols??? And I thoought I was mumsnet grinch of nanny employers. HA! Title relenquished to you Almighty Grinch.

Bluebear · 30/09/2006 15:05

Can I ask a related question? I have seen a few nanny employer's say that they choose 2 weeks and the nanny chooses 2 weeks - do you expect your nanny to always have a week off at a time and do you expect more than a couple of week's notice?

Asking as my nanny has a chart with the 'number of day's leave remaining' and takes her leave as a day here and a day there, whenever she feels like it, and normally gives us a max of 1 week's notice. (Her contract says she must give at least a week's notice).
Don't think I'd change our system now, but it is her first nannying job and if everyone else has different expectations i will let her know before she leaves us next year.

Uwila · 30/09/2006 15:41

Hi Bluebear,
I wouldn't go for that. I can't really show up at work and say byy the way I'm not coming in next wendesday and then do it again in another few weeks. Also, I'm a planning freak. I want to know in January if I an taking aholiday in June. So, at the start of the one year contract, I ask the nanny to choose her time, then we discuss and agree on it. She does not have the right to pick whenever she wants. But, I am agreeable. For example, she chose the first two weeks of October because she is in a friends wedding in her home country. October is not exactly my ideal holiday time, but fair enough. She can't really miss the wedding. So we are bothe on hols for two weeks now. But, this was agreed many months ago. And, yes, I do ask her not to take a day here and a day there.

Uwila · 30/09/2006 15:44

Oh, and I forgot to say that I choose some dates before I ask her to choose hers. For example, I am American and Thanksgiving is a big deal to me. So that Thursday and Friday (Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday) are holiday. Same goes for 4th of July.

wakeupandsmellthecoffee · 30/09/2006 15:49

1 day here and there isnt always suitable .I usually take 2 weeks at a time . and the bosses take their two weeks when it suits them .

Bluebear · 30/09/2006 16:32

Thanks for your posts - I'll let her know - I have always managed to cope with her requests so far, but she wants to know why the nanny agencies put more emphasis on nannying experience than childcare experience (she has over 10 years as a nursery nurse)..This is the sort of thing that shows the difference.
We are moving out of the area next year and so will be parting company and I'ld like to think that she will be well-prepared for another nanny job, with a 'standard' nanny-employing family, rather than our mad-cap flexible household.

jura · 30/09/2006 18:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

annh · 30/09/2006 18:40

Actually, our house is normal when the nanny is here and seems to descend into chaos on weekends and pretty much the minute nanny walks out the door in the evening!

DominiConnor · 01/10/2006 13:54

Uwila, what precisely is your problem with reading ?
This is part of a pattern of stupidly misinterpreting my posts.

Just so you get in, I'll use short words (not the first time I've had to do this for you is it )

We offer the nanny the choice of going on holiday with us
We give them extra free holiday.

Which bit of that is too hard for you to understand ?

Ladymuck · 01/10/2006 14:19

Don't think it was just uwila - I certainly found the following statement confusiing, or st least contradictory with the rest of your post:

"When we've taken a nanny with us, she's been happy to count this as holiday, and in return for us footing all the bills, she helps out a little with the kids."

You're still paying her for the time, so of course she should be willing to help out. But your last post seems to make this clearer:- although your nanny is with you on your holiday, she isn't using her annual leave.

Ladymuck · 01/10/2006 14:23

Back to OP:- if our nanny comes with us on holiday, then that is not part of her leave enitlement. Our contract states that the nanny has to take 2 weeks worth of leave to coincide with ours (with planty of notice). We also have at least 2 weeks more where we are away but she continues to get paid. So overall it is not too bad a deal - she gets 2 weeks of her choice, 2 weeks of our choice, and still has paid leave for 2 more weeks when we are on leave.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 01/10/2006 14:32

dc - I read your post the same way as uwila. It was not remotely clear that you "offer" her the choice. Offering her the choice isn't the same as being "happy" to count it a hols. Don;t think you can pin this on stupid misinterpretation

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