Nanny asking to leave early because she arrived early

[Anonymous]

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

Then that's what you tell her. But be clear she should not be working the extra 30 mins when she arrives early.

[Anonymous]

No, you should get to count on her hours being what they are.

[Anonymous]

Starting work on time sometimes means arriving early.
I don't know why some people cannot understand this.

Whether you yourself are working for pay, or not, is not the issue, since you could have something planned at any time and you need to be able to to rely on her providing childcare.

Like a poster suggested, say that it's fine if it's cleared in advance, because you need to check whether you have anything planned. Explain that you hired her to work at set hours, and she's not expected to work if she arrives early.

One of my friends is a nanny and she's the type to arrive early to make sure traffic does not make her late, and to leave right on time. This means that her employers get free minutes in the morning, but that's fine, since it's part of most job descriptions to arrive on time... which means sometimes arriving early.

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering... why do you need a nanny if you're not working? I'm not judging. I'm probably jealous if I'm being honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting work on time sometimes means arriving early.
I don't know why some people cannot understand this.

Whether you yourself are working for pay, or not, is not the issue, since you could have something planned at any time and you need to be able to to rely on her providing childcare.

Like a poster suggested, say that it's fine if it's cleared in advance, because you need to check whether you have anything planned. Explain that you hired her to work at set hours, and she's not expected to work if she arrives early.

One of my friends is a nanny and she's the type to arrive early to make sure traffic does not make her late, and to leave right on time. This means that her employers get free minutes in the morning, but that's fine, since it's part of most job descriptions to arrive on time... which means sometimes arriving early.

I don't understand why she can't have a coffee as previously suggested, or read a book or tend to her emails or knitting, or something if she gets there early? Why would she start working?

[Anonymous]

Fine for today, but going forward she can have coffee, read, go for a walk or something.
She can't expect you to adjust hours based on which train she takes.

[Anonymous]

OP if you have the ability to be flexible, and it sounds like you might if you're not working, then you should do it. Not just because it's the "nice" thing to do, but because being in your nanny's good graces is worth it's weight in gold. There might be a time when you need her to be flexible for some reason and she's not going to be inclined if there's no reciprocity. Flexibility is a two way street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP if you have the ability to be flexible, and it sounds like you might if you're not working, then you should do it. Not just because it's the "nice" thing to do, but because being in your nanny's good graces is worth it's weight in gold. There might be a time when you need her to be flexible for some reason and she's not going to be inclined if there's no reciprocity. Flexibility is a two way street.

+1 If you absolutely needed to be working until X time, I can understand not being flexible, but if you can accommodate I would. If you treat workers well, they are a lot more willing to accommodate you when you need them. And, as you know from this board, a nanny that doesn't show up late is worth a lot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting work on time sometimes means arriving early.
I don't know why some people cannot understand this.

Whether you yourself are working for pay, or not, is not the issue, since you could have something planned at any time and you need to be able to to rely on her providing childcare.

Like a poster suggested, say that it's fine if it's cleared in advance, because you need to check whether you have anything planned. Explain that you hired her to work at set hours, and she's not expected to work if she arrives early.

One of my friends is a nanny and she's the type to arrive early to make sure traffic does not make her late, and to leave right on time. This means that her employers get free minutes in the morning, but that's fine, since it's part of most job descriptions to arrive on time... which means sometimes arriving early.

I don't understand why she can't have a coffee as previously suggested, or read a book or tend to her emails or knitting, or something if she gets there early? Why would she start working?

Because it's not relaxing to hang out in your employer's home, the kids may not understand that you aren't on the clock, and she has stuff to do when she isn't working.

[Anonymous]

Since you aren't working, I don't understand the issue. You didn't have an exercise class scheduled at 9am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fine for today, but going forward she can have coffee, read, go for a walk or something.
She can't expect you to adjust hours based on which train she takes.

I agree with this. Are there any coffee shops she can go to in the event the train arrives early? For me, I would find it weird to have someone sitting in my house in the morning just waiting to get started. However, if you think you will need her to be flexible around your schedule in the future, this could be your opportunity to discuss that. The more flexible you are, the more flexible she may be, especially if you don't have a job to work around right now.

[Anonymous]

A couple thoughts -

A) Its unprofessional to ask to leave early on the first day especially if it was a due a schedule issue on your (the nanny's) part

B) That said - nannis are in high demand due to Covid and a lot of people needing extensive childcare during quarantines. I'd be flexible if she's highly experienced and you really want to keep her.

C) You can always trial it - 'Let's see how it works for the first two weeks, then we can discuss changes'

[Anonymous]

Is there a maximum amount of wiggle room? For example, if she promised to always arrive between 9-930 and leave between 230-3pm, I'd be fine with that so long as it comes out to 6 hours. It seems this isn't really up to her but just how quickly the train comes.

[Anonymous]

That’s unprofessional enough that I would have real concerns about her judgment. My 14 year old (who is not known for her professionalism!) would definitely know better than to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s unprofessional enough that I would have real concerns about her judgment. My 14 year old (who is not known for her professionalism!) would definitely know better than to do this.

It's not unprofessional to ask. I would absolutely try to accommodate an employee who asked for a minor schedule accommodation. I moved my office to core hours, which work well for the org and make employees happy which means they are more flexible and work harder.