Pregnant nanny

[cakesandphotos]

I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant and I work part time as a nanny. I haven't told my boss yet but plan to before the summer holidays as I might struggle with having all the children all day.
I'm not massively clued up on my rights as an employee (first pregnancy) but as far as I know, I have the same rights as any other employee.
I think realistically I won't be able to return to the job after delivery because they have 4 children, including twins and they're a handful so I can't imagine adding a newborn into the mix would be easy! Would this effect my mat pay? Do I need to tell my boss that I probably won't return when I tell her I'm pregnant? I do feel slightly guilty about leaving them but I keep reminding myself that I have every right to have a family!

Do you mean you won't return even after maternity leave? I think if you don't go back to work then you have to pay back your maternity pay X

ok, worth knowing, thanks

You only have to pay back your mat pat if it's above the government smp i believe, unless it's different when you're nannying. I wouldn't tell your employer you were planning not to return until closer to your date of return.

www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights

You definitely DONT need to pay back any statutory maternity pay. If you have enhanced maternity pay in your contract (don't think I've ever heard of any nannies having that) there may be a clause saying you'd need to pay it back if you don't return. You have all the same rights as any other employee does, including time off for antenatal appointments. You don't need to tell your boss you won't be coming back, although she might guess! Currently on maternity leave myself, not returning to my current position because they don't want to have a nanny bring their own baby, but have fortunately sorted a new position for Sept. Best of luck!

There is no right to bring baby to work with you, there is a right for the job to be kept open for YOU to return to it. Though a redundancy situation can occur, such as they no longer need childcare if that type.

www.maternityaction.org.uk contains lots of info about maternity rights.

You do not need to make a decision about your return to work until near the end of your maternity leave. 8 weeks notice of return to work date. Employer should assume that you will take off the full 12 months, though often it is a shorter period of time as not all 12 months is paid.

SMP (if you qualify) is paid by Government, via your employer.

You don't need to tell them you won't be returning. But why wouldn't you? They still have to pay your maternity pay until they get an official letter of resignation from you.
Nanny employers get reimbursed for the SMP they pay to you, so they will not be out of pocket therefore shouldn't pay you begrudgingly.

One thing to be aware of is that if you're on maternity leave you can't start another job without it affecting the payments.

And yes, you're right, they have to act like any other employer. They should risk assess the job to find the problem areas (eg, heavy lifting - I was banned from bringing in the food shop, lifting children in & out of the bath, carrying children up & down stairs, etc). This is not always possible in a nanny job, so if you and your bosses can't come to a safe compromise you may have to be signed off long term sick! (they CAN NOT make you redundant or fire you for this!)

Congratulations!

Oh gosh, heavy lifting is a problem with 21 month old twins!! I've stopped lifting them both up together and they're at least at an age where they can hold hands to go up/down stairs but there's a certain amount of lifting involved. I figured it was ok as I've been doing it for a year so my body is used to it. I'll have to tell them quite soon then

Obviously you have to be careful with lifting but pregnant mums with toddlers still manage to get their children in and out of high chairs, car seats etc and manage to get their shopping.

Tbh if they are 21 months old now, you should be OK. By the time you're further along there will be a lot less lifting involved and as a PP said, all pregnant parents with older children cope X

Stating now that you will not be returning would be best for your employer, whereas keeping your options open might be best for you.

If you can't have all the children all day over the summer, is there a solution you can propose such as holiday clubs which might work?