Nanny here- I don’t think this is normal, however on my first week with my current family I got food poisoning and called in sick. I had also pre-planned a holiday and went away a month later for a week (but I told them about this in the interview)

I’ve been with the family now for almost 10 years and have called in sick only three times. My first week, then after 7 years, then when I got my 2nd dose of the vaccine.

Fire her.

You get what you paid for. My dentist used to say that a lot. Applies to nannies too, I am sure.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP again. Typo above... she texted me at 7am on Monday telling me she would be an hour late and then arrived at 10am instead of 9.

Ask her and discuss. It sounds like alcoholism and I would just let her go be sure it will only get worse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you otherwise like her I would talk to her sometime next week. Say you understand legit emergencies but you both have jobs to do too and her being late effects everyone.

Agree

It concerns me that she didn’t already offer up an reason if there was some kind of emergency situation. And that she has already done this twice without reason. I would feel that she didn’t take the job seriously.

Being on time is crucial for the job, I don’t really understand why that would need to be explained to someone who is otherwise good at the job.

Anonymous wrote:If you otherwise like her I would talk to her sometime next week. Say you understand legit emergencies but you both have jobs to do too and her being late effects everyone.

Agree

Twice in the first couple of weeks with no explanation is a bad sign. It’s possible she’s looking for another job and that’s why she’s doing this. Either way, time to look for a new nanny

Look for another nanny. This would be a dealbreaker for me.

Anonymous wrote:That’s a dealbreaker unless there is a compelling reason - car issue, family emergency etc.

No matter what, there should have been an explanation.

That’s a dealbreaker unless there is a compelling reason - car issue, family emergency etc.

Yeah…the only times my nanny has done this included: car battery died (she was an hour late) and more recently family member died unexpectedly (she took the day off to be with her family). This doesn’t bode well OP.

This would be a huge dealbreaker for me as a parent.

You need someone reliable that you can count on.
This Nanny will only create many stressful situations later on if you keep her.

Nanny here. I would never do this.

But maybe her last family was very flexible and that she thinks that because you work from home you can be as flexible.

I'd talk to her, ask for way more notice and mention that she'll lose the $ for hours that aren't worked ...

If that happens again I'd let her go ... This is not professional.

Are you docking her pay?

Does she even know it's a huge inconvenience for you and DH or do you put on a happy face so she assumes it's no problem?

What's written in your contract about spontaneous late arrivals/early leaving? Written warning? 3 strikes?

Can she stay late to compensate?

A new employee is late the first week and then asks to leave early. No explanation?

Yeah, time to start looking for a new nanny.