Do You Need a Non-Disclosure Agreement for Your Nanny?

In the corporate business world, many companies require their employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement stating that any private and confidential information they come across must remain safe, as employees are privy to reports, policies, procedures, and other internal business-related communications. The world of household employment, while in a very different setting, is not so different when it comes to private information. So do you need a non-disclosure agreement for your nanny or other employees?

As a household employer, your employee has potential access to intimate and sensitive information. Whether it’s overhearing a conversation about finances, seeing a child’s medical records left on the counter, or being given the home alarm system code, your nanny must be trusted to keep information like this private and confidential both during and after their employment. Employers who are well-known in their community and those with celebrity status will be even more likely to make the employee legally bound to keep household information private.

While many employers will simply rely on good faith that their nanny or other employees will not violate that trust, some may wish for the security of a non-disclosure agreement. Such an agreement should be presented when the employee is hired and should state clearly that the nanny is not to disclose any information pertaining to the household, whether she is on the clock or not. Households with multiple employees may also wish to state that workers may not discuss salary and benefit information with one another*.

* Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees have the right to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment, including their work hours, work conditions, and pay. However, domestic workers are among the types of employees not included in this law.

Employers that decide to use a non-disclosure agreement should also include the consequences an employee will face if they violate the agreement by disclosing – or even threatening to disclose – private information. Such consequences could be getting a court order preventing the employee from disclosing such information, or preventing the employee from going to work for someone to whom they disclosed the information. Other consequences could include the employer having the right to claim losses and damages from the employee. Termination is another potential consequence of the employee’s breaking of the agreement.

For more information on how GTM assists families with hiring household employees, contact us at (800) 929-9213.