Nanny Agency Jobs Explainer

If the family changes the nanny duties after you accept but before your first shift, bring the original brief and the new request into one conversation. Identify what changed, whether it is temporary or ongoing, and what would make the revised work practical. Ask for the resulting plan in writing before relying on it for your start.

You have already made a decision about one version of the job. The useful next step is to establish whether the family is explaining that version more precisely or proposing different work. Avoid treating either interpretation as settled until you have compared the actual tasks.

Put the change beside the accepted role

Find the role description, offer or agreement you accepted and the message introducing the change. Note the dates. Separate exact wording from your interview recollections, especially if the earlier discussion used a broad phrase such as “help around the house.”

Describe the new activity in ordinary terms: collect a second child, prepare adult meals, cover a different address or handle school administration. Ask who wants it done, how often and from what date. “A little extra help” is not enough information to plan the first week.

The International Nanny Association recommends updating written agreements when the role changes significantly. These are association recommendations, not a determination of your particular agreement's legal effect.

Test the workload with a change card

Complete this original pre-start change card for each proposed addition. Its purpose is to expose the practical consequences before the new duty becomes part of a busy day.

  • Accepted task: The activity and scope you understood when accepting.
  • Proposed difference: Who or what is added, removed or replaced.
  • Timing: When it happens and whether it is temporary, occasional or recurring.
  • Collision: Which existing care task would happen at the same time.
  • Support: The adult coverage, access, equipment, information or orientation needed.
  • Decision: What you can undertake, what needs a different arrangement and who will confirm it.

Do not make the card merely a list of extra tasks you will somehow absorb. If the added school pickup overlaps with another child's care, identify who covers each responsibility. If the request requires experience you do not have, say so. An introductory explanation is not a reason to present yourself as competent in unfamiliar work.

Bring a workable position to the conversation

Tell the agency promptly if it arranged the placement, and establish whether it will coordinate a discussion with the family. Give the recruiter the dated wording and your specific concern. Ask who can confirm the final plan; do not let separate conversations produce different expectations for day one.

You might be comfortable with the change as described, able to consider it with support, or unable to take on that duty. State your position plainly. If it affects the schedule or compensation proposal, raise those items explicitly rather than assuming they will adjust automatically. This guide does not calculate an appropriate rate or determine what payment is legally due.

Original message to adapt: “I accepted the role described in [document/date]. Your new message adds [specific task] from the first week. That overlaps with [existing responsibility]. Could we discuss whether this is a temporary request or a revised role, and who would handle [coverage/support]? I need us to settle the working plan before I can confirm how the revised duties would work.”

Make support part of the answer

Fictional example: Alex accepted care for a preschooler. Before the start date, the family adds an older sibling's pickup at the same time as the preschooler's scheduled collection elsewhere. Alex does not promise to “make it work.” The conversation identifies a parent who will handle one collection, the days that arrangement applies and who will communicate exceptions.

If that support is still only a suggestion, the collision remains unresolved. A promise to review things after the first month does not supply coverage for the first afternoon. Ask for the immediate arrangement as well as a later review date.

Close the loop before the first shift

Request a current written description recording the agreed duties, support and timing. Compare it with the discussion and invite correction of your recap. Keep the earlier version too, so the change remains understandable.

If agreement has not been reached, contact the family and agency before the scheduled start to resolve what happens next. Do not silently assume that the old brief, new brief or a postponed start has been accepted. Where earlier acceptance, withdrawal or an amendment raises legal questions, obtain qualified advice using the actual documents; this planning process cannot settle enforceability.

Sources

INA: Recommended Practices for Nanny Employers, pages 3–4, checked October 30, 2026, recommends written role details and updates for significant changes. The change card, message and fictional pickup example are original NAJ planning aids.