Temporarily furloughing nanny? Strategies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People fail to understand that the employer is not running a charity. Just because there are some emotional attachments due to the children doesn't absolve it from being a business relationship. No one's employer would run a business like this heck the GOVERNMENT has NOT MONEY and is not paying their workers right now. Why should it be any different for any other business arrangement?

No one's employer would look for other cost-saving measures during a temporary downturn other than laying people off immediately? I know businesses are all about the money, but there are many good employers who consider layoffs and furloughs to be options of last resort. I hope the nanny can find another family that values her as more than a "business relationship," and possibly has a more stable financial picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

That's great! But you still can't afford a nanny. I'm sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

That's great! But you still can't afford a nanny. I'm sorry.

If your income goes down to 20% of course you can't afford a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

That's all well and good but it's really unfortunate that you didn't plan for a possible loss of income. You're a contractor so you should know that shutdowns happen. You say you don't want to put your family at risk but now you're putting your nanny at risk because you lived beyond your means. It's just a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

Well, you pay her less than $500 a week...... If she is full-time, you are NOT "generous".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

Well, you pay her less than $500 a week...... If she is full-time, you are NOT "generous".

Who said how much I paid her. I pay much more than that.

[Anonymous]

For me, OP, it would be less about the money you will save and more about the difficulty of replacing your nanny. How quickly do you expect to hire someone new, or will you be scrambling to interview and find temporary care so you can go back to work?

I would try to negotiate with her so that she'll be there when you are ready to go back to work. Perhaps she could take the time off, and you'd pay her half her salary or something. Something that would cost you less but keep her happy enough to stay. Maybe you can help her find another family to work for during the shutdown--there are some essential employees whose daycares are closed, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

Well, you pay her less than $500 a week...... If she is full-time, you are NOT "generous".

Who said how much I paid her. I pay much more than that.

You said how much you paid her "Because we are fucked if our nanny up and quits on us. So we are making it as pleasant of a work environment for her as possible so that we (hopefully) don't wake up some day and have to unexpectedly figure out who is going to watch our kid while we both work. Two weeks of her salary is under $1k, which is worth it to us to not be caught, scrambling, without childcare. "

Less than $1,000 for two weeks = less than $500 a week. Math. It works.

[Anonymous]

Op I am sorry but I would have started looking at the first mention of shutdown.

I would not sit around and wait for you to tell me oh sorry I can't pay you file for unemployment.

Unemployment is crap money and doesn't cover all the bills (and yes I am a nanny who has NO debt - because I planned ahead an PAID everything off and have a 9 month saving account for the just incase).

I truely understand you think you are helping your nanny by this but you are not. You need to realize that she may already be looking and that when all is said and done that you may have to look for another nanny. I think there are tons of people in the same boat as you. There are threads all over this forum about this (unless you posted every place!)

What if your kids where in daycare? Would you pull them in the hopes that your spot would be there when you could return? Would you continue to pay for daycare keeping your kids in that care in order to hold the spot?

I think you need to just realize this is a crappy situtation for everyone involved and let things just happen and work out. There is nothing you can do about the shutdown and fixing it. Your nanny shouldn't have to deal with food stamps, government checks and health clinics because you can't pay her. Would you want to live like that???

Oh and I agree with the others -- you and your husband should have been a bit more prepared because of the contract work! You never know when that will end and new work starts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you could try, knowing your nanny has her own life and own decisions to make. if I were her, and you "furloughed" me, I'd look around for a family with more stability. And are you sure you're saying you simply can't "afford" the nanny or because you're home you don't "need" her and therefore want to play the financial card to pick and choose what you need and don't need. Please be sure you're being honest about your reasoning.

How would we be able to afford the nanny. It's not like I want to be at home not working.

That's your problem, not hers. You do what you have to do, but then know that she's also going to do what she needs to do. In her shoes, I'd be pissed off if you tried to "furlough" me and expected me to be available when the furlough ended. I hope it works out and you don't lose her, but I also hope you don't screw her by giving her less than as good a reference as she deserves.

If she has vacation time left, would she be willing to use it while you're on furlough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

Well, you pay her less than $500 a week...... If she is full-time, you are NOT "generous".

Who said how much I paid her. I pay much more than that.

You said how much you paid her "Because we are fucked if our nanny up and quits on us. So we are making it as pleasant of a work environment for her as possible so that we (hopefully) don't wake up some day and have to unexpectedly figure out who is going to watch our kid while we both work. Two weeks of her salary is under $1k, which is worth it to us to not be caught, scrambling, without childcare. "

Less than $1,000 for two weeks = less than $500 a week. Math. It works.

OP here, that was NOT me. We pay 700 a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if things get bad we will just lay her her off with the understanding she will go on unemployment until this temporary issue resolves itself. We will then re-hire her later. Thanks everyone for such idiotic responses, I figured it out myself.

You must be amazing to work for!

I give out bonuses, raises and forward paychecks when requested. I also have paid car insurance repairs etc.... I also am happy to do taxes, paper work, etc... for no charge at all.

I am fair and generous but am not going to put my family at risk or be homeless.

Oh and I also gave an extra week of paid vacation outside of the three weeks when asked.

Please tell me how terrible I am.

Well, you pay her less than $500 a week...... If she is full-time, you are NOT "generous".

Who said how much I paid her. I pay much more than that.

You said how much you paid her "Because we are fucked if our nanny up and quits on us. So we are making it as pleasant of a work environment for her as possible so that we (hopefully) don't wake up some day and have to unexpectedly figure out who is going to watch our kid while we both work. Two weeks of her salary is under $1k, which is worth it to us to not be caught, scrambling, without childcare. "

Less than $1,000 for two weeks = less than $500 a week. Math. It works.

OP here, that was NOT me. We pay 700 a week.

OK. My apologies. I assumed the PP was you.

[Anonymous]

Wait you pay her $700/week! Is this before or after taxes?

OP you sound rude and nasty in your posts - oh look we do all this for our nanny blah blah I treat her right

I bet you live well above your means to keep up with the Jones and are just a show off.

[Anonymous]

LOL I bet the angry nannies on this thread are going to sign up after seeing the salary and benefits.