What do you do if parent wants to take over the alloted holiday?

[IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece]

Been with this family for a few months, in the contract is 4 weeks holiday with a 50/50 split wrt choosing the days...I've chosen a week and they've booked several holidays over 4 weeks so even if I didn't choose another week, I'm still getting 1 week extra and 2 if I do choose another week

They want me to babysit for free to make up these extra hours but I have always said , to any family I've worked for, that if I'm available to work and you don't need me then I can either come in and batch cook etc on my usual days or not but either way I expect to be paid.

I've just come out of a shitty job and my perception is a bit skewed so id be interested to hear what other people do

TIA

My past few jobs I've always had it in my contract that I would be paid in full if parents go over their allowance of holiday. So many nannies don't have this in their contract so lose out on pay have to make up in babysitting for weeks and weeks. It's not fair and I personally would not be making up nothing. It's their choice to go away extra and it shouldn't affect you. Your next contract get it added in that you get paid in full. I'm sure if their employers were always away they wouldn't be happy losing out on pay or making up hours.

I'm a parent and only needed to have the concept explained to me once by our childminder - surely anyone can see that it's fair? I can see that they initially mightn't think about it from your viewpoint, especially if you're their first nanny, but your perception is bang on about thus one and I would not be impressed if they kept pressing for free babysitting.

No free babysitting. It is not YOU who wants additional holiday, it is that THEY are deciding not to need your services for a certain amount of time, in breach of your contractual agreement.

It is unusual in contracts these days for the holiday to be written in the contract as 4 weeks. It would normally be 5.6 weeks, from which bank holidays are deducted and then the remaining days are split in terms of choice, or some contracts will state that the employer decides all the dates (this is perfectly legal but tends not to be popular).

Refer to the wording of your contract and keep referring the parents back to that as that is your agreement. They as your employer have the duty of keeping track of holiday and they are able to grant/deny holiday requests you make. You can't deny them the ability to go on holiday, so when they decide to go away, it comes out of their share of the choice number of days. If they exceed that, then they pay you as usual and you either go in to work and do other reasonable duties or you don't go in.

If the parents do not understand the contract they have agreed, then get them to contact their payroll provider for advice.

Thanks all, we had a chat and she apologised for being presumptuous so it's all sorted....now my other family want to do the same for crying out loud!!

Not a nanny but our CM charges half for any holiday days we choose (but not for her holiday days). Our DC go on a Monday but we still pay half for bank holidays.

Unusually our nursery allow 4 weeks a year holiday without fees but anything over that (like you) we pay normal fees.

Always have in contract that if parents go over their allowance that I get paid in full and time off

Friend 'owes' back hours but I would never agree to that

We do 50:50 with our nanny too and any additional holidays we book we pay her in full. Any additional holiday she books we take in babysitting so she doesn't have to take unpaid leave. In reality she has had 4 weeks extra holiday (booked by her) in two yrs and we have only used 4 evenings babysitting.