Advice please for how to go about getting a nanny

[shauna72]

Hello everyone, thought I had posted a message but now I can't find it so if I am repeating myself I am sorry!
I am moving from Yorkshire to Derbyshire in June with return to work date in my new job of 1st July. My DH works from home but is often away overnight and I am a doctor and have to start my new job full time ( 4 days/week plus oncalls overnight 1 in ten). My eldest DD is 2 1/4 and my second DD is just 6 months old.
DD1 is at nursery 4 days per week which has been great, but with me being full time ( until I can knock it down once settled in hopefully) and wiht DH being away, I think the best option is to get a nanny.
We will need a full time, live out nanny, with an earlyish start of 7.45 am until 6ish.
However, it is all rather overwhelming, with the nanny tax, sick pay, mat pay etc and I am unsure how to go about it etc. I have considered going through an agency but the fee is £700 and am not sure if that is the right route.
How much should we offer to pay, how does the holidays etc work. How do you draw up a contract etcetc.
Very confused, please help!

what will you when you works nights will this be part of the nannies role and included in salary or on top of salary.

I did one night a week before for an anesthatsist (cant spell today) her husband worked away as well. so I did from 4pm when she went to work til 7am when the daytime nanny came and took over.

Baby was 6mths old and slept from 7pm-6am and I charged £125 for this time.

I am in Leicestershire so prob too far from where you will be but dibdab78 is closer and am sure she would be willing to do the nights you are on call if you could find a daytime nanny

I suppose your options are to get a full time nanny to care for both children and not use the nursery or put both the children into nursery and have a nanny as mentioned above to do the nights and if required nursery pick ups for when you are on lates and husband is away.

In east midlands nanny salaries are from £6-£10 an hr net depending on experience and qualifications and whether you want a nanny with own child (usually pay 25% less than going rate if nanny brings own child to work)

Hope this helps

Thank-you for your advice.Only one night in ten so will try to organise husband's schedule around it and grandparents half and hour away so won't need over night nanny I don't think.

thats fair enough

so perhaps the full time nanny would be a good option or nursery for them both.

can def recommend www.kidsmatter.uk.com as an agency

or for going it alone

www.nannyjob.co.uk
www.childcare.co.uk
www.netmums.co.uk
www.gumtree.co.uk

forgot to add good luck in the new job I am a childrens nurse and work as a school nurse much more socialable hours!! dont miss the shift work.

Thanks so much!

A nanny is (in 99% of cases) an employee so they get the same employment rights as you do yourself, or possibly even more rights than you do (as being a Doctor you may be classed as Self Employed - not 100% sure about that... are you Self Employed?).

Sick Pay - offer statutory sick pay. Then in the event that your nanny is actually sick, you can decide for yourself if you will pay them in full, or only provide SSP.

Maternity Pay / Maternity Leave / Paternity Leave - offer statutory minimum. You can claim back SMP from HMRC, so don't panic too much about this one.

Tax and National Insurance - contact HMRC New Employers Helpline for a Employers Pack if you are not already registered as an employer. It comes with a CD-ROM to use on a Windows based PC.
From the GROSS wage negotiated with the nanny, you deduct on their behalf Employees Tax and Employees NI (and any other deductions as directed by HMRC, such as Student Loan repayments). As the Employer, you pay Employers NICs.
Sites such as www.listentotaxman.com will help you get a feel for what Employers NICs is likely to be, based on the salary you are paying. You make payments to HMRC every three months.
You can use a Payroll company to do most of the tax paperwork for you... they charge varying amounts, often around £120 a year. PAYE For Nannies seems quite good (from a nannies point of view).
If the tax side of things scares you... then pay a payroll company to do it - at least for the first year.

Holiday Entitlement - Nannies are like other employees, they get the same holiday entitlement... which is 5.6 weeks (can include Bank Holidays) as of April 2009.
When a nanny does not work 5 days per week, use the Holiday Entitlement Calculator to calculate the amount of holiday due.

A nannies salary tends to be effected by their level of experience and other things your so desire - such as Ofsted Registration perhaps (do you or your DH, ideally both, get Childcare Vouchers via your work?). Location can make a bit of a difference, so searching sites such as Nannyjob.co.uk for local job listings may help indicate what other employers are offering.
Typically I would say that you are looking in the range of £7-£11 Gross Per Hour for a Live-Out nanny outside of London.

Contracts - Specimen contracts are available to download from various websites. The one at Nannyjob.co.uk is often a good starter, though you will need to modify it to suit your particular job. Some parents on here may be prepared to share their Nanny Contract with you. Also when you get to the contract stage, you can just ask on here about specific things you feel you need to include / not include.
My general feeling is that the specimen contracts are a good starting place, though you should look carefully at Holiday Entitlement (as this has recently changed), Disciplinary Procedure (as you may want to give written warnings leading to termination), Gross Misconduct Section - spell out clearly in this section what you consider to be an immediate grounds for dismissal.
Some parents on here keep the contract quite short, but add to it a Nanny Handbook. This can be a useful way to do things, as you can easily change the Handbook without the need to renegotiate the contract.
ACAS provide a guide to what a contract (written statement) must include. Self Help Guide - Producing a Written Statement

A message thread from last year which may be worth you reading:
Could anybody please let me steal their nanny contract

Other tips:
~ This section of mumsnet is full of information. You can search Just This Section of mumsnet by using the Advanced Search and Choosing this Topic.
~ Start a new message thread for each specific question you want to ask - many of us will be able to help you.

Thank-you Nannynick! Great help!

By the way Nannynick,what is CAT?

CAT = Contact Another Talker
This enables you to send e-mail to another user (who has permitted other users to send them e-mail). There is an annual fee, currently £5. CAT Details Here

Thank-you Wideawake Mum and nannynick for all your help.Lots to be getting on with i think. Am sure once you know what you are talking about, it must be less daunting! I just want to do the best for my little girls and not be worrying ( well anymore than usual as a mummy) all the time whilst at work.Will start on Monday!

shauna72 - thought this may help, for when you come to the stage of interviewing nannies.

Nanny Interview Questionnaire
Author: AtheneNoctua
This version: March 2008

Note: Questions will need to be revised to suit your circumstances.

Questions:

Normally our 5 year old goes to school full time (8:50 ? 3:15, M-F). Describe a typical day?s activities when school is not in session (i.e. summer break)?

Describe a typical weekly meal plan for the children (include examples for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks you may offer them, keeping in mind that our 5 year old takes her lunch to school)

How would you describe your approach to discipline?

Do you have any degrees or diplomas in childhood education? Any degrees or diplomas in other subjects? If so, what subjects?

Why do you want to work in England?

If we travel as a family within the UK, would you want to join us? What about Europe? The United States?

Do you smoke? If so, how much?

Do you have any requests in terms of the accommodation we offer you?

Are you an au pair / nanny now? If not, why have you decided to become one?

What kinds of foods do you like to eat? (Please be specific and use as much space as you need.)

Do you drink alcohol? If so, how much?

How many hours do you want to work each week?

Summarise your experience with toddlers / young children.

Would you be willing to provide overnight care of the children (in the rare event that both parents are required to travel for work during the week)?

Do you have a driver?s license? From what country? How long have you had it?

Do you own a car in the UK?

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Describe your personality?

What qualities make you well suited to be a nanny?

What is your worst habit?

Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? fiancé/fiancée? spouse? If so, where does he live?

Do you know anyone in England? Friends? Family?

What is it about our particular nanny job that appeals to you?

Would you take care of the children if they were sick? (They do not get sick a lot, I only ask as a precaution)

Do you have a credit card? A UK bank account?

Do you play any sports? Which ones? How often?

Can you provide a reference from a previous au pair/nanny/nursery job? If so, please attach to this questionnaire and/or provide contact information of previous employer(s).

How many times have you been sick in the last year? What was the illness?

Do you have any children? If so, what ages? Where do they live?

What sorts of things would you include in each entry of a nanny diary? (If it is easier to attach a sample rather than describe it here, feel free to do so)

Summarise your views on discipline, schedules, and routines for young children?

Do you wish to obtain any additional employment besides being our nanny or be involved in any other activities outside of our employment (i.e. church activities, working out, language course, other studies, etc.). If so how much time per week would you expect to spend on these activities?

Are you available for a face-to-face interview in the United Kingdom? If so, when?

What is your salary expectation?

Are you in possession of a work visa for the United Kingdom? If so, what are the restrictions?

Are you able to travel to the London area by your own means?

When would you be available to start this job?

Our almost 5 year old attends a Church of England primary school (which is affiliated with the church we attend), and our almost 3 year old will begin the nursery there in September. How might you encourage their education and participation in the Anglican community?

We are offering a membership to Amida (health club) with this position, if you want it and will use it. Is this something you would be interested in?

As this is a full time nanny position for two small children, there will obviously be some light housekeeping involved (children?s laundry, keeping their toys tidy and organised, etc.) What housekeeping/cleaning duties are you not willing to do?

• End -

Nanny Interview Questionnaire, by AtheneNoctua

Thanks for the interview questions nannynick, brilliant!