Nanny severance

[Anonymous]

I love this story. I adore nannies. The pros know how to bargain hard to get as much money as they can out of their employers. It's inspiring. I also appreciate that even when they obviously really love the kids and get along with the family, they never forget that they do it for the money. They know you go around telling your friends your nanny is "like family" and that flatters them and they also know it's something they can use to their advantage to earn more money for themselves and their families. Nannies get it.

Anyway, OP, obviously you aren't going to give your nanny 100k in severance. But you introduce all these facts that aren't really relevant. It doesn't matter for her severance that you paid her through the pandemic when she wasn't working -- that's something you chose to do, likely to retain her services. That's a decision all employers had to contemplate this year. And the fact that she isn't working much now is also not relevant. It's not her fault that you don't need her that much now. If you wanted to let her go earlier, you could have. If you wanted to reduce her hours, you could have proposed that. You chose to keep her on full time, and to make the end of the year her end date.

Stop expecting her to do the hard work of laying her off. That's what you are doing. You're the boss. You don't have to give her a severance, but I do think some amount of severance after many years of good service is the right thing to do. Figure out what you think is fair and give it to her. She is allowed to ask for more; you are allowed to say no. Stop looking for permission, from us or from her. Do what you think is right, be clear with her about it, and then move on.

[Anonymous]

Wow she has some nerve. I’d give her a month’s pay. Why hasn’t she been looking for a new job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love this story. I adore nannies. The pros know how to bargain hard to get as much money as they can out of their employers. It's inspiring. I also appreciate that even when they obviously really love the kids and get along with the family, they never forget that they do it for the money. They know you go around telling your friends your nanny is "like family" and that flatters them and they also know it's something they can use to their advantage to earn more money for themselves and their families. Nannies get it.

Anyway, OP, obviously you aren't going to give your nanny 100k in severance. But you introduce all these facts that aren't really relevant. It doesn't matter for her severance that you paid her through the pandemic when she wasn't working -- that's something you chose to do, likely to retain her services. That's a decision all employers had to contemplate this year. And the fact that she isn't working much now is also not relevant. It's not her fault that you don't need her that much now. If you wanted to let her go earlier, you could have. If you wanted to reduce her hours, you could have proposed that. You chose to keep her on full time, and to make the end of the year her end date.

Stop expecting her to do the hard work of laying her off. That's what you are doing. You're the boss. You don't have to give her a severance, but I do think some amount of severance after many years of good service is the right thing to do. Figure out what you think is fair and give it to her. She is allowed to ask for more; you are allowed to say no. Stop looking for permission, from us or from her. Do what you think is right, be clear with her about it, and then move on.

Thank you. Just communicate like a boss. Decide how much severance you are going to give (if any), and let her know her last day of employment.

[Anonymous]

You gave her 4 months notice and have been paying her a full salary for months when she's barely been working. She has some balls asking for a 100K severance. I would ignore it. Honestly I'd probably be put off enough that I would give her severance now and be done with it.

[Anonymous]

2-4 months for every year worked?! No. Just no. No one I know has done this. 2 weeks to a month, total, sounds about right.

Nannies are a hot commodity right now... she should be able to find something else fairly quickly. You gave her plenty of notice. That wouldn't sit well with me.

[Anonymous]

Again, I think she miss read some thing or miss understood or miss typed. You should email her back with the calculation of $100,000 and ask her if that is what she meant to type but either way tell her that is not reasonable, you absolutely cannot afford it (who can???!!).

[Anonymous]

How about meet her half way and give her $50k?

Still absurd, isn't it?

You seem nice and generous to give her 3 months severance.
Don't go back and forth with her. It's not negotiable. You showed your appreciation, but the feeling is not mutual.

Just send her a check by mail after her last day and ignore her demand.

[Anonymous]

2 weeks is standard . 3 months is extremely generous. She is taking advantage.

[Anonymous]

I would love to know where she gets her data. Severance isn’t an employee right. You had told her what you are willing to offer. The end.

[Anonymous]

Looks like you have not mentioned a severance amount to your nanny correct? I would just respond to her email saying the x months notice is more than sufficient and you can afford to give 2 weeks severance along with paying insurance thru June at the end of her employment. If she stays through and doesn’t pout still doing all her duties then you give her 3 months severance which would be a very nice surprise.

[Anonymous]

Severance is paid in lieu of sufficient notice. That would not apply in your case. Anything you give her would be a parting bonus, amount up to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Severance is paid in lieu of sufficient notice. That would not apply in your case. Anything you give her would be a parting bonus, amount up to you.

This.

[Anonymous]

Do you have f&ck you money? That's a lot of money for very little return...

[Anonymous]

If my nanny sent me that email, I would send her on her way. You've already been more than generous. Given the amount of notice you provided, I'm surprised you are paying severance at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Severance is paid in lieu of sufficient notice. That would not apply in your case. Anything you give her would be a parting bonus, amount up to you.

In general yes, though sometimes longtime employees get a severance even with several months notice. I was once laid off with 3 months notice and still got 6 weeks severance. It’s an acknowledgement that when you have been in a position for a very long time, it can take time to find a job suitabke to your salary and experience level.

That said, it is still entirely at the employers discretion. I see nothing wrong with the nanny asking for more, but you aren’t obligated to pay anything.