Need childcare, really want a Nanny, what do I have to do???

[PootlePoseysMa]

Hello All,

I'm looking for advice from other parents that have Nannies please.

Very briefly, I'm doing a one year PGCE Teacher Training course from 03/09/09-02/07/10 hence I will not be earning a salary and need to know all costs involved as early as possible. I am a lone parent with 3 children, a daughter of 6 who is at school full time and twin girls who will be 18 months by September and require full time care. I am currently in the process of sorting out childcare and have looked around a few nurseries (disliked them intensely so a complete no go for me ), met a couple of childminders one of whom I quite liked and is a possibility and have spoken to a few Nannies, one of whom I loved (and she was actually my daughters teacher at pre-school so I know her very well and would LOVE to employ her).

My only hesitation is that I could send my children to a self employed childminder, pay her the agreed fee and thats that. With a Nanny I become her employer and she my employee and I have no idea what an 'employer' actually has to do !??! so I have a few questions if anybody is kind and lovely enough to help me out:

1. My Nanny is getting married in August, moving to a new house etc and doesn't want huge hours and is looking for a term time only position. From my POV its perfect but is it legally acceptable to write that in a contract? Can I write a contract that runs from Sept 09 -July 10 only (is this a temporary contract?)

1. My Nanny has informed she that she will definately not be taking any holidays during term time between September 09 and July 10 - again is it actually legal to write that in a contract?

1. With regards to Nanny Sick Pay - is she entitled to get full payment when she is off sick ?? What happens if this goes on for weeks. (I'm sure it won't but I'm thinking of a worst case scenario)

1. With regards to Statutory Maternity Pay, how would this work? Does this apply when its a temporary contract lasting 10 months?

1. Do I have to get extra insurance on my home because its her workplace? Do I have to get public/private liability insurance or anything else like that? Do I need to get formal Risk Assessments, Health and Safety Policies or anything??

1. I know that I pay her tax and National Insurance contributions so I've been informed its best for her and I to agree to a gross salary - is this true?? (She has already told me what she charges net so I've asked her to come back with a gross figure which she has agreed to do).

Is there anything else I need to do ???

OMG re-reading back through this post I really feel drawn towards the childminder route but I really want a Nanny.

TIA if you've got this far. I hope I get at least one response.

1 and 2. Yes, you can write a contract such that the hours of work are during term time. You can also specify that holiday can not be taken during term time. You must however add on 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday (this can include Bank Holdays that fall during term-time).
I think you are wanting a fixed term contract. That is fine for the initial year but if you do extend it then I feel it would become a permanent contract.
The contract is between you and your nanny, so if you both agree it everything should be fine. Problems only occur if it goes to court/tribunal.

1. No. In the contract you write Statutory Sick Pay which kicks in on the 4th consecutive day of illness.

1. I believe it applies in all employment contracts. As a small employer you can claim 104.5% of SMP.

1. No, Employers Liability Insurance for a domestic worker is usually part of your home insurance. You should check your policy. No risk assessments, health & safety etc. However as a great employer you will of course make the workplace as safe as reasonably possible.

1. Yes, you must agree a Gross salary. As it is term-time only, this could be agreed as an annual salary for the full academic year and split into 12 monthly payments. I would say this is easier than doing pay based on exact hours worked each month. But you will have to decide between you what payment arrangements will be.

From the Gross salary you deduct Employees Tax, Employees National Insurance and in addition you pay Employers NICs. You can get a feel for the figures using the calculator at www.listentotaxman.com (select 09/10 tax year).

You have to produce payslips and a P60 at the end of each financial year (so the P60 is generated around May time). You can use a payroll company to do the payroll for you... www.payefornannies.co.uk/ seems quite good and currently charges £115 per year.

Other Expenses:

If your nanny uses their own car, then mileage is at 40p per mile (for the first 10,000 miles).

Your nanny will expect to be fed and watered (inc. tea/coffee) during their working hours.

Your nanny will expect some weekly kitty money for children's misc expenses - such as for outings to toddler group, music group, icecreams at the park, etc.

Thank you,thank you,thank you NannyNick!!

Has anyone ever told you that you're great !!

You have really set my mind at ease, 100%

Thank you

Calculating holiday for a term time only worker is not quite as simple as adding on 5.6 weeks (28days) worth of holiday onto the weeks worked per year. It is worked out pro rata because you are not actually working for all the other weeks of the year. The example below taken from directgov would mean you need to pay 24.1 days of holiday - so not a lot of difference, but if you are employing childcare on a fairly tight budget then it could make a difference to you.

Term-time workers
If you only work term-time your holiday arrangements will depend on your contract of employment. If you work a reduced number of weeks during the year, you accrue a pro-rata entitlement to paid leave. You need to calculate how many hours a week you work on average over the whole year, then multiply this by the holiday allowance.

For example: your contract is for 40 hours a week for 40 weeks of the year, 40 x 40

Step one: multiply your weekly contracted hours by the number of weeks you work:

40 hours x 40 weeks = 1,600 working hours for the year

Step two: calculate the average hours you work each week by dividing your hours for the year by 46.4 (which is 52 weeks in the year minus the 5.6 weeks you would be on holiday and so not working to accrue annual leave):

1,600 hours divided by 46.4 weeks = 34.48 average hours a week

Step three: multiply your average working week by the holiday allowance:

34.48 hours x 5.6 weeks = 193.09 working hours' holiday allowance a year

Step four: if you want to convert this into holiday days, then divide again by the number of hours per day that you work.

Taking your leave
If you work your full 1,600 hours and take your holiday at other times (eg during school holidays) you accrue holiday on the whole 1,600 hours which equals 193.09 hours.

If your contract of employment requires you to take your holiday during term-time, you accrue holiday on the weeks (or hours) you actually work.

Thank you NBee. It will make a big difference to me because our contract will be term time only and stipulating that the Nanny cannot take holidays during term time so I will still have to pay her for a number of days after the fixed term contract ends on 02/07/09 so she gets her holiday pay entitlement - if thats 28 days, 26 days, 24 days etc at an approx rate of £110 per day its a huge difference.

110 per day - that's at the higher end of the scale for a nanny. Good wages

She is excellent though, very experienced and well worth it. Plus its a long day 7:30am-5:30pm so £11 per hour gross I think is fine and Im based in Greater London so I doubt I'd get much cheaper. Most importantly though I know her, she was my daughters Montessori pre-school teacher for 18 months where she was also the deputy head for 8 years. As long as I'm prepared for all the costs associated with employing a Nanny I'll be fine its just I was scared I meet an unexpected huge bill at some point but Nannynick has reassured me that, as long as my contract is watertight, I should be okay.

or so I hope

Interesting about the Term Time holiday calculation - didn't know about that one... nice to be able to add to my knowledge.

If using the Term Time method of holiday calculation, make sure your nanny is aware that is how holiday will be calculated.

£110 per day is £11 gross per hour, which isn't that high for some area's (thinking London where nannies can want to earn £12 net per hour+). Clearly the daily figure depends on how long the working day is... a nanny could easily be working 10, 11, 12 hours.

When comparing CM fees v Nanny costs, make sure you know ALL the fees a childminder charges. Such as: Retainer for keeping places open for your children. Food. Outings.
In the same way, the salary paid to a nanny isn't the only cost of employing a nanny.
It can be very hard to fully compare two different forms of childcare... so obtain as much information about both types of care as possible.

Good luck with being an employer

It's a huge bonus that you have got someone you already know and haven't got to go down the interviewing route, checking references etc etc.

In my point of view, 7:30 to 5:30 isn't that long a day at all! Lucky her!

Don't forget to include an overtime clause if appropriate, stating for example,
"Overtime will be paid at a gross rate of £x/hour".

Also, if she will be driving your car and not your own you will need to factor in any additional insurance.

HTH

sorry, her own car.