Pay Sick Leave - Daily Nannies

[Gidleigh]

What is an acceptable normal number of days of pay sick leave entitlement per year before invoking SSP? My new nanny started in April and she has already taken 4 days of sick leave.

Jura,

Is SSP a right after 3 consecutive sick days? For example, my nanny has taken a total of 4 sick days spread across 2 consecutive sick days twice in 5 months? In the most recent instance, she has taken 2 straight days off but now back at work on the third day. I have paid her in full for 3 days in total but am trying to decide whether I should pay for the most recent 4th day off..

why is she saying she is unfit for work it seems very strange for a professional nanny to do this.
i am a nanny and would only not turn up for work if i was very ill.i had 4 days off with perfarated ear,but i was in the job 2 and half years and my boss new that i would not take days off with cold,flu.
i got a sick note, my boss payed me in full and i did some over time for free. my decison.
your nanny might think that it is fine to do this and as she is getting paid in full, not that worried.if she is like this after 5MONTHS i would think again about her.

We had an issue like this with a previous nanny.

I said to her we had paid full wage to date during her days sick but now we had exhausted all our free back up, and as her days sick really cost us, we sadly had to let her know that in future we would stick to the terms of the contract and only pay SSP. The next month she had a day or two off sick, noticed the impact on her pay packet and bingo! her health improved from then on.

At that time SSP was no money at all for the first 3 days of an illness and then some derisory amount. Do you subscribe to nannytax? They would know the current rates.

Thank you all for the helpful comments and tips!

we don't pay sick pay - apart from SSP. DP is self employed, if he has to stay home to look after kids he does not get paid, so we can't pay someone when we don't get paid.
Needless to say in two years nanny only ever had 1 day sick.

I got my fingers burned on this. Now we have clause in contract that sick leave pay is limited to SSP only, which works out at under £15 a day. Then with good nannies we pay them on top anyway, but it isn't a contractual right - that way you don't upset the great nanny who has a genuine illness, nor encourage the slack nanny to call in sick.