At The Elite Nanny Company we are often in a privileged position to help parents work out how to deliver the best childhood to their children. One issue that has become increasingly worrying to parents in recent years is how much to trust their nanny.
Should you trust your nanny?
The first question in all the various circumstances we’ve experienced as a high profile nanny company is, ‘why don’t you trust your nanny?’In many cases parents have been frightened by the stories of others, which may be little more than urban legends. Because we have vast experience of how a successful nanny can help families thrive. We are able to bring a sense of perspective to such situations.
In other cases. Some parents have had a bad experience with a former nanny and therefore find it difficult to place their trust in their new employee. This is an understandable concern. Although it’s hard on the new nanny who has to work extra hard to earn the confidence of her employers. In these cases we can reassure the family by showing them the vetting procedures we undertake. And the way that we make extensive investigations to ensure our nanny candidates are top notch.
In a final, very tiny number of cases. Some parents have been disturbed by something that a child has said. That a neighbour or friend has expressed, or by the relationship between the nanny and the child. Here we have practical information and resources to help worried parents.
Can I video cam my nanny?
The answer is yes, but as an employer, you have legal restrictions placed on you. You can monitor your employee’s activities by.
- CCTV recording (note, these must be recordings, not just live streaming, so that they can be produced in a court of law).
- Opening mail or email.
- Recording phone calls.
- Examining web browsing history.
- Video recording outside the workplace.
- Obtaining credit reference information from agencies.
There are other surveillance actions that can be undertaken. But they are not appropriate for the domestic situation. However, and it’s a big however …if you do consider monitoring your nanny, you must also.
- Be clear why you are monitoring her and what benefits you hope this will deliver.
- Recognise any negative effects the monitoring may have (also known as the impact assessment).
- Consider other, less intrusive alternatives.
- Take reasonable steps to let your employee know that you are monitoring her, exactly what you are monitoring and why you consider it necessary.
UK law says that using hidden cameras or audio recorders, or monitoring your employee without informing her is almost always illegal. Data protection law says that secret monitoring in private areas. Such as, toilets and bathrooms and the nanny’s own room. Should not happen unless there is a serious crime involved. In such things like dealing drugs, at which point the police should be involved.
Putting nanny trust issues in perspective
It’s sometimes difficult to hand our beloved children over to people we don’t yet know well. This can cause anxiety in parents and that’s understandable. The answer is to establish good communication with your nanny. Rather than spying on her.
It’s also important to think about how well we’d be doing without nanny to help us out. Nannies aren’t perfect. Although a professional nanny may look it a lot of the time, and to reject a nanny who makes the kind of mistake that the average mother might, from time to time, make also, is unfair.
Finally, and most importantly, we encourage parents to consider how they will manage the monitoring process. If they are going to be watching their nanny on video it will become a time-consuming process that drives trust out of the relationship and is both stressful and emotionally draining for the parents. This is not a great situation for anybody and before it arises the better alternative is to establish good communication with nanny. Be clear about concerns and set regular times to discuss issues.
Should that kind of relationship not be possible. It’s time to consider changing your nanny, not spying on her.