{"id":314,"date":"2018-01-09T11:38:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T11:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-255815-3383686.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=314"},"modified":"2023-12-12T09:31:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T09:31:07","slug":"nanny-sick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.korukids.co.uk\/blog\/finding-great-childcare\/nanny-sick","title":{"rendered":"What do you do when the nanny is sick?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THAT CALL. 7:20am. The croaky, sad voice on the other end of the line. Your nanny doesn\u2019t feel well. She\u2019s so sorry, she knows this will be really inconvenient, but there is no way she can work today. Hopefully she\u2019ll feel better tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You feel sorry for her \u2013 she sounded truly ill \u2013 but you\u2019re also thinking,\u00a0What do we do now?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re in a nanny share, what you could do first of all is call the other family. One of the hidden benefits of nanny share\u2014at least in theory\u2014is that there are four parents who might be able to take the day off, rather than just two. So if one parent has a full schedule of patients to see, another is in an all-day trial in court, and a third is giving a really important client presentation \u2013 maybe the fourth parent actually has a light schedule today and can look after the kids together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phew. Emergency over, at least on the childcare front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s just the paperwork side of things to square off. You vaguely remember something about this in the contract, but where did you put that thing\u2026 \u00a0(If you\u2019re doing a\u00a0Koru Kids nanny share<\/a>, just call us \u2013 we\u2019ll find it for you!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If and when the worst happens, Koru Kids will sort out the right amount of sick pay for your nanny. But if you\u2019re interested to know in advance how sick pay works \u2013 or if you\u2019re doing a DIY nanny share and may have to figure it out yourself \u2013 read on.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The basic facts about sick pay and nanny share<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the UK, there is a legal minimum amount of sick pay (\u2018statutory sick pay\u2019, or SSP). Even if a nanny\u2019s contract doesn\u2019t mention sick pay at all, they\u2019re entitled to this legal minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general idea behind statutory sick pay is that a worker isn\u2019t paid for the first few days of sickness, in order to discourage them from throwing a sickie. But to avoid really imposing hardship, they do get paid after that, at a specified rate. This strikes a balance between the interests of the worker and the employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically: when a nanny is sick for at least four days (including bank holidays, weekends and non-working days), they\u2019re entitled to pay at the rate of \u00a388.45 per week after the first three days of sickness on days the nanny normally works. The pay is only due for the days the nanny normally works, and is paid by any employer who normally pays the nanny over \u00a3112 per week. The \u00a388.45 per week is a flat rate, payable regardless of how many days a week the nanny normally works. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confused? Here\u2019s an illustration\u2026<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Laura normally works Monday to Thursday, as part of a nanny share for which she earns over \u00a3112 per week from each of her two employers. On Saturday, Laura unfortunately came down with the flu. Laura calls in sick on Sunday to warn her employers in good time so they can make arrangements for cover. She then doesn\u2019t work any day that week. She feels better over the weekend, so she\u2019s back at work the following Monday as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how the payments work: Laura isn\u2019t paid for the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of the week she\u2019s off, as those are the first three working days of her illness. (As an aside, as Laura still does want to receive income for these days, she agrees with the parents that all three of these days will count as holiday.) On Thursday, Laura is paid statutory sick pay. Since a full week equates to \u00a388.45 in sick pay, for Laura this amount is divided by four days and so for the Thursday Laura receives \u00bc of \u00a388.45 from each employer, for a total of \u00a344.24. This payment appears on her payslip, is paid with her wages on her normal payday, and is subject to tax and national insurance deductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within a week, Laura unfortunately is suffering again \u2013 she\u2019s having a bad month. This time it\u2019snorovirus, the poor thing, and she has 24 hours off in bed. It\u2019s awful, but over quickly. Because of her earlier illness \u2013 specifically, because she\u2019s been back for less than 8 weeks since receiving statutory sick pay — this time Laura doesn\u2019t need to wait for the three working days before she\u2019s paid statutory sick pay. She receives \u00bc of \u00a388.45 from each employer (for a total of \u00a344.24). Again, this is paid via payroll and subject to tax and national insurance deductions. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, Laura didn\u2019t bother to call her GP to get a sick note. She knew she didn\u2019t need one, as neither of her illnesses lasted over seven days, and she also knew that as a policy, her GP didn\u2019t provide them for sicknesses less than seven days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequently asked questions about sick pay and nanny share<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is all a bit terrifying. How often are nannies sick, anyway?\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry too much. A professional nanny won\u2019t call in sick on a flimsy pretext\u2014they\u2019ll know that this has huge impact on your family. Turning up even if you\u2019re feeling slightly under the weather is a core part of the nanny job description. Many nannies hardly ever call in sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, when you\u2019re interviewing a nanny, it\u2019s a good idea to ask about their sickness history. How many sick days did they take off in the past year? (And cross-check whatever they say when you call their references!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also a good idea to make it clear to the nanny that if she does turn up feeling not quite 100%, you\u2019re fine with her taking a relaxed inside day\u2014perhaps involving more TV than usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s in the standard Koru Kids nanny contract about sick pay?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statutory minimum is included by default in Koru Kids standard contracts, which also specifies that the nanny needs to let you know about sickness \u2018by 7.30am on the first day of absence or as soon as practical thereafter\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you claim back sick pay from the government?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can nannies take time off to care for a sick dependent?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. You\u2019re not obliged to pay them for this time, although of course you could choose to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do nannies on sick leave accrue holiday?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, nannies accrue holiday as usual while on sick leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about if they\u2019re on holiday and then get sick?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a nanny is sick while on holiday, this can be taken as sick leave\u2014although if this results in their being unpaid for three days while on holiday, they may not choose to take it as sick leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My nanny\u2019s hours change from week to week. What are the rules on whether my payments to her \u2018count\u2019 as over the \u00a3112 per week threshold?\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u00a3112 per week threshold is calculated based on the average weekly earnings over the previous eight weeks. If the nanny hasn\u2019t worked for eight weeks yet, the wages paid so far are used to determine eligibility (or the normal wages stated in the contract, if no wages have been paid yet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do nannies qualify for sick pay immediately after they begin work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, nannies qualify for statutory sick pay from their very first day. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens if a nanny is sick again after returning to work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a nanny comes back to work from a bout of sickness but then gets sick again within eight weeks, the \u2018first three days\u2019 exclusion doesn\u2019t apply. (This was the case in the Laura example above). It\u2019s also worth noting that the nanny is still eligible for sick pay in this instance even if her normal pay has fallen below \u00a3112 per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it\u2019s longer than eight weeks since the last sickness, the clock resets to zero and the \u2018first three days\u2019 exclusion does apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes a nanny ineligible for statutory sick pay?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nannies who are not eligible for statutory sick pay include<\/p>\n\n\n\n