Would you fire for....

[Anonymous]

a nanny missing the kids bus? DB just told me that one of the DD's nannies was fired before because she was unable to be at the bus stop for the DD. Kid is 4yrs old. The bus stop works by having each parent or guardian come to get the kids off the bus. They CANNOT get off the bus until their guardian is directly in front of the bus looking at the driver. Now, here is my question. Is this a firing offense? It seems like it would be if the kid was let off the bus and had to walk home alone but the bus will just take the kid back to school if their guardian is not present. I know, it is a hassle but is it worth firing? It seems like MB was behind the firing and she is a bit high strung... but I think that if the kid is taken back to school they would be okay. FWIW, the nanny could call the bus call center and have the child brought back around after the last kid is taken to his/her stop. Is there any danger? WDYT

[Anonymous]

Need a lot more details here OP-had this happened before? Why did the nanny miss the bus? Go with your gut-if you think this family is going to be high maintenance just don't take the job. Save yourself some grief. Especially if you think you might miss the bus sometime.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would fire such a nanny. And I am a nanny. You should be there 5-10min early.

[Anonymous]

No, I already have the job. I just heard this story. Apparently the nanny was not feeling well and couldnt reach MB or DB to say that she couldnt make it that day (called at 9 am, then at noon etc. had to be at bus at 3:15)

[Anonymous]

OP again, I understand the need for punctuality but honestly, the kid was never in any danger. Just a bit of inconvenience

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would fire

[Anonymous]

OP from the way you are writing your posts it really sounds like this was you and not the former nanny. Regardless, yes I would see this as a firing offense.

The nanny's job is to pick the child up at the bus stop at 3:15. She did not feel well, tried calling the parents but didn't reach them and then just decided to stay home and leave the kid on his own? What did she think would happen?

Why wouldn't she have called the school to tell them that the child's caregiver would not be at the bus stop and the parents have not been reached so don't put on the bus? Even if the nanny (or you) had assumed that the bus driver would notice no one was there and take the little kid back to school don't you think the little boy would have been worried? If the school had been contacted the little boy could have avoided being put in this situation. The school would have contacted the parents and kept him with teachers or aftercare in a familiar environment until someone could be reached.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I already have the job. I just heard this story. Apparently the nanny was not feeling well and couldnt reach MB or DB to say that she couldnt make it that day (called at 9 am, then at noon etc. had to be at bus at 3:15)

Totally different now.

She let the parents know SIX HOURS before she was suppose to pick up DD that she was ill, the parents need to be more reachable.

[Anonymous]

Totally different now.

She let the parents know SIX HOURS before she was suppose to pick up DD that she was ill, the parents need to be more reachable.

Actually it makes it worse. Its doubtful that DB told the new nanny how the old nanny tried to call at 3 specific times. It sounds like this happened to the OP and she was fired. While I agree that the parents should be more reachable, a responsible nanny would not just say screw it. An intelligent nanny would have called the school so the child would not have been put on the bus.

OP's sentence about how the "nanny" could have called the bus center to keep the kid on the bus until the last stop and circle back to his stop makes no sense unless she missed the bus because she was running late and only came up with the sick story after the kid was returned to school.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's worth firing over. But if the nanny couldn't reach the parents she should have met the bus anyway. You can't just expect a 4 yr old to be okay on their own.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I just got the job 2 months ago. I was talking to DB and he was saying something about the old nanny. and i said something like "oh did she move, she sounds really nice" and then they told me. The nanny had told them that she was sick with like vomiting type symptoms and by the time she was able to get herself together to go meet the bus, it was too late. And the DD wouldnt be "on her own", she would be taken back to school. Even if no one picked her up till 7 pm, she would be with an adult (aftercare program) until it ended (7)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Totally different now.

She let the parents know SIX HOURS before she was suppose to pick up DD that she was ill, the parents need to be more reachable.

Actually it makes it worse. Its doubtful that DB told the new nanny how the old nanny tried to call at 3 specific times. It sounds like this happened to the OP and she was fired. While I agree that the parents should be more reachable, a responsible nanny would not just say screw it. An intelligent nanny would have called the school so the child would not have been put on the bus.

OP's sentence about how the "nanny" could have called the bus center to keep the kid on the bus until the last stop and circle back to his stop makes no sense unless she missed the bus because she was running late and only came up with the sick story after the kid was returned to school.

op again, DB said how the old nanny called a few times and he was busy (same with MB) at work.

[Anonymous]

"One of DD's nannies"? I'm not sure how I would respond, but my neighbor has missed picking up her own DD, and the nanny of 2 years forgot as well. (There is
a complicated schedule involving after school activities.) Not much of a ruffle. They are happy with the nanny, who is very responsible in many ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's worth firing over. But if the nanny couldn't reach the parents she should have met the bus anyway. You can't just expect a 4 yr old to be okay on their own.

What if it is something that causes her to not be able to leave home and drive? I am not going to go running out driving around if I am puking my guts out every 30 minutes, and/or running to the bathroom for other reasons every 15. It is not the nannies job to do anything else other than call in. Someone who DOES take her job seriously would also then call the school to make sure they know, so they could also try and contact the parents or someone else on the emergency pickup list. But really, it is the parents responsibility to make sure they can take her call or check voicemail for stuff like this, and then get back to the nanny so that she knows they have gotten her message. It is NOT her job to run out to pick up a child while she is sick, which means that she would also be exposing herself to him and be around other parents and their kids at time of pickup (just in case it was contagious). If she doesn't start work until 3:15pm and has been trying to call multiple times since 9am when she first knew that she was too sick to work, then it is out of her hands.

It is a much different story if it is a last minute thing and she calls and leaves a VM at 2:30pm and parents don't have enough time to check message (if in a meeting etc) much less figure out what they are going to do about the pickup instead of having nanny do it.

No way could I fire someone over something that is technically MY fault. But I would go over with her what we should do if that were to happen again (not being able to reach me). Have her call the school, if it is a last minute thing which could happen if she was in an accident etc - have her call the bus center to let them know to bring kid back to school, call landline at parents work and leave a message with a receptionist, etc.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely a firing offense. Sorry, nanny.