Nanny sensationally quit

[fancytiles]

Wondering how you would handle this, our nanny we have had for 7 months has just quit out of the blue giving 2 weeks notice (in the contract we have with her, which she drafted, it says she needs to give 8 weeks notice). In total shock and feeling really let down. She said it's a family matter.

Your post doesn’t really live up to the title! The only thing you can do is look for a new nanny! You can’t kidnap her!

Difficult one. But i would not want to enforce her staying since she is looking after your children and noone wants someone who is disgruntled to be doing that.

Hmmmm I would consider very seriously how you have treated her otherwise you may find all your nannies suddenly have a “family matter”. Have you been a good employer? Did you take the piss? Is your husband a bit over friendly. It’s good to have a real think about it, save others leaving in the future.

If she feels she has to go in two weeks and cannot wait the 8 in her contract then what can you do? If she has a genuine family issue then surely you could be a little supportive. I do understand finding replacement child care in two weeks during lockdown may be hard though.

Gosh, I clicked on this thinking something sensational happened. I think uou mean suddenly quit op. Not sensationally.

You need to find other child care, you can get temp nannies. I’m not sure how else you’d handle it?

She might just have a family reason for needing to quit! 2 weeks notice is plenty after 7 months employment.

It's hard OP but could always happen when you employ people. It's just life.

Better start looking for a new nanny. Probably also good to consider how she was treated to make sure you haven’t done something to drive her away.

You could try to go after her for breach of contract but there is minimal redress I you would get and the difficulty of doing this heavily outweighs and return. In the words of Elsa, let her go.

She hasn't sensationally quit. She's just handed her notice in.

Its annoying as a nanny is so personal and its unsettling. But there is nothing you can do about it unfortunately- apart from move on. I think two months is too long for a nanny notice period - as you are the employer you should draft the contract next time, and include an appropriate notice period. The good news is there seem to be a lot of excellent nannies looking for employment right now.

Maybe she’s had a family emergency that she doesn’t want to discuss with you? I mean that’s possible right? Her being an actual person and all...

Disappointed.

I thought there would be flouncing, flourishing of damning evidence, some sort of dramatic entrance or exit....

But no...

I was expecting a much better story from the thread title!

Most disappointing thread ever

I was expecting a much better story from the thread title!

There is no story at all! She's just handed in her notice.

@RicStar yes it's the first nanny we have had and I let her draft the contract as I was not sure where to start. I would imagine she put the 2 month notice period in to protect herself, I can remember thinking at the time it was long. You're right there isn't really anything we can do if she's said she's leaving and I could be naive and new to the nanny game here but we have only ever employed a housekeeper before and have had the same one for 7 years so I'm just so shocked that she has done that so suddenly especially as it's a much more personal role than being a housekeeper!

Gosh isn't it awful when the help prioritise their own wellbeing over yours

What exactly is a housekeeper? genuine question.

Life happens. Treat the next one like gold dust but it still might happen if they are unhappy /homesick/ill/family or relationship issues. Tbf it must be very isolating working as a nanny at the moment and lots of people are suffering with their mental health.

What are her duties day to day?

OP - she's your employee. She needs to give her contractual notice unless you decide otherwise. You obviously cannot force her to work, but it can affect her reference and you could take her to small claims court for breach of contract.
You need to have a chat with her today and decide if you only let her work 2 weeks, you may be able to compromise and do a month.

Were there any issues?
How much holiday does she have left?

At least she is giving you notice

Perhaps worth asking her for feedback for any improvements for the next nanny?

My mother used to have a “Housekeeper”. It turned out it was the cleaning lady who came in once a week.

FFS. What are you going to do, force her to work her notice period?
4

Maybe it really is a family matter! Especially under present circumstances, if someone is, for example, ill and in need of help and care, then they may not have the same options as usual, and a family member who presumably, if they're a nanny, has caring skills, may well feel the need to step up. Or it could be anything. There's nothing 'sensational' here. You will just need to find a new nanny.