Interview - writing a job description - for parents

As a future employer and responsible parent you have to think through what you want from your nanny before the interview. It is good to sit down and write a job description for her so you can ask specific questions from your nanny.

How does a job description look like?

It is entirely up to you. You can write down bullet points or paragraphs or both. It is just a brief reminder for you what to ask from the nanny on the interview. It also can help when Nannytax writes your contract. 

The most important things it has to contain are the working hours, the working premises and the chores of the nanny. You also can talk about benefits (if it is a live in job or she can drive your car). You have to make sure the nanny understands what is going to be her job so she can say a responsible yes for your job proposal. 

Bullet points about your nanny:

• young, older, how many years experience, what kind of childcare experience, language preference, religion (if applicable), non smoker (all together or only during the job), papers - qualifications you require (CRB, First Aid Certificate, NI number, Proof of address, ID, Passport, Driving licence, Ofsted registration, etc.), sporty, arty, girly, etc.

• Don't forget to write down everything you want. It doesn't matter if it seems weird or not appropriate. You will leave your children with your nanny for long hours. She is going to be one of the most important role model (after you) for them. So it is your responsibility to choose the right one for your family. If something won't match you will make the nanny leave sooner or later. So for everyone's sake it is better to be crystal clear in the beginning.

Bullet points about your nanny's role:

• live in, live out, working hours, sole charge, shared care, driver or non driver, premises she  has to work in (only in the house, in outside premises such as library, etc.), cooking (if applicable) - important to mention if your family on a diet or the kids have allergy. 
• you have to be clear about cleaning - you employ a nanny and not a cleaner. So don't ask her to clean the whole house or wash the clothes and iron for the whole family. If you want her to do the children's washing and ironing and cleaning up than it is ok as long as you pay the right rate of the salary for it. Of course in the case you ask for additional chores like cleaning you have to make sure your nanny knows about it and agree with it before she accepts the job. If you think these chores are in a nanny's manual than you are highly mistaken. So make sure you tell the nanny about everything she has to do and she agrees with it before signing the contract. Put every chores of her in the contract also as you can refer to it when it comes down to questions later on.
• make sure you mention all of the additional chores she has to do. Taking the children to the doctor, library, taking pictures of the children, writing their development book, planning, etc. These chores are not mandatory. So you have to be sure you organise everything (papers) for them. As your nanny can be uncomfortable with doing these so just make sure she knows about the additional chores. Although these chores are in a higher pay rate. So every additional thing you ask for just make sure you offer a fair rate of salary.  

Salary:

• hourly rate, monthly rate or per year, childcare vouchers (if applicable), pay for sickness, NI, tax, pay for babysitting, additional hours, etc.

Benefits:

• if you want to offer additional benefits for your nanny than this is the time to talk about it. 
• if your nanny will 'live in' you can talk about the computer usage, her room, food allowance, usage of your premises
• if your nanny is 'live out' you can offer food allowance (as long as she eats what the children eats - highly recommended as my children never ate anything until I showed them it is not poisonous:P *joke*), you can offer her to sleep over while she babysits (depends on how far she lives or how dangerous your neighbourhood, etc.), literally you can mention anything here you can think about)
• car usage (if she can use yours), mileage allowance (if she drives her car)
• holidays - how many days, who decide when, how you pay for the holiday, etc.
• mobile phone (if applicable), camera usage, computer usage (always give her different account and password), landline usage, etc.

These are the main points worth to talk about on a nanny interview. When you decide to employ a nanny who will work and might live in your house it's highly recommended to think through what you want from her. Believe me if you don't put a little effort in it in the beginning you might have to do the whole hassle again in some months. So sit down get a pen and a piece of paper and write down everything you require from yourself as a future employer and from your nanny. 

If you do everything right in the beginning you will have a much higher percentage of success rate to find your perfect nanny.