Any Aussie mums or others bought out a Nannies "contract"?

[Kiwigirl]

I'm trying to "buy out" a contract for my nanny who came through an agency. They've mentioned something called Public Liability Insurance. My nanny doesn't know much about it (thinks it's expensive) and I can't find an Insurer that does it. Has anyone done research on this before? Also, what other aspects did you consider before hiring your nanny directly?

I wrote my own contract, and have no insurance. No idea what Public Liability Insurance is. I'd be a bit skeptical about whether it's worth the price (even if it isn't expensive).

Perhaps some others who have used agencies may have better insight for you.

thanks uwila - any others out there?

Looks like3 my reply disapeared into cyberspace.

Public liability insurance is something that any business who provides a service for members of the public or has premises that the public enter has to have to insure them against being sued for accidents, work going wrong etc or for anything that your employee might do whilst they are working for you.

Employer liability insurance is something that anyone who employs anyone else has to have in case your employee has an accident etc at work. I would guess that this includes anyone employig a nanny. The certificate has to be displayed in the emplyers place of work. It sounds like this is what you need though most employers have both types of insurance.

Most insurance companies do it but it would be dealt with by their commercial not domestic departments.

Hmmmmm... really? Is this something I should know about? Do other nanny employers have this?

I haven't bought any specific insurance for my nanny. She is just covered by the same insurance that any other visitor to my home would be covered by. I'm not sure if Health and Safety at work would apply to a one employee business, operating from home. Also, your home is probably not a registered business for your nanny.

Why not try to phone Tinies or one of the big agencies, pretending to hire a nanny and they should be able to answer you.

This link explains about the need for employers liability insurance.

Note the follwing paragraph

"One difficult area is domestic help. In general you will probably not need employers liability for people such as cleaners or gardeners if they work for more than one person. However, if you employ someone who works only for you, you may be required to take out insurance."

It refers to the ELCI Act 1969 which does apparently contain some exclusions, such as businesses which only employ close family members. It may be best to check with DWP.

I also found this on a nanny website

"Your Employer is responsible for taking out Employers Liability Insurance(ELI). It is important to check that this insurance has actually been taken out. Your employer should take out insurance such that in the event of an accident at work resulting in severe injury to yourself you would then be entitled to sue your employer for damages. In such circumstances, if your employer failed to take out Employers Liability Insurance, it could prove difficult for you to obtain compensation, as you could not then resort to an Insurance Company claim and instead would be compelled to make a claim upon your employers estate. This will obviously have financial implications, and may generate problems at a personal level. ELI is often, but not always, covered by the Families Household Insurance Policy, or may be added to it as an extension. The Family should inform their Insurers if they are about to engage a Nanny, for example, for the first time and take necessary action to obtain the appropriate level of ELI."

Also see this link which ios a guide for anyone wanting to employ a nanny. It has a section on insurance.

According to this link and the previous paragraph it seems that some people may be covered by their household insurance but only if they tell their insurance company.

Thanks JulieF - your posts have been really useful, much appreciated