Nanny thats covering for Maternity leave is so much nicer. How can I keep her?

[ziopin]

Our nanny is off on maternity leave until Feb. We have employed a new nanny to cover her materinty leave. The thing is the new nanny is so much better than the original!

Have had loads of issues with the old nanny (cannot cook!, spends a fortune on activities every week £30+ and not to mention the £50.00 bank charge!. I would have got ridden but she fell pregnany within a few months of her working for us!

Have told her that she can come back (with baby) at the end of her maternity leave, but now am loving the new nanny!

To top it off, our eldest (13) has said that the old nanny never speaks to him, not ever a hello or goodbye while the new one will spend time helping him with his homework or asking him to come and play football over the park with them.

What to do????????????

Morning all. Have arranged for her to pop over on the weekend for a little chat! Will let you know what was said on Monday.

Thanks again for all your wondeful, positive advice. xx

Well done ziopin. Re-read this thread and your others before she comes round so that you remember just how awful she is.

Good luck!

Morning all!

Old nanny text me yesterday afternoon to say that she couldn't pop round! I texted her back to say that I would call round after work tonight, as I needed a quick chat with her.

She called me as waskeen to know what the quick chat was about!

I basically told her that I'd rather she didn't bring the baby back with her at the end of her maternity leave, as I would like my son to have a little one to one time with nanny, as he is in nursery every morning.

She was fine about it, and said that she would consider what to do over the coming months.

So I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

I had a big glass of red afterwards to congratulate myself on my assertiveness!! Thanks Eleusis that shake did me the power of good!!

Well done ziopin!

[big round of applause]

Here's hoping things get sorted out asap.

what will you do if she decides to come back without the baby??

Am not really sure TBH.

difficult one. I don't know the legal position with this. But if she came back, could you not then give her the required notice period? i've only used childminders so don't know how it works with nannies

If she is happy to come back without the baby, then you have no choice but to take her back and make the best of it.

You can't make her redundant and then employ someone else in the same job - you can only make her redundant if your childcare requirements have changed.

If you're not happy with her performance after she has returned, then you would need to have discussions with her about that, and give her verbal and written warnings, and if she did not improve you would then be able to sack her. However the chances of your maternity nanny being available then would be considerably less ...

Oh, sorry Ziopin. I missed this. I think the chances of her wanting to return without the baby are pretty slim. It is true you can't make her redundant. But, you can fire her. However, I really doubt it will come to this.

I imagine she has already been on the phone to CAB to see what dirty tricks she might be leagally entitled to play on you.

Keep us posted. And feel free to come round for a shake any time you like.

Good luck! We are here if you need us.

I don't know if you've sorted this yet but FYI the main legal right that a woman has on returning from mat leave is to request changes to her working hours to ensure she can manage childcare. The employer has the obligation to seriously consider how this can be managed but there are a number of get outs they can use. The most common one is doesn't suit the business needs. www.netmums.com/h/n/WORKING/HOME/ALL/265//#flexible

The right to bring your baby to work with you is not a change that is relevant to most workplaces. However, I know that in nurseries when employees want to do it they either don't allow it or only allow it where the mother works in a different room from their own child. That is a policy decision. Most workplaces do not have the facilities to allow such a change - I can imagine ds having a wonderful time crawling round my office eating the computer cables!!

Get her to offer you the possible changes formally ie in writing(an employee can only make one application for flexible working in a year)and then come up with a business reason for why it won't suit you (e.g. part time you want someone full time and no other employees to assist - you don't have to pay for her benefit).

Morning everyone.

Well I haven't heard from old nanny since I spoke with her on the phone, but her maternity pay is due (she usually texts me a week or so before asking when she can pick up her money)

Whilst we are on the subject of money last month she asked me to pay her maternity pay in cash (which is fine by me) and I told her I would drop it off after work. I arrived at her house - no reply! I then rang her, she was out shopping, and told me to put the money in an envelope and throw it up her hallway through the letterbox!!!!

I said I didn't feel very comfortable about this, but she said it would be fine. I'd asked her to text me later to let me know that she'd received the money safely. Never heard from her!

Who would be liable for the money going missing?

Oh Ziopin, tell me you didn't do this. If you give her cash she could easily say you never paid her. No no no. Let her work out how to cash a check. Or transfer it to her bank account (at least then you have an online record of having paid her).

She is a real piece of work. Please don't trust her with anything.

As for flexible working.. oh good God I never even considered that a nanny could make a flexible working request. It would most certainly not suit the "business". And I still find it inconceivable that I am a business... that that's another thread.

I guess if she didn't phone you asking where is is she got it

just catching up witht his post but it's all done lol

Eleusis is right (and a fount of wisdom when it comes to employing nannies) it is much better to use a method that you can prove payment like cheque or bank transfer.

Note for the future. If you have such a system set up and a nanny wants the payment in cash then if you are willing try and have a sort of petty cash back up system eg they come to you to collect it and sign a receipt proving they got it so you have for your records. There's always the inland revenue factor to consider on your part.

When/if she does come back to work, can't you say that your replacement nanny had lots of new ideas and ways of doing things, and you prefered her methods, and could she please do things the same way? She'll get so pissed off at constantly being compared and criticised that she'll leave. Problem sorted!

Dawnybabe, that's exactly what I've been thinking too! Again thanks for all your brilliant advice xx

Careful how you do that though as if you do it too aggressively then she might resign and claim constructive dismissal. If you think she is unlikely to come back (which given her childcare situation and lack of desire to leave the baby with anyone else is a possibility) you could always ask your current one if she's willing to go permanent in that event.