Reply to Firing our nanny for cause

Forum Index » Employer Issues

Reply to "Firing our nanny for cause - any advice?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here's my advice OP.

- Plan everything out in advance.
- If possible, have someone else there with you and have your children elsewhere.  (Have a babysitter or family friend take them to the park, put on a movie in a closed room on a different floor, etc...)  Have another adult (ideally your husband) with you for the conversation.
- Plan what you're going to say.  Keep it short, factual, and direct.  Have a letter that says the same things that you hand her.
- Get your keys and any other personal property back.
- Do not let her be unsupervised in your house after telling her.  This is a "please pack your things right now, give us your key and leave" situation.
- Your letter should say "You are being terminated for cause.  On more than one occasion you jeopardized the safety of our children...   violated the terms of our contract by.... "  Etc... Whatever the exact cause is - state it briefly but directly.  
- Include a sentence that says you will be paid through your full work day today.  If you have contractual language regarding termination and severance cite that: "As per our contract you will not be paid for severance and termination is effective immediately due to your actions."
- Put in a sentence along the lines of "You are to have no further contact with us, our children, the neighbors, family members or friends, or anyone connected with this family.  If you pursue contact we will take legal action."  (If you feel that is necessary, you may not feel the need to be so explicit but if you're uneasy about safety it's a good idea.)
- Do not engage in discussion or debate during the conversation.  Do not get emotional.  Be dispassionate, direct, and brief.  "Your employment is terminated, we need your keys and you have 10 minutes to gather your things."
- Do not respond to pleas, or questions about what you will do for childcare, or what she will do for income, etc...  Have your spiel ready and don't deviate.  Don't get sidetracked by any reaction she may or may not have - just keep your eye on the goal of terminating the relationship and getting her out of the house as quickly and calmly as possible.
- Plan to have a locksmith come and change the locks an hour after she has left.  Even if you get the key(s) back the peace of mind is worth the cost.

Good luck OP.  If you need to strengthen your backbone at all (it is VERY hard to fire someone, even when you know it's necessary) just remind yourself that there is nothing more sacrosanct than the safety of your kids.  You are doing your job as a parent.  Nothing else need be your concern.

I hope it's quick and as calm as possible.

Plan some upbeat family activity afterwards - maybe everyone gets a special treat that night!

Of course, have a good explanation planned for the kids that is straightforward, age appropriate, and as simple as possible.
[/quote]
How can you stop someone from having contact with a neighbor ? Or someone who works at the children's school? What if it's her mother or a friend ? What type of legal action could you take if the next door neighbor is her cousin ?[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics