Nanny is late everyday - what to do?

[Anonymous]

Our nanny is supposed to arrive at 9 everyday, but she is always late. On a normal day, she arrives around 905. And 1-2 times a week, it’s 910. Once in a while she forgets her keys, set her alarm, etc and arrives at 915. If I were going into my office I’d have said something to her a while ago because it would mess up my commute, but I’m working at home right now. Also, if she ranged and sometimes showed up a few minutes early and sometimes a few minutes late, I wouldn’t care. But EVERY day she comes after 9. Should I say something to her, especially if I’m working at home for the foreseeable future? If I say something, how should I phrase it?

[Anonymous]

What is her transportation? If the bus schedule is causing it, change the start time to work with the bus. If it's just a bad habit, tell her to knock it off.

[Anonymous]

Of course you should say something to her. Remind her that her start time is at 9o’clock sharp and she needs to be there by nine ready to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is her transportation? If the bus schedule is causing it, change the start time to work with the bus. If it's just a bad habit, tell her to knock it off.

I’m the previous poster and the bus schedule should not be an issue. I use the bus for my work for many years and I adjusted my time so I would always be at work on time. Not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

^^ knock it off is obviously not the way to phrase is, but let her know that her start time is 9 because you log in to work at 9 on the dot, so she can't; be walking in the door at 9, she needs to be starting work at 9.

[Anonymous]

I’d phrase it as clarifying for her that you start at 9 so need her there and ready to go by 8:55 for full hand off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is her transportation? If the bus schedule is causing it, change the start time to work with the bus. If it's just a bad habit, tell her to knock it off.

She drives to us daily

[Anonymous]

Yes you should if it matters to you. But you should also consider whether you actually need her to show up at 9 on the dot. Flexibility to arrive 5-15 minutes late is pretty standard in the working world, so you need to consider whether you really have to take that away. If it was 15 minutes every day I might feel differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her transportation? If the bus schedule is causing it, change the start time to work with the bus. If it's just a bad habit, tell her to knock it off.

I’m the previous poster and the bus schedule should not be an issue. I use the bus for my work for many years and I adjusted my time so I would always be at work on time. Not the other way around.

DP. I agree with you that this how it should work, but in reality it’s not a frivolous issue. If the nanny has to take a bus route that only runs every hour (either because the line she takes runs infrequently, or because of the timing of connections), she’s in a position where she either takes the earlier bus and then stands outside in the cold for the better part of an hour until 9 am (because sitting in a coffee shop for an hour isn’t an option during covid), or she takes the later one and risks being a few minutes late if the bus is running behind. If this were part of the issue, OP agreeing to back up the start time to 8:30 and pay the nanny for that extra time might be a workable solution for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Do what I do with DH: back up the start time by 30 minutes. Tell her your schedule changed, and you need her to arrive by 8:30.

[Anonymous]

I had this and didn’t make a big deal about it because I generally don’t make a big deal about little things like this. But it was an indicator that she was just not that serious about the job and there turned out to be a bunch off other problems. The nanny I replaced her with was often early and took her job much more seriously.

[Anonymous]

Are you okay with her showing up 10 minutes early and having her breakfast or a cup of coffee? If so, make it clear that you need her there no later than 9 and suggest she come a bit early so she can settle in for the day. I think it's unreasonable to ask her to sit in a cold car while she waits for it to turn 9 AM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do what I do with DH: back up the start time by 30 minutes. Tell her your schedule changed, and you need her to arrive by 8:30.

+1

BINGO. This woman has no regard for your time, because she thinks if you work from home, you must have a flexible schedule. That, and I am betting she has never worked an office job, so she doesn't understand that kind of punctuality and professionalism.

[Anonymous]

OP-- just tell her that you need her at work by 9AM each morning. I don't know her age, but when I was in my twenties I was chronically late. I had a poor sense of time and didn't plan for contingencies (traffic, parking, getting directions, etc.).

I've learned to start everything a little sooner than absolutely necessary-- even if it makes me a bit early sometimes.

Anyway, I think she needs the clear message that there's a hard deadline of 9AM, so that she plans better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her transportation? If the bus schedule is causing it, change the start time to work with the bus. If it's just a bad habit, tell her to knock it off.

I’m the previous poster and the bus schedule should not be an issue. I use the bus for my work for many years and I adjusted my time so I would always be at work on time. Not the other way around.

DP. I agree with you that this how it should work, but in reality it’s not a frivolous issue. If the nanny has to take a bus route that only runs every hour (either because the line she takes runs infrequently, or because of the timing of connections), she’s in a position where she either takes the earlier bus and then stands outside in the cold for the better part of an hour until 9 am (because sitting in a coffee shop for an hour isn’t an option during covid), or she takes the later one and risks being a few minutes late if the bus is running behind. If this were part of the issue, OP agreeing to back up the start time to 8:30 and pay the nanny for that extra time might be a workable solution for everyone.

Nanny drives.