Can I run something by the nannies on here please...

[OuchyMcOuch]

Our nanny's usual hours are 1430-1930 three days a week. I texted her last week to explain what our arrangements were for half term this week, explaining that my kids were staying with my mum and dad last night and they'd be dropped off back at ours at around 3pm today.

On Friday evening my mum was called by the hospital treating her for a knee injury saying they had a cancellation on an appointment and could she come in for 3pm today (Monday). I duly texted our nanny on Saturday, and Sunday to ask if she could make sure she was at ours for 1430 (ie her contracted start time) so my parents could drop the kids off then. She didn't reply all weekend so I texted her this morning, and called her twice, only to get voicemail.

My parents dropped my kids back at our house and waited until 1445 and our nanny still hadn't turned up, they couldn't miss the appointment so they left, taking the kids with them to hospital.

Am I wrong to be angry that our nanny hasn't been in touch or even contactable all weekend and today? Do you respond to messages from your employers at the weekend/on your days off or is it unreasonable for me to expect to be able to get in touch with a nanny we employ?

Finally tracked her down... She'd broken her phone but she has an email address for me so she could have contacted me to say my phone is broken etc....

Am I wrong to be fuming about this?

Regardless of her contracted time you made other arrangements with her then changed it last minute, you should have honoured your agreement .
So she wasn't neccessarily wrong but she should have accepted your calls. For that I would have a word with her, communication is an important skill for a nanny.

If her phone really did break then how would she know you called? Unless you emailed her but you didn't mention in your post.

Forgot to add your nanny isn't obliged to be contactable at the weekend. Now I was during my time as a nanny but like an other employee her weekend is her own.
If I was regularly called and emailed by my boss at weekends I would resign.

You are fuming about your nanny not being contactable when she is not working for you? Wow. What if she wants to live without her phone for three days?

Poor nanny. She was nice enough to be flexible.

You asked her to be available from 3pm - she could have had her own doctors appointments, or arranged her time differently to make use of the later time or stayed in bed eating biscuits whichever she did, she is not unreasonable about not being there before 3pm

Generally I don't answer my phone to my employers at the weekend/days off.

And be careful if you talk to her. If my boss threw a tantrum because he/she couldn't contact me during the weekend (for change of plan), I would seriously be looking elsewhere. Just saying

I worked for an organisation where my boss phoned a colleague on a Sunday to talk about work, it wasn't an urgent matter and could have waited until Monday.

He was given a formal warning by HR and told that it is not acceptable to contact employees outside their normal working hours, and if he did it again it would result in dismissal.

I know you must be angry as it inconvenienced your parents, but it is not usually considered acceptable to contact employees outside of their working hours and if you mention it to your nanny she might consider you an unreasonable employer and look to leave.

I don't phone or text all the time, this was the first time. Plus if I sent her a message saying that my parents would be dropping the kids back at 3, and you're contracted to work from 2.30, do you all just assume that you're not expected to turn up at your contracted start time? Why on earth do we bother having contracts then stating start times then?

Are you for real???

I didn't say to be available from 3pm, I said my parents would be dropping the kids back at 3pm.... She's still paid to work from 2.30. I wouldn't dream of making an appointment during my employers working hours without getting prior approval.

Ohreallydear, yes I am for real. Sorry but I do not think it's unreasonable to be able to contact a nanny out of hours. My employers do it all the time to let me know if shifts have changed... I didn't ask her to do anything beyond what's contracted. I didn't expect her to spend hours doing complicated things on her off time, it would have taken seconds to have replied to a text.

Plus if I sent her a message saying that my parents would be dropping the kids back at 3, and you're contracted to work from 2.30, do you all just assume that you're not expected to turn up at your contracted start time?

Did you say "grandparents will drop off at 3 - which gives you 30 minutes of time to do nursery duties" or did you say "you can start at 3 next week as the kids will be at their grandparents"

I am contracted from 6am but if the kids aren't there or my bosses will be there until 9, then I wont be in before 9.

Well, next time, have your parents bringing the children back at 2.30 .

Did you make it clear that you wanted her to come at 2.30? She might have understood that she had to come at 3 pm (like everybody did on this thread)

I did contact the agency in recruited her through to find out if she had a landline number they hadn't passed on to me (apart from anything I was a bit worried something must have happened to her, that she might have had an accident or something) and they agreed with me that it wasn't right that she hadn't replied to my texts or contacted me to say her phone was broken. Maybe we're both totally unreasonable?

Why do you think it's unreasonable to not have any contact? My bosses sometimes text me and I may text back or if I have other things going on I may not read/reply etc.

They are an agency, ffs. You are a client and a potential futur client. Of course you are always right.

Seriously, do that poor woman a favour and fire her, you sound like a pain in the knee to work for.

I'm not a nanny but I didn't read it as you said she had half an hour off and could start at 3. If I was her I would have assumed turn up for work at 2.30 as usual and get on with sorting out some activities or tidying up some toys until the children arrived.

I assumed you were telling her the children were coming at 3.00pm so she wouldn't worry that the children didn't arrive at 2.30. I would be cross in your position - i'm not sure why you're getting a pasting

Dear girl... I wasn't as explicit no. I didn't say you don't need to come in until 3 or anything like that, I just said they would be dropping back at 3. During term time she doesn't have to collect the kids until 3 from school, but we ask her to come in at 2.30 specifically to give her 20 mins to get stuff out of the freezer for tea/collect wellies, umbrellas etc if it's raining. Her start time is 2.30 during term time even though the kids aren't there then.

Ginslinger, I don't either.

Cool as, I really don't think asking her to turn up at her contracted start time is chopping and changing things around massively.