Paid Time Off for Nanny

[Anonymous]

...do you get unpaid leave at your job and (important question here) would you take a job that expected to lay you off for two weeks per year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello, we are planning to agree on 2 weeks paid time off (vacation) for our nanny. This is in addition to paid sick leave. PTO would be split as follows: 1 week at her discretion, 1 week at ours. However, my husband and I might take 2 additional weeks off - we cannot really pay the nanny during this time as well. How do others handle this / what is customary?

If this is really true, then you cannot afford a nanny.

If one week of her PTO is at your discretion, then you take that week off as well.

[Anonymous]

Think about it this way:

If you hire a full time nanny, you agree to pay her 52 weeks per year. Have her come in one of those weeks and purge the child’s cloths, sanitize toys and make baby food for the freezer.

If you can’t afford to pay all 52 weeks at the rate you wanted to pay, figure out what the hourly rate would be for the same yearly compensation. (Don’t forget about the employer contribution for taxes, worker’s compensation insurance and unemployment insurance when you’re figuring out what you can afford.) If that hourly rate is below $20/hour, you’re not likely to find a decent nanny, but you can try.

[Anonymous]

OP, please pay your nanny for all weeks she's available but you don't need her.
I've had two long term positions in a 15 year span and had guaranteed pay at 40 hours a week, whether or not I was needed. One family had up to 10-15 weeks a year I was not needed or with minimal hours but still compensated at 40 hours a week. This is my primary source of income. I can't afford to not be paid employers decide I'm not needed for a day or week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello, we are planning to agree on 2 weeks paid time off (vacation) for our nanny. This is in addition to paid sick leave. PTO would be split as follows: 1 week at her discretion, 1 week at ours. However, my husband and I might take 2 additional weeks off - we cannot really pay the nanny during this time as well. How do others handle this / what is customary?

If this is really true, then you cannot afford a nanny.

If one week of her PTO is at your discretion, then you take that week off as well.

I have to agree with this. PP, if it's really true you can only pay for 50 weeks per year, you can't afford your nanny. One alternative could be to look at what you can afford to pay over the course of a year and divide that out such that you have a lower rate but the pay is steady throughout the year, similar to what teachers sometimes do where they have a 10 month contract but get paid in 12 equal installments. I think that would be less confusing and problematic than offering a job where there are just two unpaid weeks per year.

[Anonymous]

You need to pay her for YOUR vacation time. Her PTO is a separate benefit. If you can’t do this then look for a cheaper option like daycare. What if you decide to take 4 weeks off one year? Does she go unpaid for a whole month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello, we are planning to agree on 2 weeks paid time off (vacation) for our nanny. This is in addition to paid sick leave. PTO would be split as follows: 1 week at her discretion, 1 week at ours. However, my husband and I might take 2 additional weeks off - we cannot really pay the nanny during this time as well. How do others handle this / what is customary?

You can’t just not pay someone because you decide to leave! It’s not done, OP. When we used to leave on vacations, we’d pay our nanny. In 2019 it amounted to over eight weeks. Our neighbor goes back to Turkey for 2.5 months and they continue to pay their nanny.

You CAN really pay your nanny for those two weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her for YOUR vacation time. Her PTO is a separate benefit. If you can’t do this then look for a cheaper option like daycare. What if you decide to take 4 weeks off one year? Does she go unpaid for a whole month?

Daycare would make you pay for those two weeks too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her for YOUR vacation time. Her PTO is a separate benefit. If you can’t do this then look for a cheaper option like daycare. What if you decide to take 4 weeks off one year? Does she go unpaid for a whole month?

Daycare would make you pay for those two weeks too.

Of course. My daycare has nearly 3 weeks off every year plus all the federal holidays. Is OP planning to dock pay for those days too?

[Anonymous]

Just curious OP, do you already have a specific nanny candidate in mind, and are just now drafting the contract? Or are you working out the terms before you even advertise/interview candidates?

[Anonymous]

OP, you definitely need to pay for those two weeks. That is the way it works in the employment world. I know a nanny that before the pandemic, her employers used to go away very often, and she would get paid regardless.

I always say the best way to know how to proceed in a specific situation is to put yourself in that situation, in the person's shoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I see moms on Mona saying their nanny is available for a week. Are they not paying the nanny for that week or is the nanny looking for extra work to get double paid. I always feel so badly for these nannies, like they are interchangeable.

What is Mona?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I see moms on Mona saying their nanny is available for a week. Are they not paying the nanny for that week or is the nanny looking for extra work to get double paid. I always feel so badly for these nannies, like they are interchangeable.

What is Mona?

Mothers of north Arlington