EMPLOYEE MANUAL 2021

Welcome to Nest Care,

We are extremely excited to have you join our team!!!

Please find in this manual information outlining our operations and expectations. Please read this thoroughly and refer to it often to guide your work practice with us.

ABOUT US 

We are a professional other health care agency, specialising in maternity/postnatal/ infant care, support, education and sleep. We attract an elite clientele encompassing high-income business professionals and celebrities. We also deal with a number of crisis families’ suffering from mental health issues including PND and occasionally psychosis. Other clients are in desperate need of respite, sound advice or just infant childcare. Overall, our clients expect us to be more than a regular nanny but someone fabulous that can help them in their time of need.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 

Because of the above Nest Care have high expectations from our staff. We only recruit staff that have qualifications in childcare, maternity or other relevant health care filed, along with a min 5 years infant experience and or training. By doing so enables us to operate GST free for almost all of our services. We also expect our staff to participate in regular professional development opportunities.

PERSONAL INFORMATION 

We request you supply us with your personal information/emergency contact details, this will ensure we can assist effectively in case of an emergency. We will file this information safely in dropbox or via our website and destroy it once you cease employment at Nest Care.

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT 

We respect the confidentiality of our clients. Further, you may also be supplied with information owned by Nest Care. This information is also confidential and subject to copy write. You are forbidden from handing out and or reproducing such information.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS 

In addition to a qualification and experience you must have and maintain the following throughout your employment:

* A valid WWCC

* Up to date first aid and CPR

* Tax File Number (TFN)

* Clear police record

* Public liability insurance if you do private work (we recommend nanny sure)

* Perform each job as outlined (as per appendix one)

* Be familiar with and have read the books/research on our reading list (see appendix two)

* Maintain your professional development (as per appendix three)

Please provide us with copies of your first aid/CPR, WWCC and driver’s license. We can copy these at the office, or you can photocopy them and or photograph them and email them to us.

EMPLOYMENT TYPE

All staff will be employed through Nest Care and considered ‘casual employees”. The benefits of this arrangement are many including:

* Work cover insurance

* Cover by our public liability insurance (if you don’t have your own private cover)

* On time weekly pay

* Tax deductions and payments taken care of

* Superannuation payments made

* Support from other Nest Care Staff

* Benefits of being employed (makes getting loans/finance easier)

* Our office administrator available every day if you need help/advice re a job. The office also takes care of all initial job enquiries, allowing us to weed out clients looking for free advice and or wanting to negotiate rates. This means you will only be contacted about jobs highly likely to eventuate (no more mucking around back and forward with clients, for a job to fall through.

* Min $31ph plus super pay rates.

* Cover by our cancellation policy. If your booking is confirmed and then cancelled within 48hrs of start time you will receive a minimum 4hrs pay as compensation. (This is void however during COVID)

On occasion ABN contractors can be used but their invoices will be deducted for superannuation and tax (to be paid on your behalf via NN) as per ATO requirements. Cash payment from clients are discouraged as this can void your/our insurance.

STAFF RATES 

Please note the rates listed on the website are for CLIENTS ONLY. We are not aiming to be a million-dollar company but rather one that supports both families by being affordable and supports its staff by ensuring they get paid what they are worth. We aim to review our rates at the end of each financial year. Please see our website for current client rates. Staff pay rates are provided in your letter of employment and include insurance, superannuation and work cover (if you’re an employee or rates plus super if an ABN contractor).

OUR CURRENT BOOKING SYSTEM 

We currently place jobs using a combination of WhatsApp, text, phone, timely or email.

Our system will be as follows:

Stage one: Job enquiry stage

Example text…

Position: Night Nanny wanted

When: ASAP

Duration: 1 night only

Where: Hawthorn

Infants: 1 x newborn

Rate: $33ph

Please reply y/n to this text. If y – please state dates you are free. If you can do it but with amendments reply with maybe.

These are jobs that have just come in. They may or may not eventuate. Simply let us know if you can do it and we will have you on standby.

Stage two: Job pending 

If you are on standby, this is when we then confirm dates with the staff and the client to find a match. Once a match has been made the client and staff will be notified. We ask the staff to now block out those dates and anticipate the job to go ahead. The client will now be requested to pay a deposit to confirm the booking. They have 24hrs to do this or the booking will be cancelled. Job is now penciled into timely.

Stage three: job confirmed 

Once the client pays their deposit the job is confirmed. Both the client and the staff will be sent a confirmation email, outlining the job, dates etc. This is when the office staff dance around in the office.

AVAILABILITY 

We don’t expect you to tell us your every movement, however, if you’re going away or taking a private booking for weeks at a time, feel free to give us the head’s up and or even better block the time out in timely. You’ll still receive job notifications by text, but it means we won’t waste our time chasing you for a booking if we know you can’t facilitate.

STAFF EXPECTATIONS 

Once a job is confirmed the staff must:

CALL THE CLIENT

If job is several weeks/months away, please still call the client a.s.a.p. (within 24hrs) ideally. Many clients want to confirm with you straight away, then again just before the first shift. Always call first, ok to text second time:

To:

  1. a) introduce yourself and
  2. b) confirm the job details

Be sure to double check information that you have been emailed including start date, time and address/parking details (sometimes things can change and timely doesn’t pick it up… so please always double check with the client).

Then call (ok to text for second contact if you have already called) again 96-24hrs before the first shift (and again check ALL details).

Keep a weekly timesheet via the timely app

We ask all staff to AT THE END of each shift worked to amend or confirm the shift hours worked. Then mark as complete. This notifies us of your hours worked and doubles as a timesheet. This allows us to track your hours and to ensure our clients and staff are invoiced/paid correctly. This is to be regularly updated by the staff and finalised to us weekly by 9am Monday’s. Use the timely calendar app www.app.gettimely.com- any issues let the office know.

TRAVEL ALLOWANCE 

If you are required to take a job that is more than 30km from Melbourne, post code 3000,  you are entitled to charge the client a .78cent per km travel fee. Please calculate the additional km over 30km (there and back) and write the additional total on your time sheet. For example, Amanda lives in Melbourne and she is working in Geelong. The job is 50km from her home (20km more than 30km). Amanda can therefore charge the client for 20km each way equalling a total of 40kms chargeable.

If you are not sure how to calculate this, please contact us.

Interstate and or excessive travel is to be fully paid for and provided by the client e.g. flights/transfers/meals.

WHEN A POSITION CEASES 

Report to us any feedback. We also expect our staff to offer at least one follow up phone call to our clients for maternity nanny/consultants’ jobs and up to 1 week of follow up for paediatric sleep consultations. We also email/follow up with each client and ask for a Nest Nannies business testimonial as well as a consultant testimonial. These will be added to the website.

WEBSITE PROFILE 

To provide our clients with reassurance, and because we are super proud of our team (and want to show them off), we ask that you provide for us a headshot photograph on a white background and a brief A4 size summary of your resume, to put onto our website. When clients are enquiring or booked in with a nanny/consultant we will refer them to the profile page or specifically your profile, so they know what you look like and can see for themselves just how fabulous you are.

DRESS CODE 

Please dress in neat casual at a minimum. We will let you know of any specific requirements if and when they arise e.g. needing to be fully covered for a religious Jewish family for example. No excessive jewellery or perfumes if working with newborns.

PUNCTUALITY 

Please aim to arrive at jobs 10-15min before start time. If due to unforeseen circumstances, please text the client to let them know, or let us know and we will call them.

ACCOUNTING SCHEDULE 

Our invoice/pay week runs weekly Monday to Sunday’s. All clients are invoiced on Monday’s and all staff are paid weekly on Thursday’s. Payments are made via direct bank transfer. Pay slips will be emailed out weekly.

DINNER AND DRINKS 

Our job can be very isolating at times. We aim to meet up for dinner and drinks 2 times a year (@Nest Cares expense), likely once every 3-6 months. Details will be text/emailed.

QUESTIONS/PROBLEMS AND OR CONCERNS 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, problems and or concerns. Sometimes a specific job or client can be difficult, we know this happens, so please don’t feel out of your depth or embarrassed to tell us. We are here to support each other and grow together as a team.

ACCIDENT/ILLNESS/INJURY 

Please let us know if you have an accident, injure yourself and or if you come down with an illness. We can then inform your client. If you are unwell or feeling like you are becoming unwell let us know a.s.a.p. so we can make alternative arrangements and or have a backup nanny/consultant on standby if needed. There is nothing more stressful than having a nanny/consultant cancel last minute. I’d rather you let me know you are unwell and have a backup then end up being fine then knowing last minute. If possible, alert the client, the same time you alert us, so they are aware also.

CONTINUITY OF CARE 

Our policy is to provide families with only one staff at a time for continuity of care. In the event a second staff is required this will be allowed given the situation/ if the first staff isn’t available. Ideally however we wish to send each family no more than 2 different staff. Only in the event of an emergency will we send a client a third staff.

Continuity of care for children and families has many benefits.

Benefits for Children 

Research has shown that children have better educational and developmental outcomes when they have continuity in their child-care arrangements because safe, stable consistent environments allow young children the opportunity to develop the relationships and trust necessary to comfortably explore and learn from their surroundings. Too many carers can cause mistrust and can be very confusing for small children.

Benefits for Families 

Consistent relationships with staff ensure greater trust. Trusting environments encourage families to share more information to allow for more personalised care. Relationships among families are more sustained, creating greater satisfaction with us/our service resulting in higher re-booking and referral rates.

Benefits for Staff 

Deeper knowledge of families’ strengths and needs, which leads to more effective care. Greater emotional satisfaction from longer-term relationships with children and families.

HANDOVER 

In the event that you do job share a position with another nest staff please if necessary/needed please provide them with a handover to help ensure continuity of care. This can be via text/phone to each other or via a communication book left with the family. Timely also has the ability for you to add notes if you need (these cannot be viewed by the client).

IMMUNISATION STATUS 

Lots of our newborn clients ask about our immunisation’s status. I have therefore decided to add this onto our online profiles. I don’t care if you do or do not display this information… however as child/health care workers it is highly recommend we remain up to date with this for our own safety. If you do not wish to disclose this info the section on your profile will simply remain blank or be removed.

For those wishing to remain immunized here is the recommended immunization schedule advised for healthcare/childcare workers: https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/immunisation/adults/vaccination-workplace/vaccination-for-people-working-with-children

DOCUMENTATION / COMMUNICATION / RECORD KEEPING 

Please keep clear, concise and accurate documentation (proper Nest Care folders / note pads will be provided soon). Please use professional/health care language at all times e.g. nasal congestion instead of snot/boogers, nappies are wet (w) or soiled/poo (S/P) not crap, poo poo, poop-ie, dirty etc. Formula (F) not artificial feed etc. etc. Ideally keep your documentation short and consist e.g. track only what is really necessary feed times, amounts and or type (e.g. bottle/EMB/breastfeed, nappies, sleep times, behaviour e.g. unsettled/resettled. Refrain from unnecessary description e.g. really noisy/grunt, good burps, had to pick up and walk around, and couldn’t resettle. Anything descriptive should be verbalized. NOT KEPT IN WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION. Documenting noises, burps, what you are doing, is unnecessary (It’s a complaint I often get from clients). Ideally copy the documentation the clients are currently tracking, nothing more.

Here is some basic terminology and their abbreviations:

Expressed breast milk: EBM

Formula: F

Breast Feed: BF

Bottle Feed: Bottle

Wet nappy: W

Soiled/Poo nappy: S/P

Behaviour: Unsettled, settled, sleepy, content, alert, tired, active, asleep etc.

CANCELLATIONS

If a booking is cancelled within 48hrs notice you will be paid a 4-hr cancellation fee. Please amend your booking via timely according by a) cancelling the booking and b) changing the hours to 4hrs. If the matter is genuine e.g. child sick with gastro, opportunity to cancel the shift and or reschedule without penalty will be discussed with you directly to decide if you wish the family to be liable.

LIVE IN SHIFTS

You will be paid either 16hrs when on a 24hr shift. Hours will be determined on a case by case basis. Please ensure you get breaks and time to sleep when on shift (8hrs).

NIGHT SHIFTS

You can nap on nightshifts if the baby is settled and the house is asleep. Please do try and keep things like tv off (after midnight), rooms dark and be quiet.

Appendix 1 – Nest Care staff minimum duties 

Day shift staff will:

  • Assist in establishing day time sleeping patterns and caring for the baby through out the day
  • Offer appropriate postnatal care (change nappies, feed, engage, bath and settle the infant)
  • Assisting in establishing a day time routine within the home environment and life’s commitments (work/other children etc.)
  • Maintain and tidy the baby’s nursery
  • Support and encouragement with feeding (breast/formula) including advice on how to encourage the infant to feed effectively
  • Teach sleep safety and sleep hygiene around the baby as recommended by SIDS.
  • Sterilise and make up any necessary bottles/equipment for the baby
  • Troubleshoot/identify/problem solve any issues they may be having in regard to crying/routines/feeding/sleep
  • Assist with other children if necessary

Night shift staff will:

  • Assist in establishing night time sleeping patterns and caring for the baby through out the night so the family can get a good night sleep
  • Offer appropriate overnight postnatal care (change nappies, feed and settle the infant)
  • Assisting in establishing a night time routine within the home environment
  • Maintain and tidy the baby’s nursery
  • Support and encouragement with overnight breast-feeding and advice on how to drop night feeds when appropriate.
  • Teach sleep safety and sleep hygiene around the baby, encouraging sleeping through the night as soon as possible
  • Sterilise and make up any necessary bottles/equipment for the baby
  • Troubleshoot/identify/problem solve any issues they may be having in regard to crying/routines/feeding/sleep

All Employees will:

  • Aim to get babies into a routine and sleeping through the night asap (by 2-6months if medically appropriate).
  • Dream feeds should only be recommended if nutritionally appropriate and ideally ceased by 4-6 months. Only recommend overnight feeds if weight gain is poor and calorie intake is insufficient. Medically however many infants don’t require overnights feeds beyond 6 months, so overnight feeding beyond 6months is often a habit… so parents need to be aware of the pros and cons to this feed long term. If a parent chooses to keep it, it’s ok… just give them the pros and cons of longer-term overnight feeds so they are educated and can make an informed decision.
  • Aim to use gentle/phase out and sleep training methods as much as possible and or initially before moving to controlled crying methods if needed. Self-settling can be taught from 6 weeks and resettling from 4 months.
  • Aim to have babies unwrapped/un-swaddled between 2-4 months (as per SID’s guidelines).
  • Aim to wean babies off of dummies between 6 weeks -3 months (if appropriate). The sucking reflex diminishes by 7months… so do encourage before then as babies can become addicted otherwise and then best to keep for 2-3 years.
  • Our aim is to trouble shoot, plan ahead and get results… essentially doing ourselves out of a job ASAP.
  • Not sure what you mean Deliberately staying is positions for Maternity Nannies and or Maternity Nurses (once easy or if they become more nanny like) will not be tolerated – e.g. if a baby is sleeping through please let parents know and plan your exit… then if family keep you on that’s ok… but please always let them know and let them decide.
  • Follow evidence-based practice from scientific evidence when giving advice e.g. SIDS guidelines, infant feeding guidelines etc.

MATERNITY/SLEEP CONSULTATIONS/IN-HOME SLEEP SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

  1. Call the client 1 week before your booking to introduce yourself and clarify address/job details. Call again 24hrs prior to booking to touch base and re-confirm.
  2. Arrive on time and take your own food/don’t expect the family to cater for you unless they offer. It is reasonable however to expect food if you are living in 24hrs or more.
  3. Familiarise yourself with the children/family/environment
  4. Assess room for sleep suitability
  • Is the room dark enough?
  • Is the cot in a good position?
  • Is the bedding appropriate (SID’s compliant)?
  • Does the room need white noise if house/environment is noisy?
  1. Observe a feed/play sleep cycle.
  • Is baby eating properly?
  • Is baby encouraged to play?
  • Is baby awake long enough or too long?
  1. Educate the parents about sleep (refer to sleep settling fact sheet)
  • Normal sleep development for the child’s age group
  1. Educate the family about their child’s sleep problem
  • Provide appropriate links to resources and or factsheets e.g. sleep onset association fact sheet)
  1. Educate the family about the importance of a routine.
  • Give one provided and suggest one and tweak this as you go
  1. Educate the family that crying down when self-settling is normal and is not controlled crying. It takes all humans 5-20min to fall asleep. Grizzling/crying down during this time isn’t controlled crying. Once self-settling is mastered this crying/grizzling usually diminishes.
  2. Aim to use gentle/responsive cue based resettling techniques first e.g. the pick-up/put down technique initially to reassure the parents you are observing and responding to their child… then be sure to be using only repetitive reassurance and or progressive waiting techniques by the time you leave – so parents only have one set of settling instructions.
  3. Make sure you provide a personalized routine for the parent to follow whenever you are not around and ensure this is updated and set by the time you leave.
  4. Encourage the parents to get out of the house/go on a date/take a nap.
  5. Sleep: don’t be afraid to say you need to go to bed…just be sure you have a monitor or are in close proximity to the baby/child.

FOR IN-HOME SLEEP SCHOOL

Consultant is to be available for each and every nap/sleep that is problematic – can come and go in between. Ideally stay in the day to witness one full eat/play/sleep cycle. Ideally start in the morning between 7/11am pm to witness the feed/play/sleep cycle… then come and go thereafter. All jobs will be different… some won’t need nap help others will… likewise some won’t need bedtime help and others will. The hours for each job will vary but please only aim to be present if really require keeping the costs to the parents affordable. Jobs on average should range between 20-40hrs per family. 60-80hrs in the event of a severe problem.

Scenario one (only 1-3 days/nights required)

Night one: take full charge (this is often 16hrs. so live in)

Night two: get parents to assist with putting to bed but you are to do any resettling (this is often less than 16hrs so per hour rates apply)

Night three: get parents to take over putting to bed and resettling (this is often less than 16hrs so per hour rates apply)

Scenario two: (3-5 days/nights required)

Day one: take full charge

Day two: take full charge

Day three: get parents to assist with putting to bed but you are to do any resettling

Night four: get parents to take over putting to bed and resettling/again with your assistance

Night five: get parents to take over putting to bed and resettling

It takes 3-5 days to break a habit, so consistency is key.

All shifts are to be worked out per hour. Live-in only if it’s appropriate (e.g. too far to commute back home again). If you do more than 16hrs the daily rate will apply. Staff MUST have a min 8 hrs. off a day and staff must be mindful of working hours unnecessarily. Please aim to keep your time/costs as minimal. If the parents are coping and or resettling well, please clock off and or go home or take a break. Don’t stay unnecessarily. Invoices must be kept below $4k per week to keep in line with private sleep school fees (Masada’s 5-day program is $4k).

You MUST be able to improve their situation by at least 80%. If you are unable to resolve the issues at hand please cancel the booking and refer to the appropriate help e.g. Masada, GP, Paediatrician.

FOR WORKSHOPS / 3hr CONSULTATIONS

 Ideally start when the client is having the most issues between 7am – 7pm to witness a feed/play/sleep cycle – and then demonstrate the appropriate sleep settling technique appropriate. Give a routine and sleep settling fact sheet. Leave a business card so they can contact you.

All maternity/sleep jobs come with 1 week of follow up support for the client via text/phone/email and this is incorporated into your fee. You are therefore required to respond to and or check in with the client via texts/call for up to one-week post booking between Monday to Saturday 9am-9pm (Sundays off). If they need another visit or more than one-week of follow up assistance get them to rebook via the office.

Text/call Amanda McGill (0421 847 949) any questions/concerns and or contact the Nest Care Office (0400 078 199)

Appendix TWO

Essential reading list for Staff

For maternity practitioners/consultants

  • Topic: The fourth trimester
  • The Fourth Trimester by Susan Brink
  • Topic: Infant behaviour/development
  • The wonder weeks by Frans X Plooij
  • Have knowledge of normal infant sleep patterns
  • Topic: Routines/sleep:
  • The new contented little baby book by Gina Ford
  • The happiest baby on the block by Dr Harvey Karp
  • Save our sleep by Tizzie Hall
  • The no cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantly

For Paediatric sleep consultants

  • Solve your child’s sleep problems by Dr Richard Ferber
  • 12 hrs. By 12 weeks by Suzy Giordano
  • On becoming baby wise: Giving your infant the GIFT of night-time sleep by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam
  • Up to date research articles on sleep

Please note these books all have their positive and negative points, they are not to form the basis of your approach, but rather to be used for knowledge/problem solving purposes only. Many parents read these books so it’s good for us to know them.

Appendix THREE

Professional development requirements

Annually 

* CPR

* Police check

* Hand hygiene http://www.hha.org.au/learningpackage/olp-home.aspx

3 yearly 

* Senior First Aid including asthma and anaphylaxis we recommend the first aid people at Kettle Fit Studio in Fitzroy, vic:

https://www.thefirstaidpeople.com.au

* SIDS

https://rednose.com.au/Do the following free certificate course: https://central.csds.qld.edu.au/central/courses/126

*Vulnerable Children Certificate Child safety/mandated notification

https://vulnerablechildren.kineoportal.com.au/content/signup/signup.jsp

Other: 

Feeding 

Please find below the latest infant feeding guidelines. It’s full of great info re feeding and solids plus heaps of other stuff as recommended by the national health and medical research council.https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n56_infant_feeding_guidelines.pdf

 Sleep training 

The royal children’s hospital does the infant sleep e-learning course http://www.rch.org.au/ccch/training-dev/Infant_Sleep_eLearning/

or

the day time workshop understanding sleep 0-5 years http://www.rch.org.au/ccch/training-dev/Understanding_children_s_sleep_from_birth_to_five_years/

MNT sleep training: https://www.mnttraining.co.uk/training/SLP-online

Maternity Practitioner Certificate 

MNT training offer accredited Maternity practitioner training. Ideally do level 4 but ok if you do level 3. All non-midwifery/nurse/mother craft maternity staff are required to have this as a min: https://www.mnttraining.co.uk/training/MNP

Other maternity nanny/consultant professional development through MNT including:

Care of multiples: https://www.mnttraining.co.uk/training/COM

Breastfeeding: https://www.mnttraining.co.uk/training/BFC

Postnatal depression: https://www.mnttraining.co.uk/training/PND

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME AND WILL BE SUCH A VALUABLE ASSET TO FAMILIES

THANKS FOR JOINING OUR TEAM