My name is Sophie. I am the Managing Director of S.E Hunter Associates Limited. We support Happy Nest with tailored contracts (including general HR guidance) and full family and nanny communication. 
I have, throughout my career, worked in all areas of human resources including equality and inclusion, recruitment, pensions, and learning and development. It is a role that allows me to have contact with a vast array of people and enable them to embark on their own career journeys and professional development.
When Happy Nest appointed me as Contracts and Employment Law Lead to create and produce tailored contracts of employment for the client families and their new Nanny, I knew that these contracts could not be standard employment contracts. I was interested from the start to consider the many aspects that employment of a Nanny would involve. Differing from normal employment situations, families were welcoming a new person/employee into their home and entrusting them with their loved ones.
I appreciated that this was no small decision for the families and potential Nanny alike, and that both parties would have questions, perhaps concerns, and considerations that would not perhaps exist in other roles.
Every single contract I have done since being appointed has been tailored very specifically to the needs of both the family and the new Nanny.
This has led to some very interesting considerations and helped to avoid some unpleasant misunderstandings that might have otherwise occurred. Part of my role is to contact the families and raise questions with regards to their new employee, for example are they to ‘live–in’, will overtime be expected, will travelling abroad be involved, and other complexities that might come up such as personal boundaries, the extent of additional responsibilities such as housekeeping, or rules on visitors, especially when a Nanny lives in.
As part of my role, I will contact the Nanny and see if they have any concerns or questions, it is much easier to give all parties opportunity to raise anything at this stage to ensure good communication results in clarification of expectations that can then be embedded in the contract.
Speaking with the families and their new Nanny I find very rewarding, both families and their new Nanny are excited and awaiting this new chapter in their lives.
Having then created a fully tailored contract, a draft copy goes to all parties to ensure that they are comfortable with the content.
When Happy Nest first appointed me, they told me that they wanted to make sure that there was engagement between everyone when creating the employment contract. Any misunderstandings that occur due to a contract omission can cause damage not only to the reputation of the nanny agency but also friction between the Nanny and the family, and in the worst-case scenario, can lead to the employment breaking down and the family needing to recruit again – all of which is very undesirable. It also helps that I can be available out of hours as so many families and nannies are working in the daytime and it can be difficult for them to talk with me, but that doesn’t happen often!
Working this way, we can establish very good communication channels between all parties and avoid any potential unnecessary tensions. This also keeps in fine tune the feelings of excitement as the start date draws near, with several parents telling me they are even more excited than their children for their new Nanny to start!
In addition, there can also be ‘ad hoc queries’ from the families such as minimum wage changes, employment legislation, or unexpected queries such as the impact of the extra bank holiday this year due to the Kings Coronation – no 2 days are the same!
In summary, I hope I encapsulate in my contract work the caring approach that Happy Nest put into delivering a helpful, straightforward, and efficient recruitment service, and that the formation of the contract as part of that service gives both the family and the Nanny one less thing to think about, and they can start to enjoy the commencement of the role.
Sophie Hunter MA BA (HONS) MCIPD
Managing Director of S. E Hunter Associates Limited
Sophie Hunter MCIPD | LinkedIn
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