Hiring a nanny with a drink driving offence

[littlelongstockings]

I interviewed a lovely nanny yesterday who I liked overall, however she has a DUI on her criminal record from 9 years ago, she is in her 40s so not young.
the position will not include driving my child around as she doesn’t currently have a car and isn’t open to using one of our cars, she will transport my child by bus or train.
would you employ a nanny with a background offence of DUI?

She said she hasn’t got a car at the moment as she only got back from working abroad a month or so ago (she worked abroad this time for about 3 months) she has a husband who she said stayed here as he has a daughter here (believable)

It was 9 years ago and if she's not driving it shouldn't be an issue. It would depend on how she presented when she met you and her experience.

I would bet she’s not driving because she since lost her license due to accruing too many points

Yes, this. I can understand something like speeding (not excessively) if, say, you get slightly distracted for a moment, the limit has recently been reduced or similar.

Drink driving is a multi-stage process - it's done deliberately. Even though, after drinking, you lack capacity to make wise decisions, that was something that you should have planned ahead for before making the decision to drink. Plenty of people are perfectly capable of deciding not to drink or booking a taxi in advance for getting home after a celebration.

Of all the people whom you might consider trusting to care for your children, somebody who had chosen to drink and drive would not appear anywhere on most people's shortlists.

if you are going to progress this (please don’t), then I’d ask for her driving license

and have you checked what employment she was in when she got the dui??

How do you realistically know that anyone you trust to look after your child isn’t DUI unless they are caught?

Well then it’s dead in the water
a non starter
very unlikely this woman will get hired as a nanny by any family

start looking elsewhere and drop her a line to say you won’t be progressing

The OP can ask but she's not driving for the job in any event.

There's also references from previous employers. I wouldn't hire a nanny without those either.

Oh don’t be daft. So what we don’t take seriously a conviction on their dbs because who knows… others could have done that crime but not get caught 🙄

In her THIRTIES. Does critical thinking ability tend to develop much after you turn 30? I suppose it might be enough time for her relationship with alcohol to improve, but I’m not sure I’d feel happy hiring a recovering addict to look after my children either.

Absolute no from me. If she didn’t have the sense to know not to drive after having a drink, I don’t believe she’d have the sense to know not to look after my children after having a drink.

Definitely not.

Yes, exactly this. Surely many people who get caught drink driving have a dependency on alcohol? It’s not the sort of thing that most adults, aged around 30, would do- unless their life is already a bit of a mess.

I’d want to know if she is an alcoholic and if so, how long she has been sober for.

Well you also don’t know that a potential nanny isn’t a child molesterer, but I certainly wouldn’t use that logic and hire a convicted child sex offender to look after my children.

Probably, tbh.

I mean, should someone with this offence on their DBS never work again?

Her not having disclosed this when you were on topic talking about driving your car would be the deal breaker for me. I probably wouldn't hire anyway, but I might have considered it if she had voluntarily disclosed and come up with a very good story about how she had now changed.

She's lied to you about why she won't drive your car. You can't hire her.

And she is either an idiot who doesn't realise it would show on a DBS or thinks you won't have actually read the DBS.

Ditto. Ask her about it.

There could equally be candidates without a DUI that just haven’t been caught yet…

Things I’d be happy to employ with someone with a DUI doing:

• cleaning
• admin work
• shop work
• gardening
• my nails
• hairdresser
• plumber/electrician/other tradesperson
• accountant

Things I wouldn’t be happy to employ someone with a DUI doing:

• a driving job
• looking after the most important, cherished, precious and irreplaceable thing in my life

No and from experience the “wouldn’t be open to using our cars” has a story behind it too. The Drunk Driving charge would be enough for me but not being open with you about it and then having some reason that she can’t drive now, I think you’d be mad personally.

9 years ago with no driving in her role? Maybe.

However, she withheld the information and you had to find out via DBS disclosure. So that would be an immediate no because of the dishonesty.

She would have been 34/35 when she got caught drink driving. She was also messaging me at 2.40am on a Monday evening which I found slightly odd! If it wasn’t for the DUI I wouldn’t think much about her being up at 2.40am on a Monday but putting two and two together makes me think again.

I actually the second situation you describe is worse. Everyone knows that your liver takes time to break down alcohol and wilfully driving drunk just because you have slept for a few hours and had a coffee is never an excuse.

She won’t be able to get a job as a teacher. I wouldn’t touch her with a barge pole.

I taught a child whose 7 year old brother died when hit by a drunk driver. There is absolutely no excuse to get behind the wheel of a car when you have had a drink. Disgusting behaviour. Would you really trust her with your child?

So she's has no work record in the country but she does have a DUI offence. Even more of a red flag imo.

It was 9 years ago. Bans aren’t for that long.