Oh no!!! Help, help, help!! Nanny signed contract with us but has rung to say she has got a better offer and won't be coming!!

[BoffinMum]

So the BoffinMum childcare saga continues. We are just back from holiday, and the nanny who took five weeks to sign the employment contract at the end of July has just rung to say she has been headhunted and someone has made her a better offer, so she won't be starting on 1 September after all.

I have to say I feel sick to my stomach about this. The kids are very upset - they were looking forward to her coming. I phoned the agency straight away, and they are very shocked and trying to find me someone else, but I could have done without this on top of the usual upsets and anxieties about returning to work after maternity leave. I have also now lost the backup nursery place at work I had applied for, as I offered it back one she had signed on the dotted line.

What an unholy mess.

Well the replacement nanny who was supposed to come for a trial day rang the agency 30 minutees before she was due to turn up to say she wasn't really looking for a job after all, so wouldn't be coming.

Have no childcare for now at all, so unable to return to work as planned after maternity leave, and looking very flaky.

Are you all sure I can't send the original one who let me down so late in the day a used nappy in the post???

LOL!
I am sure she would work it out. Plus actually it's far too cliched.

Instead of a nappy in the post, is this too nasty? MN jury please. Some details need checking etc but the gist would be the same. I am loath to let her just walk away from this with zero consequences.

Dear Unprofessional Nanny,

We were very distressed to receive your telephone call on Monday telling us that despite signing a contract for the nanny post we were offering, you have decided to take another job elsewhere and do not intend to turn up to work on 1 September as agreed.

This has had very serious consequences for us as a family. As you know, we originally started looking for a nanny in early May, in order for me to return to work on 1 September. The aim of starting early with our recruitment process was to be able to have plenty of choice of nannies, and ensure we were able to appoint someone with the right level of baby experience for our five month old.

When we offered you the post in May, we also had in hand a place in my workplace nursery, and were registered with another agency as well. In the event we were offered three other nannies to choose from. When you eventually signed the contract in late July we obviously then released the nursery place and told the other nannies to look for jobs elsewhere, as your agreement to become our nanny meant they were no longer needed.

As you only informed us of your decision a week before my return to work, it is now too late to find a permanent replacement within a reasonable timeframe, and the nursery is now oversubscribed. Consequently I will be unable to attend work myself during the first week of September, and from 7 September we are having to employ a temporary nanny at a cost of £xxx a day plus an agency fee of £xxx a week until we find a suitable candidate who accepts the job and who has given notice. This could take a month or longer.

We are informing you of this because having taken legal advice, it appears you are liable for any costs in excess of those we would have paid you under the terms of the original contract, and we therefore have the right to reclaim those costs from you via the Small Claims Court. We are very disappointed that it has come to this step, but as I am sure you will understand, we will have incurred these costs through no fault of our own due to your reneging on a legally binding contract.

Yours sincerely
Dr BoffinMum

"As you only informed us of your decision a week before my return to work, it is now too late to find a permanent replacement within a reasonable timeframe despite our best efforts to do so, and the nursery is now oversubscribed."

What a nightmare. I had hoped that something might have turned up.
Can none of the DS's mates' SAHM mums help?

This is really shitty, but are you legally obliged to return to work? If the baby is only 5 months old don't you still have loads of maternity leave that you could insist upon?

I like it, do it.

As a Maternity Nurse i have a signed contract with my families, in it are fees for the job not happening on a sliding up scale so the nearer the start date the more they would pay, also if the job finishes early.

Now the parents read and sign to say they agree to these fees but it is down to me whether i want to enforce them, 1 family ( who i had worked for before) called an early end to a job as she wished to have the baby with her 24/7 and in the same breath as saying don't come in today was we will send you a cheque.

She has behaved in a underhand and horrible manner and i truely believe what goes around comes around and she will get hers some day.

Thanks for views everyone. Senua, I had to give notice formally of my return to work some weeks ago and I am not allowed to change it now. Also it would really land them in it, as they would have to find a replacement lecturer in a specialist area and while nobody is indispensable, it would be nigh on impossible for them to sort this before the students come back. They have been very good to me during the whole pg (I had horrific health problems) and I would not do that to them.

BoffinMum can I offer a suggestion? I like your letter but I think it's a bit too wordy - you're losing the impact a bit. Can I suggest cutting it down a bit, something like this? Tell me to naff off if you thik I'm nit picking

Dear Unprofessional Nanny,

We were very distressed to receive your telephone call on Monday informing us of your decision to take up another post, and therefore not start with us on 1 September as agreed.

This has had very serious consequences for us as a family. As you know, we started our recruitment process in early May in order to have plenty of choice of nannies, and ensure we were able to appoint someone with the right level of baby experience.

When we offered you the post we had a number of alternatives available, including a place in my workplace nursery, and three other nannies interested in the position. When you eventually signed the contract in late July we released the nursery place and told the other nannies to look for jobs elsewhere.

As you only informed us of your decision a week before my return to work, it is now too late to find a permanent replacement within a reasonable timeframe, and the nursery is oversubscribed.

Consequently I will be unable to attend work during the first week of September, and from 7 September we are having to employ a temporary nanny at a cost of £xxx a day, until we find a suitable candidate who accepts the job and who has given notice..

Having taken legal advice, it appears you are liable for any costs in excess of those we would have paid you under the terms of the original contract, and we therefore have the right to reclaim those costs from you via the Small Claims Court. We are very disappointed that it has come to this step, but as I am sure you will understand, we will have incurred these costs through no fault of our own due to your reneging on a legally binding contract.

Yours sincerely
Dr BoffinMum

the letter is good I'd put in the bit about despite our best efforts too.

Not questioning whether you are right but is nanny really liable for your additional expenses? did she have a one week notice period in trial/initial month or was it longer

(we will have to change from nursery to nanny if I get a job) and this would be a disaster so just wondering how to protect myself!

I can't remember your personal circumstances BM. Can Mr Boffin take parental leave?

I know this is awful for you BoffinMum, but in legal terms what did the nanny do wrong? Was it not giving enough notice? I think my contracts have always had a week's notice on either side during the initial probationary/trial period.

as a former nanny I agree with freber further up this thread

the nanny probably doesn't even realise the inconvienence she has caused you, having no children herself

and this can happen the opposite way! I was once given one day notice in favour of the old nanny returning to the job, I was very upset as I loved the little boy I looked after, but the parents didn't think of me and put their feelings first. thats what boffin's nanny has done, as freber says, this happens in the world of work.

its upsetting, but move on

I can't see how the nanny wouldn't know what inconvenience she has caused if she has a brain and any common sense. Pulling out one week before someone is supposed to return to work?! If she's had a job before, she will know that notice periods are there for a very good reason, but is probably thinking they're to protect her more than the family by the sounds of it.

Having said that - was there really no one week notice period in the probationary period? Would be interested to hear about the legal advice.

If I'd done this to a nanny I would expect 100% to have to pay her, probably four weeks.

love the letter and yes if it was the other way round, the nanny would be screaming blue murder!!!

what did the agency say who you found her through?

have they been helpful?

did you get your fee back?

so sorry for you, she sounds a shallow cow though so better off without her in the long run, though can totally get your anger. Why would someone do this? how totally unprofessional, I would definatly persue her if you have the time and energy.

Good luck.

seriously can you take her to court . I didnt realise that you could .

BM you have my absolute sympathies. I really do feel for you. I can imagine it must be hard enough going back to work as it is and leave your little one with a nanny but now this just adds enormously to your stress.

Have you definately checked to see if she is liable for costs or not? It would seem to me that if she had started working for you then changed her mind and given you one weeks notice then she would be legally within her rights. She has actually given you 1 weeks notice now.

I agree with the others that what she has done is morally very very wrong but legally I think within her rights.

It is the same on the other foot for nanny's. They can take on a job giving up other offers of work or possibly even a secure job they are in and then be given only 1 weeks notice to leave themselves. Again legally right but not morally right. It is unfortunate that nannying is so personal and therefore all the more hurtful being let down from both sides.

I have always thought it unfair that the good, nice responsible nannies never get the good, nice caring families and vice versa.

If I was you I would write her a letter telling her what you think of her and her behaviour but I wouldn't bother pursuing the small claims part. I think that will just cause you more stress ad hassle than it is actually worth. Just let it go and hope for a better nanny next time. Hopefully you will luck out and be glad she left in the long run so you could have the better nanny in the end.

Do it, do it, do it!

WouldLikeTo'Chat'ToTheBadNannyTiggaxx

I think she was definitely wrong to keep stringing you along while looking for something better/talking to another family as appears to be the case. But if I'm honest, if I accepted a job and then before I'd even started I was offered a better one elsewhere, I would probably go for that too. I would be careful about giving the necessary notice though.

Thanks for advice everyone. Update:

Nanny procurement very bleak indeed, as all the qualified ones with baby experience seem to be fixed for September now. Agency unable to magic people out of thin air. My own resignation period is three months, so even if I resigned tomorrow I am effectively stuck more or less until Christmas wondering what the hell I can do for childcare. No nursery places or CM with space locally either. I have found a temp for now who costs more than I earn, but obviously this is not sustainable for anything but a couple of weeks. BoffinDad can't take parental leave at the moment for various reasons.

Notice periods apparently only apply once someone has actually started work. Until then if you fail to turn up you can be held liable for the recruitment costs of a replacement, etc.

If I had hired her and then rung her a week before and told her not to turn up because I had found a better nanny, she could have taken me to a tribunal.

I know one point of view is that I should put this down to experience etc etc, but IMO that is not for the greater good at all, and we should challenge people who think they can just behave how they like and leave others to deal with the consequences.

I used to be a nanny and my youngest is starting school in a week [gulp] so could I be of any help?

FabBakerGirl, are you near Cambridge and do you really really want a job???

So if she'd started and given you a week's notice on her first day she'd have been ok, but because she hadn't started she's liable for your costs?

I am in kent - geography is crap - and yes i would help you i I could.