Nanny asking to leave early because she arrived early

[Anonymous]

It’s her first day. Supposed to start at 930 each day but she arrived at 9 because “the subway went express”. She’s now asking if she can leave 30 mins early since she arrived 30 mins early and wants that to be the policy going forward because she doesn’t know when the subway will be local or express and likely will be early some days. I obviously don’t want that but I’m not working so I can’t use the excuse of needing coverage for the last 30 mins. How do I phrase this politely without seeming like I’m taking advantage of the extra free half hour?

[Anonymous]

No good way about this but I get why it's annoying. Make up a work obligation I guess? Pretend to be on a call? Lol

[Anonymous]

Let her know that her day starts and ends at a specific time and she’s welcome to sit and have a cup of coffee if she arrives early.

[Anonymous]

She asked. You can say no, if it doesn’t work for you.

[Anonymous]

Oh geez, this would really annoy me, but ... I work. I mean, if I did not work, I think I could be flexible on this, but if you have a reason you cannot be, state it--to her.

[Anonymous]

She voluntarily showed up early so that half hour is on her. Her day, based on your day, ends at X time so she needs to be there until that time. She works set hours, not X hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh geez, this would really annoy me, but ... I work. I mean, if I did not work, I think I could be flexible on this, but if you have a reason you cannot be, state it--to her.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let her know that her day starts and ends at a specific time and she’s welcome to sit and have a cup of coffee if she arrives early.

This is fair. But make sure to stick to. Do not bleed into her unpaid time just because she is there.

[Anonymous]

I'd tell her that you're happy to clear that in advance if she wants to arrive early/ leave early on certain days but you have a schedule and can't guarantee the accommodation on the fly.

[Anonymous]

Great nannies aren't easy to find, so if you really end up liking her, I'd find a way to be flexible. If you really need her to stay today, then I'd pay her for it to establish good will.

[Anonymous]

You don't need to let her go early, but if you keep her you do need to pay her for the extra half hour.

[Anonymous]

Op, it’s not a “free extra half hour”, if she came early, and you didn’t tell her to take a break and start at 9:30 as agreed, and she actually worked, then you need to pay her for that half hour. Otherwise, yes, she leaves early. No free half hours.

If this annoys you, then tell her, that her job has specific hours. You do not need to provide excuses or reasons why. But you do need to pay her for the extra she has worked already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd tell her that you're happy to clear that in advance if she wants to arrive early/ leave early on certain days but you have a schedule and can't guarantee the accommodation on the fly.

This.
I mean, if she arrives at 5 am, she wants to leave 8 hours later?
Some jobs have that flexibility, some don’t.
Think about whether you can give her a half hour flexibility either way if she’s gets there early. Does it matter to you if you aren’t working? If it does matter, then Just say no. And don’t hold it against her that she asked. It’s a reasonable question and you are entitled to answer either way. I suspect some people will say it’s a bad sign and fire her, just cause that’s DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Today it’s fine, but moving forward, I need coverage for the set hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let her know that her day starts and ends at a specific time and she’s welcome to sit and have a cup of coffee if she arrives early.

This is fair. But make sure to stick to. Do not bleed into her unpaid time just because she is there.

+1 flexibility goes both ways, op. You can say you will give it a one month trial to see how it’s working.