Our nanny works 4 days a week x 10 hours each time. We offer her 4 weeks of holidays i.e. 16 days. That said we do still pay her the normal amount so she still gets paid for 40 hours each week when she is off.

So I would say you should offer her 12 days - which in her case will correspond to 4 weeks as she only needs 3 days off to make it a full week but then you pay her for the 36 hours when she is off - so as if she was working. So she is no worse off financially in these weeks than she would be if she was working. She can think of it also as having 20 days (12 paid and 8 unpaid) - which will include the two days she is not working - but she will still only get paid for 36 hours for each week of her holiday - so it is all the same.

Makes sense?

If she works 12 hour days 3 days a week then by her argument that is a full week. In other words she gets a 4 day weekend. So when she takes her holiday she only needs to take three days off work in order to get a full week of not working as she never works those other two days anyway. If you give her 20 days she gets nearly 7 weeks holiday a year, plus bank holidays. And presumably plus any holidays you take that you don't agree are part of her holiday allowance. If you're with a tax agency such as Nannytax it might be worth checking with them just to be sure as you don't want to break the law - then at least you know you're within the rules. Nannytax have a legal department who can advise you.

Thanks again all for your views. Some very good points here. Indeed it seems odd to mix up daily versus hourly counting, and in the end it boils down to what is considered a day, 12 hours or 7?
We are more than ready to be flexible and generous with final holiday count but it needs to be from a solid starting point that is fair and right. We will go back to negociate this, and I do hope it was an honest miscalculation on her part, otherwise indeed it does not bode well on the relationship from day one!

As others have said, on some levels it comes down to pay.

you appear to have calculated it correctly from what I can see, but what the nanny is asking (whether she realizes it or not) is whether she can have 20 days holiday pro rata at a lower rate of pay.

of course you do not have to agree to this, as the normal working pattern is 3 days at 12 hours. using a simple rate of £10 per hour for ease of calculation, this illustrates as:

12 hours per day = £120 per day, 3 days a week.
based on 3 days week leave, she would be entitled to 12 days leave, with the equivalent salary for 12 hours on each one of those days. i.e. 144 hours annual leave

now, you could decide to let have that as 20 days, at 7.2 hours per day or £72 pay each day. but this is not a pattern that suits you, and she is not entitled to demand a different configuration.

the other question is whether you allow her to take individual days, or as whole weeks? because as a whole week, she gets paid for 3 days, and doesn't ordinarily get paid for 2 of them. in that case it doesn't matter how you dress it up, as a week she gets 36 hours pay. 3 days paid, 2 days unpaid = 36 hours. or pro rata 7.2 hours over 5 days = 36 hours.

it only gets complicated if she wants to take as individual days, and in that case it should be 12 hours each.

Enough of the nanny-bashing, people! It could just be that the nanny made an innocent mistake and got it wrong; after all, the OP found it confusing and unclear, hence seeking advice. Immediately jumping to the conclusion that the nanny is trying it on and isn't to be trusted is unfair, unhelpful and prejudiced.

I agree with the other posters. You are definitely right. I think it is also worth making the point to the nanny that the number of hours she works per day will be factored into the holiday pay she receives as she is entitled to receive her normal daily rate as holiday pay.

It is based on days worked not hours but to show some willingness think about other days you might be able to give her. Eg if me and my husband are not working over Xmas, I give those days as extra. Which is usually equal to another 2-3 days. Or don't have to work Xmas eve or only a half day.

Also remember, I'm sure you know this already. Out of the agreed holiday. She gets to choose half of those days and you get to choose half of those days.

It's all about give and take and it usually works out. My nanny gets so much more than 20 days due to Xmas and the fact that my company gives me 25 days so I'd either be away with the family or at home.

Best of luck as it's all about negotiation. But you are right the entitlement is based on days worked not hours. Don't let her take the mickey.

As a parent I have had several nannies over the years, working part time or full time all the other posts are correct. To me this nanny is trying it on, to me that is a red flag because if you are getting this before she has even started, their will probably be problems down the line. I couldn't trust someone like that with my children and she does not sound like a professional nanny to me.

I work as a nanny and I have allways been given 4 weeks holiday calculated on how many days a week I work so if I work 3 days a week that would be 12 days holiday or if it was a 4 day week it would be 16 days holiday.
At the moment I get 20 days holiday only because I work a full 5 day week.
I hope this is helpful. I would love more holidays but that what's it is and I would never ask for more unless an emergency came up. She does not sound like a real worker to me. It's very normal for a nanny to work 50 hours a week as a nanny. I work 60 hours as live in nanny.

Many thanks all for the feedback - it is really useful to get your thoughts. Glad it's not me who is mad!
The contract does not yet specify days or hours, that is what we are drawing up now...

That's ridiculous. Of course you are right! I am not sure how she could possibly argue it any other way. My nanny used to work 4 days a week and so I gave her 16 days paid holiday a year. I had three different nannies when I worked a 4 day week and no-one ever questioned this. I think she's trying it on.

Interesting as I would 100% agree that you have calculated it correctly and I would do the same. The gov website does point out it comes down to whether your contract is for a number of days or hours per week. I hope for your sake its days and if not would hope the nanny agrees to it as if they know you are working only three days it would be tricky to understand how they would expect you to accommodate the other scenario… good luck…

I think you have calculated it correctly

this calculator on the government's website will tell you how much leave you have to give her legally: https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement

The way you are suggesting is definitely the standard way of calculating holiday when you work PT - 12 days means 4 weeks of holiday since she works 3 days a week (which is the same as if you work FT and have 20 days).

By her logic you could require she use 5 "days" of holiday to have 36 hours off since that's equivalent to a week...

Incidentally I think a standard live out nanny day is 10 hours but obviously you can agree anything...