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...

Yes it’s funny what withdrawal of free pay can do to focus the mind.
Its a double whammy for nanny employers. We have to not only pay for a service we re not getting (out of taxed income with no tax relief) then we also have to do the nanny’s actual hours ourselves for no pay, whilst also doing our own jobs and whilst the non working nanny also accrues holiday which we then also pay for.
I have to say, after this experience I’ll never hire a nanny again. I thought 6 weeks full pay holiday and paid sick was bad enough but this current situation takes the biscuit. Some people are working in supermarkets or hospitals seeing dozens of people a day. A nanny is being asked to see a couple of young kids. Its hardly comparable.

@2kool4skool heaven forbid your nanny should be entitled to holiday and sick pay Yes I agree that nannies should be at work if they're needed and shouldn't expect to stay at home on full pay but when you employ a nanny you become an employer and your employee is entitled to the same rights as any other employee

Paid sick leave, that really is bad enough isn’t it bloody nannies, wanting the moon.

when you employ a nanny you become an employer and your employee is entitled to the same rights as any other employee

exactly, that's why I'm never doing it again. It's just not for me. I accept the hols and sick but when you are an individual paying it (rather than a business) it's painful. But yes, that's the law, fair dos.

For me though it was the "i'm not coming in, indefinitely, but you will continue to pay me full pay whilst you do my job for me" attitude that took the biscuit. I'm also trying to work myself so doing my job and hers but paying her til what...she's feels like coming in?

‘Doing hers’ aka looking after your kids 😂 are you doing her job for her then? Or just looking after your own children like other parents do? What do other parents call it when they don’t have a nanny?

‘Doing hers’ aka looking after your kids

If kool4skool continued to pay her nanny in full then yes, she was doing her nanny's job.

What do other parents call it when they don’t have a nanny?

But parents without a nanny do not pay anyone for looking after their children, do they?

What do other parents call it when they don’t have a nanny?

Unemployment for the nanny

And if I'm paying someone to care for my kids so I can work, how do I work when she doesn't come in?
Do you also consider a nursery isn't "work"?

@2kool4skool I take your point that a nanny demanding full pay while refusing to work isn't right. You probably need to give her the choice of either returning to work or taking redundancy. But the idea that a nanny's job is in any way less valuable than your own is pretty grim.

I'm lucky to have been furloughed but I know my family value and respect me and my choices. I'm not "staff" I'm an employee and deserve to be treated as such

But the idea that a nanny's job is in any way less valuable than your own is pretty grim.
I don't think I said that, I certainly don't think that. To the contrary, to me her job is as equally important as mine. I need her to do her job so I can do mine. If she doesn't, I can't do mine and I don't get paid. But I still have to pay her not to work.....that's the issue. My annoyance comes from her thinking that's a fair situation.

Why are you paying her in full

You need your nanny to work

If she is refusing then sack her

Other nannies are working. Could always work

If she is shielding then ssp

She will make her choice

Ours has said from the outset she will take our lead and is genuinely happy to come in whenever we need her. We've muddled through 10 weeks nearly of DH and both FT work with primary aged children, and it has nearly broken us, but none of us have got ill so that's the main goal achieved.
Our plan is to bring her back after half term, by which point hopefully infection rates will have had another 10 days to drop and we'll know if there is looking like a second wave.
I will hide in my office desperately trying to catch up on work the entire time she's here. Also think we'll ask her to bring her own mug/water bottle/hand towel etc.
I also would like to have her back and settled in case we decide not to send DC back to school if we are offered a place in late June/early July - really can't make up my mind about that right now.

I have been furloughed but my bosses know I am happy to come back as soon as they need me. I’m desperate to go back!

My only worry is that I work for two different families so not sure if this will still be feasible.

Is anyone else currently working for two families as normal and if so how are you going about it in terms of the risks with mixing households?
I have my own car, go to shop once a week and live alone so fairly low risk I think

I think Advice was one household

Tho that was at the beginning when Nannies were still working regardless

May be diff now

Maybe look on gov site

I’m in a real quandary about this.

Our nanny is currently furloughed but now happy and keen to return. In many ways we’re desperate to have her back, not least because working 2 jobs whilst looking after two toddlers is nigh-on impossible.

But I’m really worried about the risks - nanny lives with a frontline hospital worker and also has a second PT caring job. I know statistically the risks to kids is low but I feel like I shouldn’t be putting them in harm’s way if it can be avoided.

That said, the current juggling is unsustainable and I can’t see the virus going anywhere for a long time... I just don’t know what to do!

Thanks Blondes.
I did have a look on the gov website (I should have said sorry) but could only see childcare information relating to England. I am in Scotland.

Was just curious if anyone else has had an issue as I’m so worried about not being able to go back to both jobs if it is just one household.
I can’t afford to only be working for one family.

@nannynick can you help

Nick is like a bloodhound

He will be able to find a link

@bumblenbean is your nanny furloughed due to high risk

Can you get a temp in. Or don’t want to do that

Or maybe get her tested to see if a carrier

There is nothing definitive about going to multiple jobs, or about children attending multiple childcare settings.

It is something that DfE and Ofsted are possibly looking at, as it has come up with regard to people providing wrap around care such as a childminder taking/collecting children from school. Early years workers having other work as well.

Ideally I suppose people only do one job and children only attend one setting but in reality that is not always what happens.

Hi blondes we furloughed her at the start as none of us were crystal clear on the guidance and we all wanted to minimise risk.

We did actually pay for her to have an antibody test as she was really ill in February, but sadly negative result so she hasn’t had it.

Temp is a good idea but I guess there would still be risk as you wouldn’t know what they were doing outside of work and also the kids are very attached to our nanny (they’re only 1 and 2 so would be hard to build a relationship from scratch for a short period).

Nightmare

@bumblenbean the risks to your children are really vanishingly small - really. I'm afraid that you might have to accept some risk as you can't keep the children inside your house for well over a year (I work in health research and the likelihood of a vaccine in September is remote). Statistically your children would be more at risk cycling to the park. Having another person come into your house would of course raise the risk to you and your partner as adults you are more at risk - but then assuming no one is shielding and your nanny stays home as soon as showing any symptoms again you may find the risk is tolerable. Your choice of course.

Thanks kale - I know you’re right that the risks are small and that at some point a level of risk (to us at least) will just have to be accepted.

Before the Kawasaki thing was flagged up I wasn’t too worried about the kids but now of course I’ve homed in on that, even though it looks To be very rare. Ideally would rather DH and I didn’t get covid either - we’re statistically low risk but you never know if you’re going to get complications I guess.

I think my anxiety is colouring my view - rationally I know we have to do something, but it’s hard to ignore the nagging thoughts about it.

Sorry for slightly detailing the thread OP!

Thanks Nannynick. Il see what’s announced tomorrow then have a chat with both employers again.

I just wanted to update as there have been some less than generous comments about nannies on this thread and I'm afraid I've contributed. I spoke to our nanny this afternoon and she's coming back next Tuesday. Turns out we were at complete cross purposes. She thought we weren't keen for her to come back and was worried we were going to let her go because we were managing so well. Hence the odd tone in her messages. So she was actually relieved when I came out and asked her. I feel terrible for having doubted her!

@living thats good, its all sorted :)