S/O. What does “unlimited PTO” look like?

[Anonymous]

Do you really give your nanny as much paid time off as she wants?

[Anonymous]

I have never seen this.

-nanny for 15 years

[Anonymous]

Our nanny has been with us for over three years. She’s so trustworthy and has never taken advantage so she can take as much time off as she needs.

[Anonymous]

I’m the Ozp of the thread that mentions it. Our nanny has never once been late and has never called in sick. Because of Covid, she didn’t even take her vacation time. As far as we’re concerned, if our nanny says she needs time off - she needs time off. I guess I’m saying we trust her.

[Anonymous]

While we had contractual time off in our contract, during the beginning of covid we became very accommodating of anything to make sure nanny stayed happy bc she was accommodating of us and continuing to come.

However once the world stabilized in a new normal she kept taking off for silly reasons ALL THE TIME. needed to leave weds afternoons every 4-6 weeks for a hair appt (her friend did her hair for free but would only do it then), needed to leave early thurs for a nails appt and then fri to get to a wedding. She counted all of this as separate from her PTO which she took as a formal vacation. I got very resentful because me missing a major meeting so my nanny could get her nails done mid week made no sense, but it was also weird to say "no you can't leave early or if you are i'm not paying you for those 3 hours". And whenever I was frustrated with it she got frustrated with me.

I was relieved when she ended up leaving to have her own baby and am now much more careful in tracking leave and sticking to it unless its a health reason.

[Anonymous]

I am a career nanny (15 years) and have never seen a contract with this. I have very generous leave (3 weeks my choice paid plus functionally unlimited unpaid). I have been with this family for 6 years and they know that I will sacrifice my own stuff at times to make things work for them, so they have done the same for me. In a long-term relationship you tend to evolve some mutual trust and support.

But if this were a new contract, I would advise against it. At the start the most important thing is to have a shared understanding/shared expectations. Something so undefined would make that hard.

[Anonymous]

No, it’s not in her contract but after four years, our nanny knows she has unlimited PTO. She wouldn’t take it if she didn’t need it. You have to establish trust before this offer can be made.

[Anonymous]

It's risky. There's a good chance the nanny will evening take advantage of it.

[Anonymous]

It’s a perk for a well trusted nanny. After over three years of dedicated service to our family and live for our kids, unlimited PTO is a given. Especially after Covid.

[Anonymous]

I had unlimited sick time as a Nanny. I told them I didn’t want set days but was not the type to abuse it. In 7 years I think I had one week off for a bad Strep case. In retrospect I probably should have taken more time off but didn’t.

[Anonymous]

The thing about unlimited PTO is that people who have it (not specifically nannies) actually take less time off. It sounds great but can be difficult in practice.

I do believe in unlimited sick time especially in these COVID times, but trust is required. On the other hand I have to trust you if I’m letting you watch my kids anyway.

[Anonymous]

While it was never stated, I had this in two prior nanny positions that were for four years each. In actuality, I probably took off 5-7 days of my own choice each year, including vacation days. Any other days I had off were paid holidays or days parents didn't need me but of course I was still compensated 52 weeks a year. This was a huge peace of mind for me as I never had to worry about 'what if' if I ever had to take off on a day I wasn't scheduled to. Never any nickel and diming here.