Advice needed re part-time nanny's holiday pay

[Takenoprisoners]

Hi there

I wondered if any nannies/employers out there could give me a bit of feedback, please? I have not hired a nanny before, and we have just found a lovely one for two days a week, roughly 16 hours in total. How does 10 days paid leave per annum sound? Too mean? Too generous? She will be able to take her holidays when she likes, and be on unpaid leave when we take ours - up to a max of 10 days, thereafter paid.

Any advice greatly appreciated, as I am drawing up her contract tomorrow! TIA x

The 10 days unpaid leave when you are on holiday sounds quite harsh - that is 5 weeks without being paid. Or is this normal with nannies?

Thanks for replying, Bozza! I don't want to be harsh with this nanny as she is so lovely and I want to make sure her conditions are good. Wouldn't it be two weeks - or 10 working days - without being paid? I want to be able to give her the flexibility to take her paid holidays whenever she likes in the year - as I gather lots of families expect their nannies to take their holidays when the family does. I thought that giving her a min fixed number of unpaid holidays (i.e. when we go away) would get around this?

That sounds fine - she is getting 5 weeks paid holiday a year and the option to take 5 weeks unpaid. It is her choice really - if she takes her holidays when you take yours then she will have no unpaid weeks.

Well I suppose she could opt to take her hols (or at least some of them) when you are and then expect to get paid, or she could take them at other times but not get paid when you are on hols IYSWIM.

My take on it was that she is working a two day week so you are offering her 5 weeks of paid holiday but also expecting her to take 5 weeks of unpaid leave. A week is not 5 days, it is 7 days, but the usual working week is 5 days, your nanny's working week si 2 days. Do bear in mind that I don't really know what I am talking about, but at least I am bumping your thread so somebody knowledgable might come along.

Yes, that was my thinking Soapbox - to give her the choice. Thanks.

Does anyone else think that, pro rata, that amount of holiday is okay for 2 days per week?

I think 5 weeks hols is fine.

Thanks Bozza - I'm not sure what I'm talking about either with days/weeks either ... arrrgghh, it's so confusing. But yes, basically, she has a fixed number of paid days that she can take when she wants, and/or combine with unpaid leave when we go away. I'm just wondering now if the days I'm offering are generous enough ...

Great!

You have to:

Give her 4 weeks hols.
Give her bank holidays off.
Pay her if you decide she is not to come to work for any reason.
Pay her maternity pay if she turns up pregnant (I recommend a fixed term contract to minimise damage to you here)

So, she is entitled to 8 days off paid hols. She is entitled to have bank holidays off, but you do not have to pay her for these days (hoever most people do). If you pay her for bank hols you can count those days as part of her holiday entitlement. This is perfectly legal, however, most people don't do this.

As for when she goes on holiday, you can choose. So, for you 5 weeks of holiday you can tell her that that is when her holiday is as well. However, you probaby won't have a very happy nanny if you do this.

That's nice and clear Eleusis - thanks

Yeah, Jura, big old softie... and they still leave.

We are going to be very sad when current nanny leave. She promised DD that she would come back in a month or so and take her to Legoland. (DD is easily bribed)

Can't really put the legal position better than eleusis but I'll add my tuppence anyway...
i am employing a nanny two days a week. She has four weeks paid leave plus Xmas week (so 5 in effect); also paid bank holidays.
The issue about who chooses what holidays and how to avoid paying for endless extra weeks holiday when you are away is a tricky one. In my contract I stated that the nanny can choose 2 weeks holiday and we will choose 2. In reality, we will be away for at least 5 weeks, all of which will be paid (I really don't think you can get away with this being unpaid leave - she is available for work after all). The nanny can either choose to align her holidays with ours, which will be nice for us, or she can take an additional 2 weeks when she chooses. She seemed happy with this arrangement, which I think is a compromise between allowing the nanny some choice of holiday whilst not ending up with 10 weeks paid holiday...
hope that helps!

All Nannies are mad in a way, have to be!

Hmmmm ... I see what you mean, Jura! Thinking now it would be best to suggest to her she chooses 5 days and I choose 5. This is exactly what I wanted to know, as, tying myself up in knots, I'm worried I'm going to be giving her a raw deal before we've even started! I'll be paying Bank Hols as well. Thanks everyone!

Thanks Elliott. You sound like a lovely employer! I shall try to emulate you .

Okay, off to the park now the sun's shining - will check back later if there are any other thoughts on this - my head is like cotton wool, so you've all helped. xx

I don't think I'm that nice - she only has 8 days leave officially (plus Xmas) which is less than you're offering! But yes, I think she ends up with a good amount of paid time off.

I go with what Eleusis has posted, except for the bit about Bank Holidays.

I am not convinced as yet that an employee can insist on having Bank Holidays off (regardless of the pay situation). For example, TSSA say "Only bank workers themselves are entitled to bank holidays. For all other workers there is no automatic right to take bank or public holidays as paid or unpaid leave. Any right to do so depends on the terms of your contract."
Anyone know any legislation that states if employees have any rights to taking bank/public holidays off? An employee can certainly ask for it off, but as I see it, the employer can refuse.

This may all change towards the end of this year... see DTI: Holiday Entitlement which if it goes ahead will see holiday entitlement rise to 28 days by end of 2008.

I feel that you providing 5 weeks holiday entitlement (thus 10 days as it's pro-rata) and adding a clause such that 5 days are of the nannies choice, and 5 days are your choice, then that should cover it, especially if you are also giving paid time off for bank holidays in addition to those 10 days.

28 days of hols?!?! Is that REALLY necessary? Well, I did read that includes the bank hols. So, if you give 20 days plus bank hols then there is no change for you.

Well, I'm meeting with her this morning to discuss it all, and am a little keyed-up over it (not done this before ...arrgghh), but I'm sure we'll work something out. She seems very reasonable and has had lots of experience - unlike me