Pregnant nannies Post Reply

[Squirrel]

Hi,
This is a question to families who have a nanny.
How would you feel/react to the news that your nanny was pregnant?
I myself am a nanny, and have been for ten years. I have several nanny friends at the moment who are expecting their own babies in the new year and the families they work with have (mostly) been very supportive.
I was having this conversation with some local mums who all have nannies the other day and was quite surprised that the majority claimed they would be really unhappy if their nannies told the them they were pregnant. I understand that your own family and childcare are going to be a concern and an issue to work out with maternity leave/coming back to work with her child/maternity cover etc. Surely though, excitement and happiness comes first??
For many reasons I haven't told my employer that my husband and I are trying for a baby, but when it eventually does happen and the time comes to tell the family I work for, I really hope they are supportive.
After all, nannies are nannies because we love children, surely you can't be mad at us for having our own!

[pie81]

I would be happy for my nanny but worried about the effect on my own family.

I don't think it is either/or, I would feel both these things together!

Of course to the nanny I would give congratulations, express support etc, and I would genuinely feel happy for her, but inside I would also be thinking "oh bugger now what shall I do"!

That can't be that surprising surely? I didn't expect my employer to be entirely happy about me being pregnant, after all they employ me for a reason. Think of it this way - if your employer is upset you are pregnant that shows they think you are a great nanny and don't want to lose you for a year (or however long)

Good luck with your plans

[ggg511]

I'm with pie81 - I would be very happy for our nanny, but secretly thinking, 'oh sh1t'! Dont forget, being pregnant brings with it a whole load of other things to factor into the childcare arrangements - cover for antenatal appointments, cover for sickness (some people suffer terribly during pregnancy) and other things that come with it. I think it will be dependent on you as an individual - lots of people deal with pregnancy really well, remain active and enjoy the experience. Others really struggle with the changes to their body and that would impact your ability to look after the children.

We love our nanny and would miss her terribly. Not to mention the cost/time associated with the admin of finding someone else in the interim. I also worry about the expectation of the nanny to return to work with their child, which I wouldn't be happy about, but everyone has their own opinion on this.....

In summary - we'd be happy for our nanny and hope she would feel this, even though we'd be worried about the impact to us!

[bandicoot]

Just along the same lines, what kind of maternity pay does one pay a nanny on maternity leave? I don't actually have a nanny but have always wondered as we are considering getting one.

[HeatherKT2]

Hi

A lot of the issue here is down to cost I think. Do I have to pay maternity pay? Will I get this back from the government? Will I end up paying for both my nanny to be on maternity leave and then have to pay a new nanny and will this cost me double? I believe that the government will pay for the standard maternity pay, but for us employers its a worry as there are loads of rumours and differing opinions around. I am still 100% sure of what would happen if our nanny got pregnant.

So - for me, the very best way of ensuring that your employer remains supportive and delighted by your news is to say - I will help with interviewing a maternity replacement and I have done my research and know that the government with pay you back the standard maternity pay….or whatever it is that the government do! (see, I am still unsure). I know this feels like having to go the extra mile that you wouldn't normally do in other employment….but being a nanny isn't like just being employed; it's also very personal and you are part of a family and money issues can be really scary for families.

Hope that helps!! Good luck!

[AbbevilleMummy]

Agree with everything the other mums have said, but also, this tends to be the case with all employment. I'm not a nanny and had a corporate job, and there was no way that I was going to tell my employer that I was trying for a baby, and when I did tell them I was pregnant, they said congratulations etc etc but I know they were thinking 'oh god, who is going to cover... etc' behind my back.

Also, it is worse for employers of nannies as opposed to other employers as we only employ one person, not a team who can all pull together. Nannies have the same rights as all other employees in that they receive maternity pay and their job must be kept open for them to return to if they so wish. That is absolutely correct, and nannies should have all these rights, but it does create a bigger issue for the family employing the nanny as temporary cover is expensive, you don't know if the nanny will definitely return or not and so can't really tell your kids what is going to happen and also the children have to adjust to possibly a number of different nannies and inconsistency in the household.

I agree with the previous poster who said that doing everything you can to help the transition and being open about what your plans currently are following the birth of your child will help the relationship no end, even though you are not required to do any of it.