Jennifer started working with us in March 2020. One of our main concerns had been stability for our kids, having had a nanny for 5 years, we like to have people we can trust around them. We had told her from the outset the days she was supposed to be working, attaching a calendar to the contract. For the days we would be away from home, she would continue to be paid in addition to her contractual days of leave.

Fast forward to the 10th June, she sends us a message that the school has asked her to complete the hours at the nursery she was doing some training as required by her diploma. We explain to her that it is quite an ask for us, we are both working from home but we need to have someone looking after the kids while we are working. As it is something unexpected, we ask her to complete the outstanding hours of training asap and to keep us informed so that we know how to manage our time. We specifically ask her to come back to us by the end of June. 1st July comes and she has not called or messaged.

After several attempted calls to her mobile and messages, on Friday 3rd I turn up at her address and to get my keys back. At that point she messages me that she is not home and can get someone to deliver the keys to me. Eventually, a flatmate comes to the door and hands me the keys. I ask her if something had happened to Jennifer and she tells me that Jennifer had left the country 3 days prior.

She had not told us anything, she was supposed to come back to work towards the end of June after leaving us without care for over two weeks. I tried to contact her several times and she never bothered to answer phonecalls, voicemails, whatsapps or text messages.
I fired her on the spot.

• Overall
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• Communication