Is this a normal response by employers following a nanny car crash?

[quicknamechange]

Have name changed for this as I may show the nanny in question this thread. In a nutshell she had an accident in her employer's car, which she uses for work (reversed into something I think). The car had to go into the garage for repairs, and so the nanny had to use her car to take the children around.

The employers are not reimbursing her for petrol and have decided not to claim on the insurance - but have asked her to contribute £250 towards the repairs (which I think were in the region of £500.)

Not sure what her contract says about petrol costs, but woulde interested to hear whehter this is normal - if my nanny crashed, as a normal rule, I think I'd have just expected to claim on the insurance and accept it as part and parcel of employing a nanny (unless it was a reular occurence/complete foolhardiness, in which case I'd probably be concerned around the children's safety).

So, is this normal?

Blimey - if the accident occurred on work time I would certainly expect the employer to pay all costs including her petrol costs while the car is at the garage.

If I were the nanny I would find another job asap

If I were to have a company car, I would expect to have been given paperwork to go with that which stated what costs if any I would be responsible for in the event of an accident.
If nanny was at fault, then I would expect the nanny to make an offer to help pay, though would expect employer to cover all costs if necessary (as they decided that their employee needed a car to drive and provided that car).

I don't know all the details, just the outlines, but it struck me as I'd never really thought about what I would feel the right thing to do would be.

i have it in my contract that if while driving employers car, regardless of fault, if involved in an accident i will not be expected to pay anything

I would not expect that th nanny should pay a penny if the accident was at work, regardless of who was at fault If the accdent was on her own time then paying the insuranc excess would be the most I would expect, and this only if part of a written agreement.

If the accident was during work time dong work stuff then no I dont see she should have to pay unless it was something they agreed ahead of time

If for eg they said 'yes you can use our car to go away for weekend, but the excess is £500 if you prang it' then fair eogh for them to charge.

Seems to me they are trying it on a bit

My AP doesnt need car for work. If I were to put her on insurance then I would discuss excesses etc with her as she would be using it purely for social use

eogh of course means enough

Well obviously

I don't think these employers had insured the car properly for nanny to drive. That's why they aren't going through insurance - there is none!

not read everyone elses replys but no... the family should cover the costs of the car repairs as well as 40p per mile for the use of the nannies car.

If she was in her own car she probably wouldnt have reversed into something (as she'd be used to driving her car) and even then they should have special Bisuness insurance on their car for the Nanny - they may not be claiming because they havent paid for Business use... they want her to use their car, therefore it is their problem not hers.

I sure as hell wouldn't be using my car unless i was being paid 40p per mile because It isn't fair to to business miles and the risk of damage on a car

The people I nannied for, I damaged my own car when I wasn't even working for them and they still paid towards its repairs!

If I was driving a company vehicle on work business (as this nanny was), and within the terms of my job description (i.e legally, responsibly, not drunk, etc) then I would expect the company (i.e the employers) to cover the cost of any accident.

The employers are being very unreasonable. If a bus driver scrapes the side of a bus on a tree, they don't have to pay fo the damage, the bus co pays. It should be the same for a nanny. And the employers hsould pay or get it covered by insurance.

we covered this in our nanny contract - any accidents whilst on duty were covered by us; if she had an accident whilst off duty she was liable for the excess unless it could be reclaimed from the third party. it was then her choice if she wanted to drive for her own purposes as she could always use public transport. We also made clear that she was responsible for parking tickets whether on or off duty as we would pay for car parking costs.

we never had any accidents and only one parking ticket - which is why we made the rule explicit.