Nanny 20 weeks pregnant when she started job!!

[HantsPants]

Get this... I have just gone back to work 3 days a week, started on 1st September. Found lovely nanny. DD and DS love her. She has just told me she is... wait for it... 28 weeks pregnant and due on 23rd Jan!!! She was 20 weeks when she started, apparently did not know until she was 22 weeks. You may well be wondering why I did not notice her bump. Well, dear MNers, she is very generously upholstered and you can't tell (yes, really). Nanny loves job and DC and wants to take a short time off and come back to work with the baby.

I was initially supportive but DH dead against it. DD aged 6 and a breeze but DS aged 2 and very hard work not to mention has speech delay and needs nanny's full attention for his speech development and Makaton signing etc.

Do not want to pay nanny top whack to look after her own baby in my house and put her newborn baby's needs ahead of my own children's. Cannot imagine that this is anything other than problematic.

Thoughts anyone?

Harriet, yes, really worried about Nanny working until 37.5 weeks as she wants to. I had DS at 32 weeks. Might try altering her leaving date if fantastic candidate wants to start earlier but again rocking boat dangerous IMO.

Am weak with worry over all this and spending all my energy on making sure everybody OK/ Nanny not about to lose it/ burst into tears/ go on long-term sick leave/ go into Labour in middle of school run. Walked out of door yesterday looking like scarecrow. DH has added no value thus far and I am not holding breath. He has magnanimously congratulated me on handling of situation however... great.

On positive note, weight dropping off with stress. Size 10 pre-baby trousers now fit like glove.

Harriet - think there is something in the maternity leave rules about what happens if someone takes off a certain amount of time sickness as a result of pregnancy... that after a certain point, maternity leave starts regardless of what was previously agreed with employer. Found it... see BusinessLink: When maternity leave can begin
It's only if the absence is after the beginning of the fourth week before the Expected Week of Childbirth.

Hi ya
She knows about the rule where if she has a pregnancy related ailment past a certain point the maternity leave automatically starts. That applies to office workers too - of course. What is upsetting her is the fact that she could hire someone to start from X date as maternity cover, then if the nanny goes off and the person can't start earlier it's getting cover for that period or taking time off. When you have limited time off per year, this isn't actually a minor inconvenience. Her husband is a teacher, like my DH, and can't help.

Maybe just postpone the temp appt til nearer the time? Also not exactly a relaxing route but it might be the best option.

Of course this can't be helped - and as I said in her shoes, probably I'd try to work as long as I could too.

i am a childminder and i had my daughter around 37 and half weeks mayb 38 and a half. i work monday to thursday so when i finished on thursday i inteeded to start back on monday but my waters broke the early hours of friday morning. at the time i looked after 2 boys 1 who had just turned 1 and the other who had just turned 2. sometime i did get tired but i rested when the 2 of the went for a nap which was usually at the sametime. also in the afternoons i would just take the child out on random walks about to stop me sitting at home and feeling tired it also helped to the the almost to year use to walking at once my daughter was born he was out the pram and onto buggy board. so it may not be that bad letting her wrk right up.

I think it's any sick leave in the final 4 weeks that triggers automatic maternity leave, not just pregnancy related illness. Probably best to double check that point.

If you can determine when she should go on leave, why not ask her to leave from the earliest point (i.e. week 29) and get a new nanny from then on? That was you are not having to worry about her going into labour on the job.