This is probably a stupid question, but can I ask a prospective nanny...

[GloriaInEleusis]

what his/her religeon is?

I ask because DD (and soon DS) goes to a COE school and I want a nanny who will "click" with the other parents and hopefully enjoy hanging out with some of them. And it helps if they have something in common. Now, not every student at the school is an Anglican, but most of them are.

But, is religeon fair game or can I not ask that?

Now of course I could just ask how they feel about the COE school and if they would be happy socialising with the others at the school gate, but that is rather transparent and everyone whould know what answer I was looking for.

source See top of page 45.

As it is a 'personal service' it is possible that a court could rule that a nanny should share the family religion. However, there is no exemption for this in law from what I can see, so it is up to an individual judge, if anyone refused the job took it that far.

i have seen on another job site a family asking for a muslin nanny so if thats ok then i don't see why you can't ask for a c.o.e

As a Christian myself can I suggest the following ( or a similarly worded question)

" Our family are regular church attenders and, acordingly our children will attend a church of england school. Can you talk me through how you would encourage their participation and involvement in church/school activities?"

It's very wordy - I blame that on the copious amounts of wine I have consumed- but you get the idea!

All the nanny agencies ask this question on their questionnaire, I don't know if this information goes out to families but I don't think anyone would mind if you asked tbh.

Good luck, your children are adorable so shouldn't be a problem.

Ali

I've been asked on nanny agency paperwork but i don't answer. Tbh i don't think its anyones business but thats my view of course. I would go along the lines of explaining about dc's school and would it be a problem doing all the things that are envolved in that etc etc. Or if you do really want a christian nanny then in the job advert say you are a christian family and you might get more replies from christian nannies.

I am not a christian, but I was brought up on/off church-going (not CofE though, would this matter to you?) if a prospective employer decided not to go with me because I was the wrong religion I would be horrified. If all you are looking for is social aspects, this is a terrible way to look for a nanny! If it was a question of specific diet eg jewish then you have more grounds, but decididng a nanny is better because they are a particular religion is madness. You may find a lovely CofE girl who turns out to be shy and doesnt mix easily.

As to nannies mixing with parents, its up to the nanny and parent involved! How can you pust two people together just because they are of the same religion! Its personality, and the children, that count.

Requesting that a nanny attend religious events etc is up to you but could you legally make it a part of the job? I know parents have many different requirements of their nannies but this may be a bit too far.

On Gumtree Guildford today, I spotted two adverts which both mentioned Christian Family... so perhaps that is a way to phrase things.

Au pair wanted for start late Feb, lovely 2 year old twins in Christian family
Nanny Au Pair Start 2nd Jan - this one mentions Christian Family in the adcopy.

I have in the past been asked what my religion is at interviews, usually where the family are religious themselves and want to ensure their children are brought up in the same ethos. It's also a standard question on agency questionnaires I've answered.

So I wouldn't say you're being unreasonable as long as you word it cleverly. Saying your preference is for a Christian nanny is merely stating your preference....

HOWEVER I warn you my reply is something along the lines of "I am a Christian but irrespective of my personal beliefs I will do my best to adhere to your instructioss regarding the religious education of your children, and have no objection to taking the children to faith-centred activities" and I would be inclined to object if someone rejected me on religious grounds having given that answer, so I think you'll have to be careful.

Perhaps the way to go is advertising in the Christian newspapers. My parents got one of ours from a Methodist circular (and yes, we were a religious family, and my parents preference was for a practising Christian).

Well, I've steered clear of the dangerous topic. Seems silly to me that I can't ask this because it forms a considerable part of the job. But, hey ho... I do aim to stay within the law. So, I've steered clear and not mentioned a peep about our church in the ad.

If you ask for CV's, then you may get that info on the CV. Are you finding that CV's contain that info these days?

Once you have got your short list, can't see why you can't raise religion in general discussion about the job. While it may be not be legal to choose based on a applicants religion, if they happen to match your's - then they will rank higher up on your list. After all, parents employing a nanny are wanting a good match.

How about sending any prospective nannies a questionaire which just happens to include a question on religion and whether they're practising or not?

That way you might just seem like a considerate enployer who is trying to be as accomodating as possible

If you are a very religious family and religious activities (social or ritual) take up a large part of your lives to the extent that a nanny will have to have some involvement, then it is a good idea to mention this in the advert/interview but making it about you ie 'we are very involved with the church fetes/choir practice/protesting outside new age shops or whatever, you may have to take the DC along, is that OK with you?' THus giving the prospective nanny the opportunity to decide whther or not this conflicts with any religious or ethical attitudes of her own. If a nanny is prepared to take the DC to and from relevant events or attend with them, whatever her personal opinions of religion, you can't actually refuse her the job on relibious grounds.

Well, you'll all be glad to know that I now have a few promising candidates and not one of them appears to be Anglican. One is, however, a dedicated Catholic.

We aren't really religeous (in fact dragging DH to church is becoming a semi annual event). It would be nice if she would get involved with church stuff without me prodding her to do so. But it's not really important.

I have made it clear after a few exchanges that we belong to a COE church/school and this will need to be supported. And all of them seem happy to do this.

Religeon is but one of my many many screening topics.