A recommendation, a shortlist, endless checks, not to mention a spoonful of luck, are the key ingredients to finding your bright and shiny, new nanny. The hard work does not end there, however.

You’re about to become one of New Zealand’s newest employers. With that will come plenty of admin, from payslips to taxes along with overtime to manage. First up though is the contract.

Read on to find out what should go in, and what should stay out of this highly important document.

Why You Need to Have a Contract

There are good reasons why having a written contract between you and your nanny is a legal requirement.

You might think the cozy chats you’ve had with your nanny are proof enough that you’re going to get along. The chances are you are right because most of us have well-honed instincts after all.

However, it doesn’t matter how good the intentions of you and your nanny are, you must have a contract. It manages the expectations of everyone, acting as proof of what each party has agreed to in terms of duties and reward.

Start by Jotting Down What You’re Looking For

When you’re searching for a new nanny, it really helps to make some notes and to write your expectations down. To start with, here are some questions to answer:

• What is your budget?
• How many nanny hours do you need and when do you need them?
• Have you factored in overtime, holiday and sickness costs?
• What are all the duties you expect your nanny to carry out?
• Do you expect your nanny to drive and do errands?

Your answers to these questions are going to form the basis of the contract you draw up between yourself and your nanny. This contract forms the foundation of the formal relationship you will have with your nanny. It offers clarity about:

• What your nanny needs to do
• What happens if things don’t go so well
• The benefits and obligations you’ve both agreed to

The contract is the place you can include all the details about your expectations. It’s something that both you and your nanny can refer to if:

• There is any disagreement about how well your nanny performing their role
• There is any misunderstanding about any of their expected duties

The Legalities of Contracts Explained

There are two main types of contracts for any kind of employee, including a nanny. These are “individual” or “collective.” The contract you have with your nanny is likely to be an individual one unless you’re lucky enough to have a whole troupe of helpers.

You can finesse the individual contract so that parts of it are specific to the requirements you have of your nanny. However, as a minimum, you must:

• Include all mandatory clauses (see below)
• Keep a signed copy of the contract, and give a signed copy to your nanny
• Let your nanny know that they can seek advice before signing
• Give them a reasonable amount of time to get that advice
• Consider and respond to any issues they might have

Clauses You Must Include in Your Nanny’s Contract

Some clauses in your nanny’s contract are going to be relevant to your specific needs. Other clauses are mandatory. The guiding legislation on what to include in your nanny's contract is covered in the Employment Relations Act 2000.

Here are the mandatory clauses:

• The names of you, the employer, and your nanny
• The job title and description of the work
• Holiday pay, special rates and the process for receiving wages
• Bereavement, parental, sick and unpaid leave
• Health and safety rules 
• Where your nanny will work
• The agreed hours of work or an indication of working time arrangements
• The pay your nanny will receive
• Agreement to at least time and a half pay for working on a public holiday
• An agreement your nanny will work on a public holiday if this is a requirement
• Agreement to at least time and a half pay for working on a public holiday

There also needs to be a clause about what happens if there’s a problem in the employment relationship between you and your nanny. This includes a note that your nanny must lodge any personal grievances within 90 days.

You must also include a clause that specifies the agreement you have if you cancel or cut short a working day. For example, if you cancel a working day without telling your nanny before you expect them to start work, you will likely have to pay them as if they had worked the day in question.

The Importance of the Job Description

This is really the heart of the contract. It’s the bit that needs to be crystal clear so that your nanny knows what you expect and understands what they’ll have to do.

Here are some suggestions that you could include:

• Preparing bottles for babies and taking care of feeding equipment
• Changing nappies and bathing babies
• Supervising the bathtimes of older children
• Dressing children in appropriate clothes for different activities
• Washing and ironing children's clothes
• Planning, preparing and supervising children’s meals and snacks
• Cleaning and washing up after meals
• Driving to the supermarket and shopping for food
• Coordinating and scheduling children's activities
• Driving the kids to school or taking them to play sports and other activities
• Supervising creative, outdoor or educational activities with the children
• Playing with the children
• Supervising rest and bedtimes
• Reading to and with the children
• Helping with school homework
• Tidying the kids’ bedrooms and play areas
• Disciplining the children as per parental instructions
• Carrying out light housework and running errands
• Ensuring adherence to taking medicine with parents’ consent
• Maintaining a log of significant events for parents to consult

As an employer, you can make minor changes to the job description further down the line as long as you have a discussion with your nanny first.

What You Can’t Do as an Employer

It’s worth bearing in mind that no employer in New Zealand can offer a zero-hours contract.

Although it’s possible to issue a nanny with a part or full-time fixed-term contract, it’s not the norm. Employers need a very good reason to offer fixed-term contracts, perhaps to cover parental leave, for example.

You can’t use a fixed-term contract as a way of trying your nanny out. You’d have to hire them on a permanent basis and include a trial period in the contract.

A COVID-19 Pandemic Clause

The phrase ‘pandemic clause’ is a casual term and not a formal one. It’s cropped up because some employers tried to force their employees to take all their annual leave during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Putting the law to one side, it’s worth taking a moment to consider:

• Whether this really would feel fair in all circumstances
• How you might be able to adapt to different ways of working during a lockdown

As an employer, you may have difficulty forcing a nanny to take their paid leave during a lockdown no matter how you write a clause into a contract. A lot is going to depend on what temporary government help might be available at the time, for example.

The best course of action would be to forget about adding a clause specific to pandemics. Instead, a clause that outlines what would happen in the event of an emergency or disaster could be useful to include in order to clarify everyone’s obligations during those kinds of events.

Some Common Optional Clauses

These set out additional terms, conditions or benefits that apply to you or the nanny you’re hiring. They could relate to:

1.  Trial period for your Nanny

You could write in clauses related to the trial period. For example, during the trial, normal notice periods wouldn’t apply. Trial periods could also last up to 90 days to test the suitability of your new nanny for the role.

If dismissed during the trial period, you could state that your nanny would not be able to bring a personal grievance about the dismissal.

2.  Overtime Payments or Time off in Lieu and Breaks

Here you should outline how you plan to compensate your nanny for working extra hours. You may also need to have a clause for how you will pay your nanny if you need them to be “on-call” in case there’s a chance you might have to go to work while you're looking after the kids. You should also outline the plan for taking breaks.

3. Driving the Kids Around or Running Errands in the Car

It’s really important that it’s clear whose vehicle your nanny is to use for what kinds of jobs. For example, if they are to use their car, you need to be sure that their insurance covers your kids and that it addresses issues of liability if there’s an accident.

These kinds of clauses could also cover alcohol and drug misuse.

4.  Confidentiality and Study Leave

You may also want to include a clause that protects the confidentiality of both you and your family as well as your nanny. This might include rules around posting photos on social media sites.

If you know your nanny is studying for a degree, you might also want to add a clause in the contract that covers any requests they may have for study leave.

Other common clauses relate to:

• Driving the kids around or running errands in the car
• Confidentiality and study leave
• Health and safety rules
• Extra payments for having First Aid Skills
• Pay reviews
• The supply and use of your family’s mobile phones and data
• Bonuses
• Reclaiming or paying back expenses and reimbursements

Obtaining a Template and Sorting Your Contract

The New Zealand government’s official website for businesses has lots of practical help including how to word the contract you have with your nanny.

Paythenanny is also able to offer our customers a range of contract templates. These will help you to draw up a meaningful document between parents and nannies.

We are the nanny payroll experts. Nanny employment contracts are part of what we take care of every day.

If you’re employing a nanny, talk to us. We have a team of qualified accountants and tax experts to help take care of all the admin related to taking on a new nanny.