Childcare and sickness??

[Applefruitcake]

I work as an emergency nanny / ad hoc babysitter. Usually I don't really get sick very often, but these days it's been sickness after sickness... I've been trying to avoid going in sick but obviously I can't afford to take too many days off.

My question is how would you feel if your nanny came to work sick? Or if you're a nanny, what do you do when you're sick? Should I inform parents beforehand? I know parents are increasingly cautious now due to covid etc.

Yeah I'd want to know any illness before hand and would advise you not to come in.
If your sick your sick I'd just have to find alternative childcare or take some leave myself.
No one would thank you for spreading germs to their kids.
Whilst I know it's hard to be off and not get paid you also have to rest to get better.

I work in childcare and we do LFTs twice a week and PCRs if we have Covid symptoms
Unless I’m physically unable to get out of bed then I’m in
We have also noticed that there is a lot more illnesses about this year

What do you mean by sick? Vomiting bug/ cold/ sore throat/ headache/ fever? Minor illness, no raging fever etc like a cold fine. Anything highly infectious or that would make you unable to safely do your job not fine. I guess the problem is that some parents will cancel their booking and find someone else if you work as hoc, even for a slight cold etc

Thank you for the responses.

Just normal colds / virus. For example, two weeks ago, I caught a cold which included fever, sore throat, coughing. I have been feeling fine to work, but the cough has lingered on. Needless to say not working for 2 weeks will put serious strain on my financial situation.

I do take covid tests regularly and obviously I wouldn't go in if I tested positive

As a nanny with one fixed family I go to work with cold symptoms (obviously after a covid test).

The parents wouldn't want me to miss a day unless absolutely essential, BUT 99% of the time I've caught it from their children anyway so less of a concern re. spreading germs.

I think it's different as an ad-hoc nanny though. I think if they were having someone come in who they didn't know and they had the choice of someone with a cold or not, they'd take the healthy one every time.

At this time of the year, most of the kids I've been looking after have been sick so the whole process just repeats itself over and over (new family > sick kids > me catching sickness > a few days off > new family > new sickness) 😩

@Applefruitcake: do you normally look after a child who has cold and fever?
I work full time. My DS in nursery full time but when he gets fever they ask me to collect him. It happens once every 2-3 months so I feel embarrassed and think my employer might be fed up. Today I had to cancel a job interview because I had to pick up my DS early.
I was not sure if a childminder would look after a sick child but came across this thread and think ad-hoc baby sitter/nanny might be a solution. Just need to find someone local.

[quote Lily7050]@Applefruitcake: do you normally look after a child who has cold and fever?
I work full time. My DS in nursery full time but when he gets fever they ask me to collect him. It happens once every 2-3 months so I feel embarrassed and think my employer might be fed up. Today I had to cancel a job interview because I had to pick up my DS early.
I was not sure if a childminder would look after a sick child but came across this thread and think ad-hoc baby sitter/nanny might be a solution. Just need to find someone local.[/quote]
Yes @lily7050 it's one of the most common reasons for needing an emergency nanny. But you should state it beforehand as some nannies may not be comfortable working with sick children in the current climate (tbh most times I don't find out until I get there) Also depends if you're using an agency, some of them have strict rules regarding sickness. I would recommend trying Bubble (app)

Thank you @Applefruitcake