Advice please - paying nanny holiday pay

[onedayatatime73]

Advice urgently required. I have got myself in a bit of a pickle.

We have a lovely nanny - been with us for a couple of years.

She's never been off sick with just the odd day or cold.

But before Christmas she ended up taking six weeks off sick due to an injury. Although we have a contact with her and pay her via nanny tax (so she is entitled to go down to sick pay not full time pay) we felt so awful for her we paid her full pay, and then paid another childminder. It cost a fortune and got us into a bit of a financial mess. The problem is she feels like part of our family. She lives down the road but doesn't have a partner and her children are all grown up. So we sort of feel responsible for her.

Anyway she now has an unforeseen illness and was off all of last week (which we paid her for as well as additional childcare). It now looks like she will be off next week and maybe the following one. I don't know how to tell her we simply can't pay her full pay as I feel so awful. But I will have to pay for someone else. She has said she can come but won't be able to leave the house or do normal duties. Which doesn't seem fair on her or the children? What do I do?

SICK PAY NOT HOLIDAY PAY! Sorry

You need to be honest with her, if you cannot afford to pay then you need to drop it to SSP.

I would wonder why she could come in but would not go out... Has she told you what the illness is? Having her come in may be better than children going to someone else, is there some compromise that could be reached, such as going to some things during the week?

She lives next door so easy for her to get here but not well enough to go out with 3 children. We don't really have a garden so they'll go crazy if just in all day. An not sure it's right for her anyway. She has told me what's wrong - a nasty illness and may take some weeks to recover. Just can't bear the thought of telling her am not giving her full pay on top of everything else but I can't afford it and can't get the time off work.

You have paid her in the past when you didn't have to do so, which is lovely of you but there is only so much of that which you can do. It probably isn't right for her to work whilst being unwell, so you don't want to encourage that but you do want her to return to work as soon as possible.

Paying a temp can be very expensive, so I hope she appreciates that you have done your best in the past but this time you haven't got the time off work or the money to pay two lots of salary.

A nanny does become such a part of a family that decisions like this are hard but sometimes you need to put head before heart. You need to keep your job, so that her job is kept open. You need childcare and that will cost you. Good luck with your chat with her.

Children are amazing! They know when someone is feeling a little off. I had double chest and ear infection, was ill for 2.5 weeks, we just stayed in. Charge played quietly, we did watch a lot of tv or I lay on the floor, wrapped up in a duvet and he just needed to have a chat and for me to join in with his game (speaking as a character he was playing with) he is normally non stop, very active, classes every day, needs stimulation little boy, he coped admirably! I went a little stir crazy when he came down with the same thing at the end of the second week and we had to stay in for another week while I was feeling better!!