Preparing to leave nanny job. Advice needed.

[lovehearts900]

Hi there!

I have never posted on mumsnet before but from looking at other threads I can see there is a lot of help and advice being passed around and I could really do with some advice from people who have employed nannies in their homes.

I am currently employed by a family who pay me pro rata for before and after school work with the children and more hours in the holidays. I have work with them for just over two years and everything is still great between us but in May/June time I will be applying to go back to school to become a teacher. My question is: As I am paid pro rata will I have to pay back money if I don't work through the summer holidays (longer hours). I haven't yet handed in my notice.

Any help would really be appreciated! Thank you ever so much!

Yes, that could be the situation depending how pay is calculated and when you started the job. If you work full time during school holidays then the bulk of your pay comes from those school holidays.

Does your work year run from beginning of September to end of August?

My work year runs December to November. Shouldn't that be written in the contract if that's the case? I haven't taken any of my holiday pay..don't know if that even makes a difference..haha..

If it had been say July to June, then it would make a difference as more of the hours are at the beginning of the year... but with year starting in December, your main bulk of hours for this year are going to be July/August so if you finish before then, you may be in an over payment situation.

Holiday is tricky in these situations, as there can be restrictions on when holiday is taken and taking it at different times (term time vs school holidays) a day can be worth different amounts. Look at how that has worked in previous years. If you are owed holiday, that could help reduce any overpayment.

If you are applying to be a teacher, would whatever you do not start until September? If you work the Summer, then that could help a lot in decreasing any amount owed by either you, or the family.

Your year may be:
13 weeks at 50 hours
39 weeks at 20 hours
Total: 1430 hours
You may have pay calculated as annual split monthly, so paid around 119 hours per month.
If you were to leave at end of June, you may have worked 800 hours but been paid for 833 hours.
If you were to leave at end of August, you may have worked 1160 but been paid for 1071 hours.
This is just an example, it will depend how your pay is calculated but I hope it shows how the more of the summer months you work, the lower the over payment.

You need to discuss with your boss when the time comes.

So, they can't make deduction from your wages unless it says so in your contract (and in many contracts it does). However, they will have to factor in the holiday that you haven't taken and it may be that it works out about even - it depends on your personal circumstances.

Either way, morally you would owe them the money and you will need a reference before you start teacher training anyway (my current au pair is starting her teacher training soon and I've had to sill in several). If you do resign before the summer holidays I would offer to pay the extra money back, they may well say keep it.