With the arrival of the festive season, you are probably looking at the year ahead and thinking about having some time off. But holiday arrangements can often create problems for nannies, and it's important to know what your rights are and to ensure that you make agreements with your employer well in advance.
All full-time employees in the UK are entitled to four weeks (20 days) of paid leave every year, and this includes nannies. Your holiday leave entitlement will often be counted from a particular date each year, usually the date when you started your current job, and your holiday may only be taken during the employment year in which it arises. Similarly, you are not entitled to take payment in lieu of any time owed that was not taken in an employment year.
Although your right to paid leave begins from your very first day of employment, leave cannot be taken until it has been accrued; this means that you get one day's holiday after 13 days of work. If you work part-time you have the same holiday entitlement but pro-rata to the number of days you work. In effect, this means that if you regularly work one day per week you are entitled to four days' paid holiday; if you work two days you get eight days; for three days you are entitled to 12 days; and for four days, you are entitled to 16 days. If your job should end before the end of your employment year and you have taken more days off than you have accumulated, you should expect your employer to withhold a proportion of your final pay cheque.
Usually nannies are not expected to work on bank holidays, but technically speaking, unless you work for a bank, there is no statutory right to be absent from work on these days. It's up to your employer to decide whether you will get the bank holidays off and whether they count as part of your total holiday entitlement or as additional paid holidays. The same applies for any extra, one-off public holidays, such the Millennium or the Queen's Jubilee, although these are usually paid for as additional days off.
It's considered common practice for families to ask their nanny to take part of her annual leave, usually two weeks, during times when they themselves are on holiday. However, it is ultimately your employers' right to decide when you take your holiday, and if they wish, they are entitled to ask you to take all your holiday at a time that suits them. To avoid misunderstandings it should be put in writing, in an employment contract, how your paid leave is to be decided. If it is only agreed verbally, your employer could change their mind and ask you to take all your holiday at a time that is most suitable to them. The employment contract should also state whether you are expected to work on any public holidays and whether they will be included in your holiday entitlement.
If it is agreed that you can choose the time of some of your holiday, you have to give your employer at least twice as many days' notice as the number of days' holiday you wish to take. This means that if you want to take a two-week break you need to notify your employer four weeks in advance. Still, this doesn't mean that your employer is required to agree to your request.
Holidays can still create problems, even if it has been agreed in advance and put into the contract that you will take two weeks when it best suits your employer and the remaining two weeks at a time of your choice. Louise Kirk, who last month was named Professional Nanny of the Year, says, 'It happens quite often that parents book up all four weeks and expect you to fit in around their arrangements. Because you have such a close relationship with the family you can easily feel guilty if you stick to your guns - this is especially true for younger nannies with less experience.'
If your employers want you to accompany them on holiday and you are expected to work during the stay, this should be considered as normal working time and not as part of your holiday. Of course, if the destination appeals to you and it is agreed that you will have time off there, you may like to agree to use some of your holiday time. But sometimes even a trip to the Bahamas is not all it's cracked up to be. Louise Kirk gives a word of caution when she tells the tale of a nanny who accompanied her employers on holiday, tempted by an exotic destination and the promise of plenty of time off. Louise says, 'The family had booked a beautiful but completely isolated villa, miles away from any amenities and without local transport, so the nanny was stranded at the house for the entire duration of the holiday. She ended up helping out and looking after the children even during the days she was meant to have off, because there was nothing else for her to do.'
Good communication is the key to a strong working relationship between nanny and employer and, along with knowing what your rights are, it can help you to avoid unnecessary conflicts during planning and during the holiday season.
Asa Nilsdotter is the nanny agency co-ordinator at Nannytax. For more information on this and other questions related to your employment rights, call Nannytax on 0845 226 2203 or visit www.nannytax.co.uk
