Is your nanny returning now?

[Earlgrey19]

Is your nanny coming back to work now, if furloughed? metro.co.uk/2020/05/08/cleaners-nannies-can-go-back-work-long-symptom-free-12674435/

I’m not sure how I feel about this...

www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance#working-in-peoples-homes-as-a-tradesperson-cleaner-or-nanny

Guidance updated on 4th May clarified that nannies could work.

The tricky part is:
If you are a nanny, you should maintain a safe distance (at least 2 metres) from the household occupants you are not providing care for as much as possible.
Keeping 2m+ distance from other adults in the home can be tricky at times, such as hallways, stairs and kitchen but it does say "as much as possible" so does not have to be at all times. Be sensible about it.

Nannies have always been able to work as it's not a job that can be done at home.
The government have been quite clear about this. Yes many nannies have been furloughed as parents did not require them or the nanny requested ot due to being vulnerable or childcare issues.
You need to have a conversation with your nanny and discuss the risk assessment for the work place.
Can she have a designated toilet, bring her own food and utensils. Can you provide gloves for use for changing nappies, laundry, etc. Soap in kitchen , bathrooms, disinfecting products.
Can the adults in the house, older children social distance? I'm thinking aged 10 plus for this. Do you have a home office?
Does your nanny travel by public transport?
Try to minimise the risk , you cant take it away all together.
If you dont need her I believe the furlough scheme is continuing to June , after that you would be making her redundant.

Thanks!

Ours has worked throughout. As permitted by the rules.

Ours didn’t want to work and has been let go sadly.

162kool4skool

Ours didn’t want to work and has been let go sadly

I'm happy working at the moment as the family are working from home. However if/when child 1 and 2 return to school and child 3 returns to nursery, mum returns to tube commute the number of people I will be indirectly mixing with will be huge.
I'm considering giving notice. Very sad as a lovely family but I have my own risk factors. I think many nannies wont return to work. Either they will quit or the family will realise they can manage without the cost of a nanny.

@Florencemattell I think you are right. Everyone has to make their own choices in these new and challenging times.

Ours is coming back later this month after she has quarantined (due to her being in lockdown with a hospital worker).

Ours is refusing to come back as she says we won't be able to guarantee the 2m distance with 2 adults in the house (we honestly think we can, quite easily actually). We're still keeping her on full pay, and not using the furlough scheme as we're still earning, even if it means staying up to the early hours to get everything done. I'm beginning to wonder whether she's taking advantage, but I'm more worried about the children losing her than the money. And she may genuinely just be frightened.

But you'll never be able to guarantee 2m distance so shes basically saying she wont ever be back at work unless there is a vaccine?

It's very much a case of her saying 'let's wait and see what next lot of advice is'. We've been in agreement until now so it hasn't mattered. But I'm beginning to think she ought to come back soon, and she's continuing to think she should stay home.

DH and I will keep two metres from our nanny. The dc won’t, but we will. We will all take our temperatures every morning - we’ve given her a thermometer. Wash hands on arrival. Plenty if soap and hand sanitiser available all day. We will limit the amount of times we go to to supermarket so we are going to get all food in every two weeks and our nanny will give us a list of what she would like to eat. If anyone develops symptoms, nanny won’t come.

We’ve put all of this in writing too.

The guidance is quite clear that live out nannies can and should return to work if adequate measures can be put in place. There is a lot of government guidance on what those measures could be. I would suggest that you put it all in writing. Nanny should be willing to consider trying the arrangement if the measures are in place.

@LivingMyVestLife of course she thinks she should stay at home, she’s on full pay for doing noting. Indefinitely. My nanny tried same thing. I said no. She’s now my ex nanny. It was clear she was not going to feel comfortable coming back (absent a vaccine so possibly never?) and I didn’t want her turning up in full haz mat scaring the life out of my kids. She was fully content to sit at home indefinitely until I said it’d have to be unpaid leave.

And I also got the “let’s see what the Gov says next” line, that bought her months of paid time off followed by “oooh its still a bit risky isn’t it” and “ooh it’s difficult isn’t it”. In the end I’d had enough. Should add she’d not enquired once about the kids in all that time, had enquired several tunes about her pay though....

Ours has been coming throughout as per the guidelines.

We gave ours two weeks paid leave when lockdown started then she started coming again after Easter (as was permitted) and has continued to come. She is a nanny housekeeper so instead of 5 days a week she does 3 longer days to make fewer trips on public transport and we’ve flexed her hours so she’s travelling on near empty train carriages. Copious handwashing, gloves etc and DH and I stay 2m+ away from her. House well ventilated with doors and windows when she’s here. DDsare a bit older so she doesn’t need to “handle” or get too close to them either.

I have had to go to work throughout as a medic. No social distancing in my job. Our nanny has been amazing and stayed working throughout. If she had refused then I do not know what I would have done. Thankfully she saw herself as a key worker just as I do and was willing to take risks.

Those of you whose nannies have been coming for some time, may I ask, how often are you losing them for two weeks at a time because they have a cough or cold? My children are very young and I'm concerned about the prospect of her coming back for a week then disappearing again, on repeat.

Those of you whose nannies have been coming for some time, may I ask, how often are you losing them for two weeks at a time because they have a cough or cold?

My nanny has been working throughout the lockdown. She had to self-isolate for one week in March when she had a cough (no fever).

The testing capacity has been expanded so anyone who cannot work from home and has coronavirus symptoms can now apply for a test (instead of waiting for one or two weeks):

www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test

I never left! I’ve worked through the lockdown.

I'm a nanny and furloughed until further notice. I would quite like to go back now though. It's just a case of wait and see at the moment

“ Those of you whose nannies have been coming for some time, may I ask, how often are you losing them for two weeks at a time because they have a cough or cold?”

Not at all thankfully. It’s luckily no longer that time of year. As someone else said you could now get a test if a nanny developed symptoms.

Thanks winter and pickwick, I hadn't realised she'd be eligible for the test now. That's really useful to know. Fingers crossed she's getting used to the idea and will agree to come back next week with all the distancing and hygiene measures in place. If not then I'll have to find someone new, sadly. I can't get by on four or five hours' sleep indefinitely.

As previously said nannies could have always worked

Some nice employers did furlough their nanny and struggled to work at home and look after dc

Nannies who are on full pay obviously won’t want to go in

Bet if iou said ssp only due to refusal they would arrive to work

I’ve worked through lockdown as a maternity nurse

My family take precautions and tbh there’s no need for nanny and parents to be in same room let alone 2m rule

So not sure why so many are worrying

Of do they just not want to work