Dismissal

[Totality]

I have been shown proof that my nanny has shared photos of my child via texts to a boyfriend. Am I within my rights to summarily dismiss her?

Depends on whether you forbade it in the contract she signed.

Also depends if said contract states you can fire at will for anything you deem misconduct.

If there is no contract, no legal agreement whatsoever as to her terms of employment you can do what you want I think

Someone else who has actually employed a nanny will be along.

What's your contract say

OP, I haven't employed a nanny however I think it would come under gross misconduct. I work in a hospital and if I took a photo of a patient, I'd be dismissed. Obviously it's totally different circumstances.

Can I ask what the context of the photo was?

Was your child in the background/was it an innocent photo of something else but your child happened to feature in it? Or was it a photo of your child along with wording regarding your child? I think some more context would help others with their responses.

Is this something that is in your contract with her? I work as a nanny and I have always had no social media posting in my contract but nothing about family and friends and my bosses have always been fine with me showing pictures of the children to my parents or close friends. Are you sure this is something they knew you would be upset by?

She sent photos and video of my seven year old daughter to a boyfriend without my knowledge. There is no contract and she works for another couple on the same basis. She also sent photos and video of their child to her bf.
I believe it is gross misconduct and it has certainly destroyed my trust in her. Additionally she sent him texts which were derogatory about me. I just want to make sure I’m on safe ground to dismiss her ASAP with no prospect of her claiming unfair dismissal.

How have you come across these private texts and photos between her and her boyfriend? I think that's a really important bit of missing information at the moment as I can't see how this would be something you could know / prove?

Had you tapped her phone?

Why is there no contract?

How have you found this info out?
Surely if you employ her, she should have a contract...?

How did you find out?
I wouldn’t be happy and get rid

Why doesn't she have a contact? Sounds more like babysitting than being a nanny.

Erm well how did you find out this info, have you been through her phone 😳

How do you know that? Did you discuss photos before she started? We had inductions at my work surrounding privacy and online conduct

I think it really depends upon the content of the video. If they’re dining happy birthday, showing their art work, something they baked, singing in a school play and your nanny helped your daughter learn her lines and is proud of her so sharing the great moment - I don’t see anything wrong with this.

Might be a good idea to get a contract and address this in the contract
However, if it’s risqué / inappropriate, then you should speak with the nanny and terminate

Thanks to those who posted serious, informative answers free of assumptions and histrionics.
Her boyfriend is now her ex-boyfriend. He has shown me the texts, the photos and the videos.
Clearly having a healthy working relationship with someone who is derogatory about you is impossible. I’m rather taken aback by the number of posters here who seem to have either no understanding of the ethical issues involved or whom simply make silly comments.

Oh how stupid is she? Why on earth would she send photos to her boyfriend? She could show him a photo on her own phone while she was with him if she wanted to show him. I'm glad he's told you about this.

Are you in the UK?

You need to follow employment law.

If she has worked for you for 2 years or more then you need to suspend her and follow a fair process of investigation and disciplinary. Otherwise you run the risk of being taken to a tribunal which could be very, very costly if you lose.

If she has less than 2 years service then you should be ok to dismiss as she doesnt have many rights. But make sure you pay her notice pay in full or she could take you to the small claims court for breach of contract.

ACAS also offers free advice to employers as well as employees. You can ring them in the morning for advice.

Has she worked for you less than two years? If so employees have no rights anyway so you'd be fine, though worth a conversation with ACAS

If you don’t have a contract and a clause on social media you need to dismiss her for a breach of trust and confidence which is some other substantive reason. But you. First need to investigate, you must check your facts otherwise it could be unfair dismissal (even if you ‘know’). Then meet with her, explain your reason and allow her a right to respond before deciding if you will move to dismiss. You have to give her fair justice which j life’s knowing what you have against her and allowing her to defend herself. Then you confirm your decision in writing.

I can only speak for myself but I certainly wasn't making silly comments or taking the mickey, I felt it was vital to know how you came across the information because you could have been opening yourself up to some legal challenges were you to dismiss her without a contract if she's presumed due to hours and frequency of work to be an employee and you had been deemed to have invaded her privacy by looking through her phone. Now we know that isn't the case, no need to be so snippy about people saying further info would help you get advice when you've posted on a forum asking for advice...

As I say, if you haven't got a contract but she's done a certain amount of hours for a sustained period of time (I believe two years) I believe there are presumed statutory responsibilities as an employer. IANAL - I would be seeking some legal advice (maybe call ACAS) on this so you don't cause yourself additional stress.

Sorry you feel let down by her, it's never a nice feeling especially when someone has been around your family and your own home.

Her ex sounds like a right shit stirrer though, if he didn't say anything at the time (like can you not send me pictures of the kids you nanny) and is saying it to you, only now, after they've split. Dick move.

It’s a big mistake not having a contract.

You should also have policies covering this kind of thing in a similar way that dance teachers & girl guides do. Expectations of privacy & social media etc.

If she worked for you for less than two years you can fire her for (almost) anything.

More than two years and it’s more complicated. Depending on the content of the photos unless you expressly forbade her to take share images of your child it’s not necessarily gross misconduct. You’d need to follow a disciplinary process and possibly give a verbal or written warning rather than sack her.

I also think that if you're employing someone you deem to be in a nanny role, whether full or part time, it seems madness not to have a contract in place. It's such a vital job role and one in which clarity of boundaries, expectations etc is so important.

Yes it would be within the law to dismiss her immediately.
If youre worried about what she or her boyfriend have done with the photos you could also contact the police.

@jclm

Yes it would be within the law to dismiss her immediately. If youre worried about what she or her boyfriend have done with the photos you could also contact the police.

Please don’t take this advice unless you want an employment tribunal on your hands.

Christ, I’ve got tons of pics of the kids I’ve nannied for on my phone! We do a lot of stuff together. The best ones I forward to the parents but I’ve still got loads of random ones on there.

Probably a fair few texts to my other half sent on the (frequent) occasions my boss is being really unreasonable too.

@jclm

Yes it would be within the law to dismiss her immediately. If youre worried about what she or her boyfriend have done with the photos you could also contact the police.

This is incorrect legally so please don't take this as fact OP.