Anonymous wrote:Karma is a birch, OP. Never do something to someone that you don't want done to you. Maybe you and your DH could lose your jobs and not get another one for a long time.

I am pretty sure that OP already knows that she can lose her job if she is rude to her boss and if she refuses to work the agreed upon schedule. I don't see any karma, just common sense. are you going to work late/leaving early everyday or not working days you were supposed to work? if so, you are risking your job

Karma is a birch, OP. Never do something to someone that you don't want done to you. Maybe you and your DH could lose your jobs and not get another one for a long time.

Anonymous wrote:Always talk with the last nanny to get both sides. If the parents don't offer her contact info, you need to be suspicious of their story.

I have no interest in talking to the old nanny, it won't help me. What the family tells me does help, as it gives me an impression of how they view the nanny and what they have perceived the problems to be in the past.

I would only pay for the time she worked. She quit. If you fired her, then giving 2 weeks severance would have been fine. If she is quitting, she is taking the risk that a family may let her go right away. Plan accordingly.

I think bad attitude is cause. Refusing to work the schedule is also cause.

I'm sure if you asked anyone in real life, they would tell you to let this woman go and pay her for the time she worked. You don't owe her more. If you had gotten around to firing her as originally planned, it would have been a good gesture to offer severance, and in that situation, her attitude would be more understandable - but here, she's the one who decided to leave. What has she got to be rude about?

Anonymous wrote:Always talk with the last nanny to get both sides. If the parents don't offer her contact info, you need to be suspicious of their story.

Regardless of why a position ended if I knew former employers were giving out my contact info for potential new nannies, I would be pissed as heck. I don't need to be bombarded by insecure women looking for gossip.
This is not a practice in ANY industry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always talk with the last nanny to get both sides. If the parents don't offer her contact info, you need to be suspicious of their story.

+1,000,000.

That sounds lovely in theory but it never happens in real life. Job applicants do not ask for contact information for prior employees. It simply isn't the kind of thing one feels empowered to do or that seems advisable when trying to get a job.

Asking really good probing questions and listening carefully to the answers? Sure. Smart applicants will do that and learn most of what they need to know that way.

Anonymous wrote:Always talk with the last nanny to get both sides. If the parents don't offer her contact info, you need to be suspicious of their story.

+1,000,000.

Always talk with the last nanny to get both sides. If the parents don't offer her contact info, you need to be suspicious of their story.