My views:
Meals
Should we be (contractually) supplying our nanny with all of her food during the day?
Yes... food and drink are usually expected to be provided. Typically this means one meal at lunchtime to be eaten with the children. It may also include evening meal/afternoon tea, again eaten with the children.
So for example, if she is out and about with the kids at lunchtime and buys herself a meal in a cafe, should we reimburse her?
If you have agreed that meals can be had out of the home, then that would come out of the weekly expenses kitty. However I would suggest that you encourage your nanny to make a packed lunch - children love picnics.
Do we supply her with enough food for herself for the week?
Yes but this should not be overly different to the food that your children will be eating. Clearly your nanny may have tea/coffee, whereas your children won't usually be having those. But meal wise, it is likely that the nanny will cook meals that are suitable for your children and themselves.
Does she bring her own food?
No, nannies expect to be fed whilst on the job. It's not as though they get a lunch hour!
Our nanny will be bringing her own child to work with her, too, so what happens with his meals?
No experience of that I am afraid, though my feeling is that your nanny should be providing everything for her own child. You could if you wanted permit that child to eat the same as everyone else (but that may not be practical depending on the child's age).
What did you agree at the interview stage with regards to nanny bringing her own child to work?
Bank Holidays
Our nanny will be working Mon,Tue & Wed. If she were working Tue, Wed & Thu, for example, there would be no issue. But as it stands, we will have to pay her to take Mondays off, right? is that right?
Yes, a nanny gets the same statutory employment rights as you do... so currently holiday wise it is 5.6 weeks per year holiday, which can include Bank Holidays.
You don't have to permit your employee to have those days off though... there is no right to having a Bank Holiday off. So if you require them to work on a Bank Holiday Monday (or any other national/regional holiday) then make that clear in the contract and when agreeing holiday dates.
You don't need to give a day in lieu.
ACAS: Holidays
BusinessLink: Pay on Public Holidays
Sick Pay
How long do we go on paying her a full day rate of she goes off sick? Is it indefinite? Or does she just get statutory sick pay?
Only put Statutory Sick Pay in the contract. That way you can then at your discretion provide full pay if you feel the situation warrants it.
SSP kicks in on the 4th day of sickness (days must be in a row). You should keep a log of all sickness your employee has and raise concerns over excessive sickness level if appropriate. Nannies in my view tend not to take sick leave very often.
BusinessLink: Understanding Statutory Sick Pay
And what happens if the nanny has to take days off because her child is sick (which will inevitably happen at some point).Do we still pay her 'sick pay'? For how long is reasonable?
Looks to me that such leave would be Parental Leave which is unpaid. You could permit your employee to take it as their own leave if you wished. I would not suggest that you write that in a contract though... instead offer it on a case-by-case basis.
BusinessLink: Parental Leave & Time Off For Dependents - may help. Also in the event of it occurring you may want to call ACAS for advice.
The thing to do about Holiday and Sick leave is to think about how you would like a great employer to treat you... then treat your nanny that way, or as close to that way as financially possible (as you may want to be given as much time off on full pay as you like - which may be unaffordable for you when being the employer).