It becomes obvious when you stop to look at the job of nannying for more than a few minutes that nannies are in 'sole charge' not just of children but of their own careers. It's because they work unsupervised, away from company rules and state health and safety laws, that they become at risk of many of the occupational hazards noted in our feature on page 8. Some of the other hazards - the emotional and psychological ones - are more of the nanny's own making, so it's equally important there to look out for number one and keep a healthy perspective on the job. Possibly hazardous areas that are covered by law are the subject of another feature on page 16. While it's comforting to know that impartial legal advice and action are available to nannies and employers alike, it's still down to the nanny to be aware of this and to seek out help, or negotiate.
It becomes obvious when you stop to look at the job of nannying for more than a few minutes that nannies are in 'sole charge' not just of children but of their own careers. It's because they work unsupervised, away from company rules and state health and safety laws, that they become at risk of many of the occupational hazards noted in our feature on page 8. Some of the other hazards -the emotional and psychological ones - are more of the nanny's own making, so it's equally important there to look out for number one and keep a healthy perspective on the job. Possibly hazardous areas that are covered by law are the subject of another feature on page 16.
While it's comforting to know that impartial legal advice and action are available to nannies and employers alike, it's still down to the nanny to be aware of this and to seek out help, or negotiate.
But ask nannies why they prefer their jobs over others they could have had and they'll say, as they do in our feature on page 14, they love the flexibility, the spontaneity, the freedom - being in sole charge of a working day in a career that really is, in this case, 'what you make it'!
