Nannies, overnights and Working Time Regulations

[MabelEstherAllen]

We have a brilliant nanny, who occasionally stays overnight. In those circumstances, she will look after the kids after school and in the evening; she then stays overnight; and she'll be around in the morning as the kids get ready for school. My children are all nearly teenagers, and they don't wake in the night. They all get themselves ready for school completely independently, but I prefer that our nanny checks that the house is properly locked up when they leave, rather than leaving it completely up to them. My eldest child is the chief person who is nominally 'on duty' overnight, and our nanny is there as back-up. For the last year (with our nanny's agreement), I've been paying our nanny full pay up until 11.30pm (the kids go to bed by 9pm); then a flat sleepover rate of £50 until 7.30am, and then full pay until 8.30am, when she locks up and leaves.

I've just been told by Nannytax that, according to the Working Time Regulations, she needs to have a rest of 11 consecutive hours between shifts, and that therefore she can't do these 3 shifts (evening babysitting; overnight; 1-hour in the morning) consecutively. Very occasionally I've asked our nanny to do an overnight on a Friday night, and then look after the kids on a Saturday until I return in the afternoon - and Nannytax have said that this also isn't legal.

I'm confused! I thought that 'domestic staff' (under which nannies are classed) were exempt from the 11-consecutive-hour-rest rule. Surely lots of employers pay their nannies to work for whole weekends? Our nanny is wonderful and I really value her and want to make sure that I'm doing the right thing, and we pay her well, give her generous holiday allowance etc - but I find it hard to believe that it's illegal to pay a nanny to look after children for an evening + overnight, or even an evening + overnight + next day. Isn't this the point of having a nanny, rather than a childminder? Can anyone - nanny or employer - offer any advice?

I am a nanny and have regularly done these sorts of hours in my nanny jobs.

NannyTax are technically right though. Nannies are entitled to be employed in a job where most of the legislative rules and regulations afforded to other employees in other industries are in place if and when necessary. Thankfully.

Whenever I’ve done the overnights that you describe it’s always a private arrangement between me and my employers separate to my salaried hours. We do not go through nannytax. I also know that it’s my choice entirely about whether I do these extra hours or not. I’m always ‘on’ at work even when looking after children that are unlikely to wake- there’s always a chance that they might need something or be unwell. I definitely class myself as still working, it’s certainly not the same as sleeping at home. So Nannytax are rightly saying that legally she is entitled to a break afterwards. I’d advise keeping those arrangements separate to Nannytax admin and paying her directly for them.

Nannies (or rather domestic workers) are exempt from several parts of the working time directive but not the 11 hours rest bit.

I have some experience of this (in a completely different field though) and if you read the full working time directive there is something called compensatory rest, which basically says " that in certain roles or situations you may have to work through one fo your rest breaks" and compensatory rest can be moved and offered at a different point. https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work/compensatory-rest

Update: I heard back from Nannytax, who said that they'd misunderstood the situation and thought that my children were much much younger. Apparently the situations I've described are fine, as long as our nanny is given the opportunity to consent/refuse the hours (which she mostly definitely is).

Strange of NannyTax as it is common for rota nannies and maternity nurses to do 24 hours a day for up to a week or more without an 11 hour break.