Coronavirus- can nanny still work?

[ChloeR81]

Hi, hope I’m not duplicating a thread but I couldn’t find one.

I have a lovely nanny who comes 2 days a week. Where do we stand regarding isolation etc? Can she refuse to come to work when we’re all well? At what point would she be able to not come to work, e.g. what level of official lockdown etc.

Want to be totally fair to her and follow the rules, but equally if I don’t have childcare I can’t work and earn money to pay her. Thanks, it’s so difficult to navigate

In fact, even in the link you sent the bullet point says:

Public urged to stay at home and limit all but essential travel - people who can work from home should do so

Which is basically saying, if you can't work from home, you can keep going in. Essential travel is fine.

We’re doing 14 days self isolating as baby had a fever. So our nanny is at home for now. We’re planning on doing some sort of part time arrangement, and we’ll pick her up and drop her off if necessary. We’re not key workers but have a business with employees to run so can’t take time off indefinitely. Obviously I’d guidance becomes clearer we’ll reevaluate.

If my nanny didn't want to work I would accept that and continue to pay her so long as I am paid but she does, so I think we will keep going, but I will start picking her up and dropping her off by car so she no longer takes public transport.

Yes the rules say if you can work from home then you should. Nannies going into sole care should work if no one has symptoms.

Nurseries and school settings are different, they are stopping mass gatherings of children.

The parents I nanny for are both key workers. So they’ve asked me to work. But I also have my own children to care for , one high risk. Do I take them with me (this has been suggested) or say no to my parents? Where would I stand if I couldn’t work for key workers

I’m not sure how the financial compensation scheme will work. Your not being let go by your employer m, but equally if can’t prove because you have a high risk child and all have to self isolate then that would seem fair that the compensation applied to you

None of this makes sense.. social isolation means just that. If your nanny lives in and doesn't go out to shops, touch supermarket stocks /door handles/ trolleys .. travel on busses sit right next to other people, touch seats to hold on, strap hang from tubes... see people in her own home who haven't done e all the above - who could infect her ... then fine. Have her in and out of your house. !

The virus can be spread by people who show know symptoms. I can't believe people don't know this yet.

If you are a critical worker then kids can go to the schools accepting children for childcare. Nannies in and out of the house? Going to other people have the potential to take the virus into your homes. It's madness.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200316143313.htm

But it’s not a lockdown. You are suppose to limit contact where possible, eg not go to pubs and clubs and have unnecessary contact but there are provisions of where people are unable to work from home.

Every individual situation needs to be risk assessed.

Anyone coming into your home can bring the virus with them, undetected. That's the problem, it is putting your family at risk.

One trail of thought I have is that as a live-out nanny has been coming and going from your home over the last few weeks, then the virus may have already been transmitted. If assuming nanny has no already got the virus, then with less people out and about then there is less chance your nanny will pick it up but it's not a zero chance. Leaving their home they will be touching things that other's have touched - I now wear gloves to open the door of my block of flats for example to help reduce the chance of transmission but I will run out of disposable gloves fairly quickly.

Everyone I feel needs to risk assess and keep doing so as the situation is constantly changing.

A 'lockdown' is required when people can't work it out for themselves. FGS..

Of course you can go out if you want. You can do anything you fancy. You can invite all your mates round and have a party if your daft enough.. but if you can't work out that the chances of catching an INVISIBLE virus that can spread BEFORE you have any symptoms.. is multiplied exponentially by every place/person you see and every thing they touch then you really need to start doing some serious reading about epidemics and transmission.

Why do you think a CONSERVATIVE government has just ploughed 350 BILLION in to the economy and just promised open ended financial support for employees? Because t's'not that much of a worry ?'

Is your job worth risking your or your employers health for .. or any of the people you come in to contact with. The country needs everyone to do their bit to prevent transmission. You shouldn't need the government to tell you to do this. But they will because people won't think for themselves.

Well yes, unless literally nobody leaves their house for months on end there will always be a risk. There are risks of our nanny not coming. We'll also be continuing to food-shop and go out for fresh air and sanity, so. Obviously if there is a full quarantine, no nanny will be working.

From reading all the guidance my understanding is:

• group childcare settings are shutting to stop kids mixing in large groups, this is very different to a nanny doing sole childcare

• the advice is to limit social mixing wherever possible but not total lockdown with people never leaving their homes (yet), for those not in at risk groups.

• if you can’t work from home then keep going into work.

So from this, I'd take it that a nanny should continue coming to work until we go on total lockdown, unless ill.

Exactly OP

@Patchworkpatty The OP asked where she stood regarding the nanny and no one has suggested they are not taking the social distancing seriously.

I've been at home now for 3 weeks. I've not left since then, and am certainly doing my bit as far as isolation is concerned. I took my kids out of school before they shut again to minimise contact with others... but this could go on for a year, maybe longer. It's going to be nigh on impossible to never have any contact with anyone for over a year. There's risk from the postman, from touching my gate someone outside might have touched the day before.

If I know my nanny is coming to my house and staying here and just going home each night and going no where else, then I think that's responsible and fine. I think you're being a bit ridiculous to suggest otherwise.

If we get sick she can isolate for 14 days and of course if we get sick she will stay home. But as long as everyone is fit and healthy and the government say essential workers who can't work at home are to go to work, then she's going to keep coming here and she's happy with that too.

Go for it Cloudchaos the steps the government want you to take obviously don't apply to you.

If your job is critical, then it is a balance between the help you can provide to the fight against this epidemic versus the risks to your family and any consequential spread of infection your Nanny can bring in (and then out) of your house.

If your job is not critical then it's a moral choice between making money and risking health/spreading infection. That's your choice.

The current guidance as you've said is that people who can work from home should do - and nannies can't.

There obviously is a degree of risk, but it's much more controllable in a private home where you can constantly wash hands, clean surfaces and you're controlling who is going in and going out.

I would be unhappy if she was getting public transport to you for both your sakes, so I would go and pick her up if she doesn't drive.

Our contingency planning had been that DH would drive to pick up our nanny on a Monday morning, she would then stay at our place overnight until Thursday and we would drive her back Thursday night. She stays home all the time both at our place and hers. We are all from countries that have been hit earlier and hard by this virus and know how dire the situation is there so we probably understand better than most why just saying “we are all healthy, so it is ok” does not work.
However, latest guidance is stay home unless you do a critical job, so we are thinking she simply cannot come to work. Very hard for us as both kids have special needs and I am still working full days from home but cannot really see another way.
We will continue to pay our nanny as usual, obviously. Has anyone looked into whether the government scheme for workers who cannot work applies to employers of nannies?

@SuiGeneris as long as you're paying via PAYE then the 80% should apply to you so it should be covered.

@Patchworkpatty the government have said those that can work from home should, but those that can't don't have to. Can you please send a link to show this is not their advice as your last link just confirmed this! And we are complying with this. She can't work from home! You are being totally ridiculous.

If she doesn't go out except to our house, and we don't go out there is no risk and that's going above and beyond what the government recommend as they are still saying you can see people if you're 2 metres apart or in small numbers (Boris said he's seeing his own mother on Mother's Day) but I am not.

As I've said I've not left the home for three weeks as I've been social distancing long before the government have said anything. I bet you haven't been.

The reality is that even if the government pay 80% of her salary I cannot pay that for 18 months with her not helping. I won't be able to do my job with two kids under 5. I won't be able to find the 20%. I have considered quitting my job and giving the nanny notice as we don't need my income - but both jobs would have to go.

I suggest you re-read the government advice on social distancing as you seem to think we are in lockdown and don't really understand the concept of risk.

Cloud chaos
If the government say nannies can only work for key workers and you have to lay her off. Then you would claim 80 percent of her salary and pay that. You surely wouldn't have to make up the other 20 percent.
I'm a nanny I would just be pleased to receive that. I would be saving on travel to work.
But as a nanny I am confused, as havent seen it said officially that we can not work?
In France and other European countries people who cant work from home can still travel to work.

Yes @patchworkpatty you've misunderstood.
Even in Italy during the lockdown people went out to work. We need to have some semblance of an economy for when things do get back to normal.

Yes you're right @LottieBees19 the government haven't said nannies can't work.

I hadn't thought about just offering the 80% - I suppose the only risk with that is that after all this is over, I may not have my job to go back to, so I guess it all depends on that, but I will certainly look into this as an option if it comes to it in the future.

Nanny nick, the worry us that Nanny Tax are saying their not sure Nanny employers are going to get the 80% help.

Where are Nanny Tax saying it might not apply to nanny employers? I can’t see it on their website? I’d like to offer the 80% if we can but don’t want to find myself paying 80% for 3 months if the government refused to refund me

@LottieBees19 if the government says that nannies can only work for key workers then that will have to be followed. That is currently not the case though.

I’m sure there is a lot of people who would be happy to get 80% and not work. If everyone did that then we are in more trouble then Coronavirus

To be honest, if my nanny says she doesn’t want to risk coming to work anymore (even though the gov are saying continue going to work) I’ll have no choice but to give her a months notice...if I can’t work I won’t get paid and I don’t have the cash flow to cover 80% for months on end until I can reclaim from the government. People can’t just choose they don’t want to risk it and expect to sit at home getting paid. The country is in enough trouble as it is without everyone deciding not to work anymore!