I agree about trying not to include babysitting in the contract. Most nannies will willingly babysit at request but they do also have their own life to lead so may not want to commit to doing a certain number of hours babysitting a week - some weeks it may not be convenient.
our usual babysitters round here charge £5-6/hour
A nanny would want more than that. So it may actually cost you less to have one or two local babysitters to call on for babysitting rather than using your nanny.
Monday, Tuesday Wednesday & Thursday: 7.30am – 7pm
I like fixed hours like that, as you know what time you have to be in work each day, not having variable work start times.
actual hours worked may be different each week.
But you are saying that it is 7.30-7pm?
Any hours above 40 will be paid on a hourly basis each month.
Yep, occasional overtime is to be expected.
Usual week will probably be: Monday & Tuesday: 8am – 6.30pm, Wednesday 8am – 10pm, Thursday: 9.30am – 3pm
I would avoid variable start times. Some nannies will be flexible but they will usually want there to be a pattern so they know when they are working and when they are not. They can then occasionally do earlier start, later finish.
Duties will change over time. I would be clear that you want a nanny who will take children out on trips but as you have school aged children then trips during term time will tend to be quite local and longer trips would be during school holidays.
Some cleaning duties if required to maintain house (we have a weekly cleaner) – hoovering, wiping table / counters, dishwasher duties etc
It is good to mention that and you should discuss it at interview. Your standard and their standard may differ though for the right childcarer you won't mind that much about that as the focus is childcare not cleaning. You just need someone who is willing to do tasks as they need doing.. so if the dishwasher is full, stick it on. What you don't want is a nanny who refuses to put things in the dishwasher as it 'is not their job'. You want to find someone who fits in to your family, who becomes part of it, who takes care of your children and your home.
Doing kids washing and ironing and putting their clothes away
I don't do much ironing. Have mentioned this before! I do a little now, as the children I nanny are older and have things like Beaver scarf which needs the occasional iron. Be clear about what items need ironing and what do not - don't make a huge of ironing as many things do not need ironing these days if they are hung to dry. You want your nanny to focus on your children, whilst keeping on top of the wash mountain.
In terms of household duties, the youngest should sleep for 2/3 hours
At the moment yes but this will change as you know. It will also change if they are ill, if they have had a bad night, all sorts of things can send them out of routine. So household duties need to adapt to the conditions on that particular day.
I would expect to pay for petrol in our car or a mileage allowance in their own car (40p per mile). Isn't that usual??
Thanks Cindy for mentioning the article... Nanny Mileage Allowance Payments.
Having a fixed per mile rate is fine and you can pay as much as you like. After 45p per mile it becomes a taxable benefit, so the most paid is usually 45p. You can pay less and you can justify doing so if the nanny does not have high fixed costs (such as insurance) for providing the car. It could be argued that the nanny may buy a larger car, better car, more reliable, replace it more often, than they might if they were just using their car for commuting but this is hard to factor in to any cost calculation. You need to consider what you feel is a fair rate to pay and your nanny needs to to consider what is reasonable. For example, short journeys are costly - driving round town puts pressure on car parts, more gear changes, more breaking, not getting up to speed to charge battery properly, more fuel used. Long journeys by comparison can use less fuel per mile as the engine is more efficient at higher speed and not having frequent slow/stop. I take children on quite long trips out and when I do so, I do 1/3 mileage. For local trips I put in for the mileage actually used. I buy a new car every 5-6 years especially for the job and provide by own carseats. It is costly but essential. So I like to get 45p per mile but in return I do try to provide as reliable a vehicle as I can.
What do you think the normal range for pay is? I've seen £9-10 per hour net in other local ads, does that sound right?
Possibly a little on the high side if rural, probably about right for someone qualified and experienced. Someone just out of college, or straight from a nursery job may accept less. So offer what you feel is reasonable and put the salary in your job ad, or at least a range.
Ok so does this sound better in terms of hours:
Monday and Tuesday: 7.45am – 6.30pm
Wednesday: 8am – 11pm
Thursday: 9am – 3pm
Not in my view as the start time is changing quite a bit.
With school aged children the morning 7am-9am slot is I find the tricky time, as you need to get all the children up, dressed, fed, bags packed, coats on, to school on time. Some days it goes smoothly, other days it is a bit rushed.
my husband is often home and picks the kids up at 5.30 or takes them to school himself
Having a parent take the older children to school, while the youngest is throwing a tantrum over getting clothes on can be a real help. Also works when older children throw a tantrum over things, such as last minute homework or needing to take something in which they can not find. Instead of two children being late, one can still get to school on time and the other follows with parent once they have sorted out whatever the issue was about.
If you have nanny start at 9am, then does DH really want to be getting all the children up every Thursday morning? He may like the idea now but is he actually doing it all himself now?
I can offer someone this but I would then need to be very clear that we expect some flexibility on an adhoc basis (maybe once a week come at 7am instead or stay until 7pm on an overtime rate). Does this sound better/fair?
Some nannies will agree to a level of flexibility but you need to set clear expectations and realise that it may not be convenient sometimes. With Mutual Consent - it works quite well but if you INSIST that they start early one day, they may resent it over time. You need to find a nanny who fits with your family - who realises that there are times when they need to be flexible and who will try to do whatever you require. It comes down to finding the right person - a job description, a contract, sure they help but you can't force someone to be someone they are not... they are either going to fit in, or not.
My job often has peak times during the year where I have to work late for a few weeks/travel.
If planned well in advance that can work out well. Your DH may well get home early some days during that time, so the 40 hours per week may get changed around a bit during that Peak Time.
In reality they are going to work much less hours than even set out above as my husband is often home and picks the kids up at 5.30
Would he really be wanting to take over fully at that time? He may prefer to spend some 1:1 time with a particular child - such as reading youngest a bedtime story. Older children may have after-school clubs and other activities that mean that they are needing collecting (I had to take and collect from Beavers tonight... would be lovely to leave other children at home but without a parent at home they have to be dragged with me).
Unless he can guarantee to be home by 5.30 every day, or whatever days that would happen, then you need a bit of overlap time. Letting nanny go home early builds up brownie points for when you call from the train saying it is stuck and you have no idea when you will be home.
Avoid clock watching too much as that is where nanny:employer relationships I feel can breakdown. This is why I like annual salaries, not hourly, as like everyone else a nanny is not really paid per hour, they are paid x amount for working y hours per week. There is then overtime if it is required (in reality some nannies will be happy to work longer one week and a little less the next week - this is the flexible part coming in). Other nannies will clock watch and expect to start on the dot, go home on the dot, which may work in an office environment but in nannying I am not so sure it works that great.
Fixing hours as much as possible also helps with holiday entitlement - it gets very messy very quick if you have highly variable working hours.
Yes there will be times when a parent plus nanny are at your home but this is the time when attention can be paid to a particular child, when household duties can be caught up with, when you have time to chat about how things are going and what needs to happen to make it better for everyone.