Full time live in nanny ..inc nights

[khaa2091]

I am just in the process of trying to sort out childcare for when I return to work in September when dd 10 months.

I am a single parent with grandparents nearby, but my normal working day is 0645 to 7pm. I will not be working one day a week, but will be at work from 0645 Wed or Thurs am to 1900 Thurs or Fri pm every 2 weeks. There are also monthlyish nights (where I will be gone 1900 to 0900) and some weekend working, both day and night.

What is reasonable to discuss? I will have a separate annexe with its own entrance which can be used by a nanny, but they will then have to come into the main house (which I would be happy with full access with, whether or not I was there) if working over night. Are overnight hours usually paid at the same rate as daytime? How do the rates usually divide I am also getting help from grandparents and my sister.

I realise that this is an unusual and demanding job and can't see how this is going to work without flexibility on everyone's part (whilst still needing to work fulltime in order to pay for it all). Does anyone else to anything remotely similar, or would you even consider a job that required this?

Any advice / experiences gratefully received....

That is a lot to ask - even 6.45am to 7pm is a very long day

Can you split it into more than one role? So have one person available Monday to Friday day time

Then the overnights and weekends are covered by someone else?

It doesn't look workable as one role

Honestly, I think it's going to need 2 nannies to cover that. And they need defined hours - you can't just have them "on call" round the clock or they can't have a life. I hope you get paid a lot for those hours, because it's going to cost you a lot to cover them with a nanny.

I wouldn't do a job like that as a single mother. Near impossible for childcare.

Thats long hours for a single parent. Could your parents do some or could the child live with its father?

The hours are defined with 3 months notice so on call not required - I will know when needed.
I'm looking at potentially combining with nursery, as well as parents / sister doing some of the overnights and weekends.

However, I'm trying to work a plan b and c. What I was not sure about was if my parents unable to do an overnight is there any possibility that a nanny would be able (unusually, maybe 2 or 3 times a year) to look after dd for the day before and after an overnight.

Father not in the picture, or even the country so not an option. I've moved to be nearer my parents, but further from work (so the commute is what is making the normal day so long).

Flexible working request?

You could ask for no nights or an alternative or fixed shift pattern?

Nannies, particularly live-in ones will be fine with covering an overnight a few times a year (and working the day either side).

But they will want regular, well-paid hours the rest of the time. You'll need to pay particularly well if these hours will move/change a lot. What are the core hours in a week? That's what you need to look at, anymore than 60 would need two nannies really (or nanny plus other childcare).

I agree it needs to be two nannies working shifts. You can't expect one person to do all that. I would have one doing the mornings and one the afternoons. Then the odd late night and weekend shift can be offered as optional overtime rather than being an additional burden when they are already exhausted.

But I would be looking for a reduction in hours if at all possible.

Core hours are 48hrs daytime M/W/Th/Fri + an overnight 12 hours (1xmonth) and fortnightly Thurs 0645 to Fri 1900 with my parents taking dd overnight most of the time. Hopefully family will do weekends (Fri 0645 to Sat 0900 followed by Sun 0700 to Mon 1900 OR Sat 0700 to Sun 0900 three times a year).

Flexible working not an option and rolling 18 week rota so the hours are predictablish. I think that it works out to just under 60 hrs a week including overnight (which would not be planned for nanny to do most of the time, but may be occasionally needed.

Local nurseries will only take 2 days a week minimum, with additional complication of getting dd there - I live a 5 min walk from station but no nurseries within walking distance.

Sadly, I’ve got to find a way of making it work….

I think that's fine tbh as long as you're paying a good wage. Most nannies work 45+ hours a week so it isn't insane hours. The Tuesday off will be nice so the nanny has time to rest in between the two long days. What you have to ensure is that you're paying enough so the four days are enough, you can't expect someone to work somewhere else on the Tuesday, so the wage has to be good.

Does your baby sleep well? That's obviously a key point. If she does 12 hours overnight then fine for the nanny, if she's waking every two hours you probably do need to look at a night nanny for the overnights.

Once you have a nanny, make the effort to meet her nanny friends and encourage playdates so that both you and your baby get to know the other nannies. Then if there is a weekend she can't do or she's off sick/on holiday you have some ready-made cover available.

What's the job? Is there a version without the shift pattern?

I'm sure you could request no overnights. What do other parents at your work do?

When younger I worked as a nanny where I did every other weekend sole charge including both nights. So every other week I would work from Friday morning and not finish until Sunday evening, as well normal hours in the week too. This would all be absolutely fine for a professional nanny. Professional nannies aren’t cheap though!

I was a nanny for 2 junior doctors & did frequent overnights & weekends.
I loved the job & have many happy memories but the hours were very clearly explained at the interview. Their baby was a very good sleeper & I was much younger then & had a lot of energy. I used to get £20 extra for each overnight stay, it was a fortune back then!
I think this could definitely work with the right nanny, somebody recently qualified & commitment free would be best.

She’s currently sleeping 11-0630 (3 months).
Medic, so overnight non negotiable.

It sounds as though some have made something workable in a similar situation, which is offering some hope.

Thank you so much for the responses.

Are you in the UK? Roughly which area

I think you need to speak to a good nanny agency. When I was a first time user, they were incredibly helpful as to what a “good job” would like like to a nanny, and really helped me sculpt the requirement so it worked for me and was attractive to good candidates. There are other solutions, like eg an au pair and a nanny combination. But speak to someone who can look at it from the other end, ie what you are likely to get, and see how you can match that up with what you want/need.

This is the sort of nanny/proxy-parenting that I do. I work adhoc though, so for several different clients. Some are pilots, some are nurses etc. You may need to advertise on some nanny sites because it is imperative they have DBS, first aid, checkable references etc.

I lived next door two two doctors in north London, one a house officer, one a registrar.
They had two small children and a nanny who did two nights a week and took the children to nursery, as well as all the usual nanny stuff. They also they had a family member who helped out I think.

Home Counties, 35 mins away from London on the train.

My cousin and his wife, both doctors, covered similar random shift patterns with two au pairs (from EU countries), and day time nursery.
It worked very well. Their son is now 27, and has recently returned from visiting one of his au pair's families. All the au pairs keep in touch and have visited over the years.

You need 2 rota nannies - one works a seven day stretch, 24 hours each day, then they have a whole week off and the second nanny takes over. A friend of mine nannies in this way, she prefers it as a shift pattern as it's easier to plan around it, but I can imagine it's expensive to employ!

Hilarious that people think these are mad hours.

06:45-20:00 are normal hours in the nhs.

You need a day nanny and a night nanny.

They have not chosen to work in the NHS.