Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions:

-- Does she always leave exactly at her stop time? Or is there often some logistics that have to get worked out so that she's leaving 5-10 minutes after on a regular basis? Remember stuff like this cuts both ways. Giving her a 15 minute grace period in the morning also gives you a 15 minute grace time in the evening, if you are trying to wrap something up with work or need to run a quick errand or something. If there's give and take, I don't think taking a hard line on the morning start time is a good idea.

-- While you are not commuting, does her lateness cause other issues for you? My DH and I have one morning a week where we both have team calls early in the morning, and if our childcare ran late on those days it would be incredibly difficult. Do you often have calls first thing in the morning, or do you have a job where you need to get things to people by midmorning? If so, that's the issue, and as others have noted, you need to ask for an earlier start time. No one wants to be waiting on childcare right as they are trying to prepare for a meeting or finish a draft. Set your nanny's hours in a way that works for you, and if she can't do that, you may need to find another nanny who can. It's not personal -- she may have kids or family at home that make it impossible for her to get to your house earlier every day. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

I don't get all the people acting like this is some big transgression. Being 5-15 minutes late is pretty standard in many jobs, even many lower paid jobs with rigid schedules. I have worked in places with hourly workers where some people always show up a little late for a shift. Sometimes it causes real problems, in which case it has to be addressed and fixed. But with proper scheduling, that kind of delay really isn't that big of a deal. If someone is otherwise good at their job, a few minutes delay in the morning due to traffic or whatever is no big deal.

I worked hourly for 5 years. The first time you clocked in more than 5 minutes late (without a call prior to start time), it was a warning. Second time was one less day on the schedule for two weeks. Third time and they were fired. If you were late WITHOUT calling en route, it was one warning and then fired on the second.

Anonymous wrote:Stop the excuses! Tell your nanny to be on time or she’s fired! God, how do some of you exist in the world?

There is no excuse for habitual lateness. Do your fricking job at the agreed upon time!

- signed, a nanny

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few questions:

-- Does she always leave exactly at her stop time? Or is there often some logistics that have to get worked out so that she's leaving 5-10 minutes after on a regular basis? Remember stuff like this cuts both ways. Giving her a 15 minute grace period in the morning also gives you a 15 minute grace time in the evening, if you are trying to wrap something up with work or need to run a quick errand or something. If there's give and take, I don't think taking a hard line on the morning start time is a good idea.

-- While you are not commuting, does her lateness cause other issues for you? My DH and I have one morning a week where we both have team calls early in the morning, and if our childcare ran late on those days it would be incredibly difficult. Do you often have calls first thing in the morning, or do you have a job where you need to get things to people by midmorning? If so, that's the issue, and as others have noted, you need to ask for an earlier start time. No one wants to be waiting on childcare right as they are trying to prepare for a meeting or finish a draft. Set your nanny's hours in a way that works for you, and if she can't do that, you may need to find another nanny who can. It's not personal -- she may have kids or family at home that make it impossible for her to get to your house earlier every day. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

I don't get all the people acting like this is some big transgression. Being 5-15 minutes late is pretty standard in many jobs, even many lower paid jobs with rigid schedules. I have worked in places with hourly workers where some people always show up a little late for a shift. Sometimes it causes real problems, in which case it has to be addressed and fixed. But with proper scheduling, that kind of delay really isn't that big of a deal. If someone is otherwise good at their job, a few minutes delay in the morning due to traffic or whatever is no big deal.

I worked hourly for 5 years. The first time you clocked in more than 5 minutes late (without a call prior to start time), it was a warning. Second time was one less day on the schedule for two weeks. Third time and they were fired. If you were late WITHOUT calling en route, it was one warning and then fired on the second.

Anonymous wrote:A few questions:

-- Does she always leave exactly at her stop time? Or is there often some logistics that have to get worked out so that she's leaving 5-10 minutes after on a regular basis? Remember stuff like this cuts both ways. Giving her a 15 minute grace period in the morning also gives you a 15 minute grace time in the evening, if you are trying to wrap something up with work or need to run a quick errand or something. If there's give and take, I don't think taking a hard line on the morning start time is a good idea.

-- While you are not commuting, does her lateness cause other issues for you? My DH and I have one morning a week where we both have team calls early in the morning, and if our childcare ran late on those days it would be incredibly difficult. Do you often have calls first thing in the morning, or do you have a job where you need to get things to people by midmorning? If so, that's the issue, and as others have noted, you need to ask for an earlier start time. No one wants to be waiting on childcare right as they are trying to prepare for a meeting or finish a draft. Set your nanny's hours in a way that works for you, and if she can't do that, you may need to find another nanny who can. It's not personal -- she may have kids or family at home that make it impossible for her to get to your house earlier every day. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

I don't get all the people acting like this is some big transgression. Being 5-15 minutes late is pretty standard in many jobs, even many lower paid jobs with rigid schedules. I have worked in places with hourly workers where some people always show up a little late for a shift. Sometimes it causes real problems, in which case it has to be addressed and fixed. But with proper scheduling, that kind of delay really isn't that big of a deal. If someone is otherwise good at their job, a few minutes delay in the morning due to traffic or whatever is no big deal.

Anonymous wrote: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 wrote: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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This. We had a nanny who was regularly 5 minutes late. She had a long commute and traffic is unpredictable. But I didn’t have to be out the door the minute she arrived and she was always willing to stay a few minutes late if I needed it. There was a year where DH had a job that required us both to be out the door at a specific time because we drove together...that year we adjusted her schedule so she arrived 15 minutes before we needed to leave and we made sure she understood the time issue. She was never late that year.

Anonymous wrote: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 wrote: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.