Hiring a nanny - what do you look for.

christineperseus

Make sure your contract of emplyment contains things like:-
Are meals included? - who buys them?
Are nanny friends allowed around?
Who puts the petrol in the car?
How much is in the 'entertainment' purse? - ie if the Nanny takes your child to a play area - who buys the coffees?

but at the end of the day it is a gut instinct - you'll either like the Nanny/Manny (my friend had one) or not.
This person will be spending as much time in your home as you do.
If you're late - is there an 'overtime' rate?
We chose two weeks holiday and the Nanny chose the other two.

AND DO TAKE UP REFFERENCES YOURSELF.

Nicki

Murdina wrote: »

It may sound obvious but no one has mentioned it so far. Top thing for me was whether or not the person really appeared to love children and want to be a nanny - think sadly some girls just do it by default. If you can demonstrate a genuine love of children rather than just wanting a way to earn money/keep yourself occupied till you find a man to keep you (yes I have seen some like that) then you are a long way there.
Make sure your employer even for a short period is prepared to give you a written statement of duties and pay and that they are prepared to operate PAYE properly on your salary (another reasion to use an agency).

I agree with this. My nanny when I interviewed her only had a couple of years experience as a mothers help and a helper in a nursery, no formal nanny qualifications (she had done the training but failed her written work), but clearly loved children and was excellent with my little boy in the interview. Her references were all glowing. She now has a further 7 years experience to add to her CV and another glowing reference to come when she decides to move on, which I hope will be never! Having said that I was prepared to have a lead in period of about 3 weeks before I went back to work, when I was around at home with her and my little one, so was able to check her out in action and would have changed her like a flash during that period if she hadn't been up to scratch.

Counting_Pennies_2

Hapless wrote: »

Only an agency/employer can CRB (and list 99), you can't CRB yourself. Everytime you get a new post you should be CRB checked as they are only valid for one employer.

Again, to clarify further, an employer if just a parent cannot CRB check. It is only through an agency or large employer

Therefore if your nanny to be doesn't have a crb or come through an agency, and you are a one man band in terms of employer hiring the nanny, you will need to seek an organisation who do CRB checks and ask if you can pay through them for the check to be done, such as a play group, or other organisation