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, actually wise words there. I will indeed ring both referees (who will probably be pretty shocked as they thought so highly of her), and tell them what happened.

The agency has blacklisted her and circulated the fact. They have bent over backwards to help me, but the reality is that there are few nannies around now, apparently, so in terms of the contract I have with them they will end up having to refund me.

But you are probably right, I should move on ... good karma and all that ...

I hate to agree but 'move on' may be the best policy. I was hit by an uninsured driver once: I took him to court and won my case but he then did a runner so I couldn't enforce the debt and it turned out to be a pretty hollow victory. If your nanny does similar (eg you prove the debt but the judge decrees that it is paid off at 50p a month) then she has got a second victory over you which will make you feel worse, not better.

But do tell the agency, the referees, antenatal group, NCT group, all your friends & acquaintances and any/everyone else you can think of.