Annual Review - Raising issues with boss

[KatieNanna]

I have been in my job for just approaching 2 years and will be sitting down with my employers next week to discuss progress etc. I like the job and although things are changing with children going to school/nursery etc.

I want to raise some issues that I am struggling with and don't know how to phrase it.

1. My hours - my bosses both work in the city and as such have hectic work diaries. When I started I worked 8-6 5 days a week however this has gone up [not a problem] due to workloads in the past 6 months; with me working an additional 10 hours a week; often working 12 hour days. HOWEVER; this is when the problems start - these hours/days are different each day/week, with my boss emailing me my hours late on Sunday night. This has a knock on effect on both work plans [if mum has a late meeting she may not leave until 10am - so may have to cancel day trip plans - or adjust timings etc for appointments - ie having to still go in at 9 because we have the dentist, instead of allowing for a 10am start.

1. Although I am told I will finish at ... time; I find that both parents often come in a couple of minutes late each evening for example saying I finish at 7pm, then coming in at 1904 and asking about our day. I have also had evenings when I get a call saying they are on a later train than they should be - no apology. As it is a 50 minute commute this means that this has a knock on for me leaving - ie they get the 1755 which gets in at 1845, getting a phone call at 1815 saying they've just caught the train means I leave 20 minutes or so late.

So how do I word this - They are good in all other areas and I would be happy to stay in my position for another year or 2 when the children go to school, however this is causing me to really get annoyed with them - not making for a good working relationship.

Regarding the hours, explain that it has started to impact on your own time/plans in the evening and would it be possible to email their schedule to you as soon as they receive it. They probably don't even realise it's a issue for you especially if you haven't mentioned anything yet. Review is a perfect time to bring this up.

Regarding handover, buy a diary or journal and fill in all the day's information. Then you only need to mention if there was an accident/fall/ sick child and they can refer to the diary for everything else.

best of luck

I raised my bosses being late and they just said charge them for the time - not really what I was getting at - Good Luck

Sounds like you are good at your job and valuable to them.. as a nanny-employer (former), they aren't being fair to you though - they've become reliant on your flexibility and are pushing it a bit.

I would probably pre-empt things slightly to prepare them; maybe say something like "I'm glad my review is coming up, I'd really like to speak to you about my hours". Then you can mention that you love working for them, the children are great, you'd really like it to continue but you need a bit more reliability on the finish time, and you'd like to be out of the house by 7pm every night unless it's an absolutely emergency.

You need to raise it, otherwise they won't know it's a problem.

Agree with bbc

Do they ever offer to drop you home or pay for a cab if they make you miss a train?

Do they pay an overtime rate?

Would you be happier if they made your hours 8-7 every day? And whilst they can ask for extra they shouldn't be able to pay you for less if that's their choice.

As a nanny employer I try to stick to an 8-6 as it's a long day at the coalface of small children and it's in my and my children's interest that I don't take the pss. Emailing you on a Sunday night is totally taking the pss though.

Two approaches to take - either it doesn't bother/impact you unduly in which case I would discuss an overtime rate for any time beyond 7pm. I see parents with children in nurseries leave the office like scalded cats in the evenings as they'll be charged £30 per additional 15 mins or whatever. That should focus their minds somewhat.

You could suggest that you will only do overtime on Mon/Tues/Thurs? And that they need to ensure that one of them is home by 6.30-7 sharp on Wednesday and Friday so you can have a life too.

Alternatively you could suggest time off in lieu provided it's a Friday afternoon or a Wednesday am or whatever suits you, booked in advance with 10 days notice.

A lot depends on your employers, the jobs they do and the level of flexibility they enjoy with their employer. Before you talk to them, try to decide what you want to get out of it. If they say yes, and it's not actually the outcome you wanted you could be stuck with it.