Ok so I think we have found a live out nanny but as a newbie I need lots of advice!!

[JudgeJudyAndExecutioner]

She is someone that already knows my 3 boys well, as she works at their nursery, by pure coincidence she is advertising for work as she wants to leave. With my 4th boy due in July, so that's a 3 yr old, 2 yr old 1 yr old and a newborn it's going to be much cheaper to employ a nanny than pay a nursery.

If we are going to employ her I need to know what I do assuming that the interview goes well. In my previous life I was a manager but as everyone I know keeps reminding me a nanny is very different.

So here come all my newbie dumb questions...

I am assuming she needs a contract of employment, how on earth do I do that?

What happens with sickness or (gulp!)maternity?

Someone mentioned Nannytax to me regarding dealing with NI and Tax can anyone tell me more.

What happens with holiday entitlement, how much etc.

What about breaks or lunch hours?

Is there anything obvious I am overlooking that I need to think about?

imananny, the difference is that I am a working parent and ot a profitable business. Businesses offer more benefits because 1- they can afford to and 2- they need to in order to be competitive when recruiting.

I will always offer what I can afford, but not more.

Besides, this isn't really an issue for me because I usually hire nannies who can only work for a year anyway. Usually holiday maker visas and/or on a gap year.

The fixed term contract, like the SSP, is really only a fallback position in case I need it. I would never kick anyone out who needed the job and was a good nanny to my kids of course.

but surely when the mother takes 6m mat leave, the job description changes - if it was sole charge before, at least some of the time it will become shared charge? I would have thought that sole charge nannies wouldn't like that and it may lead to redundancy. and there is n oguarantee that the mother will ever return to work.

guess the lesson is, don't work for someone who might take mat leave. Nannies should ask at the interview - are you planning to have more babies? I am of course joking...

dippygirl- why would a nanny leave a good job(if happy) and look for another just beacuse mb got pregnant

I have had 2 mb at home on ML and I just carry on as normal - will take children out and leave mb and baby at home, will have baby as mb takes older child/ren out, and sometimes all go out together.

It is very hard to have a mb at home, normally as unfort children seem to behave bettter for nannies,but you do it, grit your teeth(sometimes) count down the days, and push MB out of the door again a few months later