Frequently Asked Questions

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How much notice is needed to book a Night Owls Maternity Nurse? 

We prefer as much notice as possible to allow you time to look at references and to interview any prospective Maternity Nurses. However, due to the constantly changing nature of this work, Maternity Nurses could be available at short notice. Just give us a call.

What does the Agency Fee cover?

The agency fee covers the provision of all aspects of Night Owls Agency administration costs including telephone, insurance, Income Tax and stationery; maintaining the website; advertising and publicity and of course time spent screening the Maternity Nurses, supervision, support meetings and travel.

What is the Night Owls Nurse selection process?

All Maternity Nurses are required to complete an application form. If they meet our strict criteria they will be interviewed face to face, where they will be asked about their employment history, experience and given childcare scenarios to answer. Once an applicant passes the interview process, at least six verifiable references are required. These should all be within the previous 24 month period. Copies of qualifications, Insurance certificates, DBS and ID etc. are also checked and kept on file.

What is a DBS check (Previously known as CRB)?

DBS stand for Disclosure and Barring Service, CRB stands for Criminal Records Bureau. This is basically a certificate to say that a police check has been completed to identify if a person has any criminal conviction or warning in respect of any sexually offending behaviour against children or vulnerable adults. We require every Maternity Nurse to have a clear DBS check prior to joining Night Owls. The DBS check has to be renewed every three years.

What if I need to Cancel a Booking? 

If, due to circumstances you find that you need to cancel a booking that has already been agreed with the Maternity Nurse, you will lose any deposit paid to the Nurse. If no deposit has been paid, then you will be required to pay the deposit fee of one week’s money for every four weeks of the contract period. Except in specific circumstances, Agency fees are not refundable.

What if my Maternity Nurse cancels?
In the event that your Maternity Nurse cancels due to sickness or other circumstances, please inform us as soon as possible and we will try to find you a replacement. In the rare event we are unable to find a replacement any payment made will be refunded to you in full. Where a Maternity Nurse cancels due to circumstances beyond their or Night Owls control e.g. severe weather conditions, we regret we cannot refund the Agency fee.

How do I pay the Agency Booking Fee?

The Agency will provide you with a Service Agreement confirming your booking details and will show the nights, days, weeks and hours agreed. You will need to check that the details shown are correct.

Included with the Service Agreement will be an Invoice confirming the Agency Fee to be charged and identifying the different methods of payment. This can be by Bank Transfer (bacs), Cheque or Cash. We would ask that any Agency fees are paid within 10 days of the Invoice date.

How do I pay the Maternity Nurse Fee?

Maternity Nurses will inform you how they prefer to be paid. This can be either by Cash, Cheque or Bank Transfer. In all instances the Maternity Nurse should be paid on a weekly basis. The deposit paid at the time of ‘booking’ the Maternity Nurse will be held by them until the end of the contract, when the number of weeks deposit will be off-set against the final weeks of employment.