Contracts between nannies and families

Should nannies and families sign contracts? Do you think they help in spelling out responsibilities and rules? Do they help with issues that may be brought up later - as in, just refer to the contract you've signed to work out a problem? Or should nannies and families play it by ear, see how things go and adjust as necessary?

I worked as a nanny for 1.5 years, and never signed a contract with the family. I was under the impression that we would sign one upon my starting, but it never happened. I never really thought much about it, because we had a great system going, and any issues that came up were addressed immediately. However, there was one important contract we both signed through the agency, and we didn't realize until months later the real problem with that.

The family used an agency to find me, and one day the mom and I were talking about that agency, and apparently we both got very different definitions of our "contract" from them. See, I was aware of a contract through the agency that found me, and I signed it because it was spelled out to me. The rule of that contract was that I was not to open a business like the nanny agency within 150 miles of her business. That was a very easy contract to sign as I knew that would never be an issue. The mom of the family I cared for was under the impression that the contract she and I both signed separately stated that I, as the nanny, would be responsible for paying the family's fee if I backed out of the position before our agreed-upon 1 year agreement was up.

While this never became an issue between the family and myself, as I stayed with them for longer than a year, it definitely clarified the use of contracts...MAKE SURE YOU BOTH SIGN THE SAME AGREEMENT!

Katie Conrad