Need Advice! My nanny expects me to pay her when our family goes on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Me and my husband are planning to take our two children to visit relatives out-of-state in May. Last evening my nanny stayed an extra 15 minutes to discuss payment for the week we will not need her services. She basically expected to be paid the whole week for free and explained her reasoning including her availability and need of a stable paycheck, which I can understand. I tried to compromise with her, asking her if she would like to make up the hours over time (Saturday nights or If I run late or decide to run an errand after work). She told me she could not do this because of other obligations on her off hours, including spending time with her 11-year-old child. I told her I would need to talk to my husband and will get back to her.

No we did not discuss this prior to her employment last June. She is paid under the table and I pay her $14 per hour for two children (1-year-old and my eldest who spends 10 hours per week in preschool),
Can somebody please help me out and give me some advice on this issue. I know she's expecting an answer when I get home tonight.

What if you lost pay every time your boss went on vacation? Seems absurd, doesn't it? The nanny has bills to pay too you know . We have a nanny, and we certainly pay her when we take off work - it wouldn't be fair for her to lose pay at my every whim. I mean, I can understand not paying her for sick days when she doesn't show up to work and you have to pay somebody to cover her shift, but to cheat her from pay whenever you take off is very, very low and nasty IMO.

Again, tone down the outrage. No it's not absurd. This is how hourly positions work. No one is cheating anyone.

Absurd would be me asking my boss to pay me extra because I had to stay late. Because I have salaried position. If I had an hourly position, I would get overtime, but I don't.

To repeat: in hourly positions, the standard is that you are paid for hours you work. Period. Full stop. Not for holidays. Not for sick time. Not for hours you are cancelled.

If you want these benefits, not matter how standard or market, you need to ask for them up front.

If you do not have a contract that gives you sick time or PTO or guarneteed hours, then you are not entitled to them.

Here's the difference - I don't know ANYBODY who works for an hourly rate somewhere and is at the whim of their boss such that at any point in time they will not have any work or pay for a week or two - that's really treating somebody like shit. period.

[Anonymous]

^^ You need to get out more, PP. Sadly, it is VERY common in retail, home health care, office work, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ You need to get out more, PP. Sadly, it is VERY common in retail, home health care, office work, etc.

NP here.

I worked in retail for a while and never experienced such a thing except for the holiday-only employees, who did get the short end of the stick. For regular PT and FT employees we were guaranteed 32 hours/week no matter what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ You need to get out more, PP. Sadly, it is VERY common in retail, home health care, office work, etc.

NP here.

I worked in retail for a while and never experienced such a thing except for the holiday-only employees, who did get the short end of the stick. For regular PT and FT employees we were guaranteed 32 hours/week no matter what.

I also worked retail and as a FT employee was too guaranteed at least 32 hours. It also wasn't a big deal to quit and find a new retail job if my shifts started getting dropped or my manager sucked. I would hope you'd want a bit more loyalty from your nanny, and that loyalty must be earned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ You need to get out more, PP. Sadly, it is VERY common in retail, home health care, office work, etc.

NP here.

I worked in retail for a while and never experienced such a thing except for the holiday-only employees, who did get the short end of the stick. For regular PT and FT employees we were guaranteed 32 hours/week no matter what.

I also worked retail and as a FT employee was too guaranteed at least 32 hours. It also wasn't a big deal to quit and find a new retail job if my shifts started getting dropped or my manager sucked. I would hope you'd want a bit more loyalty from your nanny, and that loyalty must be earned.

When was this? The Great Recession has changed the job market. Businesses are trying to cut costs by hiring part-time and temp workers over full-timers.

[Anonymous]

Pay her and shut the hell up or find a new nanny!!!The end!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here and I want to say wow, didn't realize I'd get so many responses. I've read a good majority of them but we (me, my husband and our nanny) came to an agreement.

- She will take our dog for a week and make sure he is fed, walked, etc. I initially asked if she could stop by daily for this and she offered to take him for the week.

- She will organize the childrens rooms including their closet. She will also take out Summer clothes and put away Winter clothes.

- She will also take in the mail daily.

- She will take care of all child related tasks in the house.

- She will also do any light cleaning/organizing in the home (not my bedroom).

Thank you everyone for your opinions, except for the disrespectful comments which I paid no attention to.

I hope your nanny has quit when you get back...Because i would have. I went through the same exact thing with my employers and ended up declining being there dog and house sitter while on vacation. And i told i needed to be payed? I agreed to take my vacation when they took there's and done....I'm insulted for her!!!!Are you handicap, Can you not organize and clean your own home and children's stuff. Ugh

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here and I want to say wow, didn't realize I'd get so many responses. I've read a good majority of them but we (me, my husband and our nanny) came to an agreement.

- She will take our dog for a week and make sure he is fed, walked, etc. I initially asked if she could stop by daily for this and she offered to take him for the week.

- She will organize the childrens rooms including their closet. She will also take out Summer clothes and put away Winter clothes.

- She will also take in the mail daily.

- She will take care of all child related tasks in the house.

- She will also do any light cleaning/organizing in the home (not my bedroom).

Thank you everyone for your opinions, except for the disrespectful comments which I paid no attention to.[/quote]

I hope your nanny has quit when you get back...Because i would have. I went through the same exact thing with my employers and ended up declining being there dog and house sitter while on vacation. And i told i needed to be payed? I agreed to take my vacation when they took there's and done....I'm insulted for her!!!!Are you handicap, Can you not organize and clean your own home and children's stuff. Ugh[/quote]

I'm hope OP's nanny speaks better English than you do, for her children's sake.

[Anonymous]

You get what you pay for, language and all.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here and I want to say wow, didn't realize I'd get so many responses. I've read a good majority of them but we (me, my husband and our nanny) came to an agreement.

- She will take our dog for a week and make sure he is fed, walked, etc. I initially asked if she could stop by daily for this and she offered to take him for the week.

- She will organize the childrens rooms including their closet. She will also take out Summer clothes and put away Winter clothes.

- She will also take in the mail daily.

- She will take care of all child related tasks in the house.

- She will also do any light cleaning/organizing in the home (not my bedroom).

Thank you everyone for your opinions, except for the disrespectful comments which I paid no attention to.[/quote]

I hope your nanny has quit when you get back...Because i would have. I went through the same exact thing with my employers and ended up declining being there dog and house sitter while on vacation. And i told i needed to be payed? I agreed to take my vacation when they took there's and done....I'm insulted for her!!!!Are you handicap, Can you not organize and clean your own home and children's stuff. Ugh[/quote]

I'm hope OP's nanny speaks better English than you do, for her children's sake. [/quote]

For like the 100th time, Can you please stop harassing all my posts/comments checking my grammar and spelling get a damn life...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You get what you pay for, language and all.

Very true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree w/ last PP. Nannies are not easily interchangeable. That is precisely WHY it is common to pay guaranteeed wages and give perks not common in other hourly jobs. Because unlike the retail clerk or cashier, there's a big human cost to the loss of a nanny, not simply a financial cost to training up someone new. Most MBs are loath to lose a nanny - even one who's not too great - because of the disruption to their kids. That is why it is in their interest to pay guaranteed hours but it is also why professional nannies need to do their part in the interview, especially if it is clear it's a new MB, to help provide information on what's standard/expected when it does differ so significantly from other hourly wage jobs.

So we should kiss the feet of childcare givers, throw loads of 'perks' and 'benefits' just to keep her interested? Hah, I must be a horrible MB because my nanny is making $9 per hour but then again, she's happy and my child is getting great care. Some of you are horrible with your guilt trips but they don't work on me.

[Anonymous]

"So we should kiss the feet of childcare givers, throw loads of 'perks' and 'benefits' just to keep her interested? Hah, I must be a horrible MB because my nanny is making $9 per hour but then again, she's happy and my child is getting great care. Some of you are horrible with your guilt trips but they don't work on me. "

I'm PP you replied to. I don't think you need to be excessive w/ perks - I do think you need to offer what is needed to secure good and stable childcare. So I don't offer health insurance and have not perceived that as a threat to keeping a stable nanny i like a lot. I do offer guaranteed hours (and the standard paid PTO) because it makes sense to me and because it also makes sense to me that if my nanny can't count on working a certain schedule for certain pay then she's likely to job shop. Perhaps where you live $9/hr is a fine rate and is what is needed to get good/stable childcare. Or maybe you speak her language and don't need someone legal to work here. Different employers are in different nanny markets.

[Anonymous]

FYI, that's why some parents don't "allow" Nanny to go to the park; they're afraid Nanny will find out that other nannies get double the pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI, that's why some parents don't "allow" Nanny to go to the park; they're afraid Nanny will find out that other nannies get double the pay.

Sometimes those other nannies are stretching the truth.