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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.

Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.

Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.

Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.

Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Your MB is an outlier. Do some research for DCUM and ask her why she did it.

[Anonymous]

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 My past MB has done the same thing. I think it's similar to people lying abut how much they paid for an outfit, they want to gloat about an amazing bargain I guess?
This must be what is producing this low "market" all of these people like to rant about on DCUM.

Truth be told. We Americans are notorious liars, so why would anyone depend on random surveys as if they were some scientific means of collecting accurate data?
As one small example, people routinely report that they wash their hands after using the bathroom. When they put hidden cameras in public restrooms (not stalls), it's shown that it's a much smaller percentage of people that actually do it.

We're "notorious liars"? Care to back that ridiculous statement up with something factual?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

True, I get a lot of pleasure out of making up inconsequential lies to share anonymously on an internet forum. Ahhhhhhh, such pleasure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 My past MB has done the same thing. I think it's similar to people lying abut how much they paid for an outfit, they want to gloat about an amazing bargain I guess?
This must be what is producing this low "market" all of these people like to rant about on DCUM.

Truth be told. We Americans are notorious liars, so why would anyone depend on random surveys as if they were some scientific means of collecting accurate data?
As one small example, people routinely report that they wash their hands after using the bathroom. When they put hidden cameras in public restrooms (not stalls), it's shown that it's a much smaller percentage of people that actually do it.

We're "notorious liars"? Care to back that ridiculous statement up with something factual?

Come on now. Do you REALLY wash your hands after using the bathroom?
Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

Or the nanny misheard, or the MB has no idea what she pays the nanny because DH does it.

Also, depending on whether the nanny has guaranteed hours, it may not be so easy to determine what she pays the nanny. My own nanny chose a high hourly rate rather than guaranteed hours, because she works a lot of OT at time and a half and she thought she'd do better this way. In passing recently, she said to me "well I make x per year." She actually makes significantly less than x, in part because she takes a fair amount of unpaid time off and apparently didn't factor that in when estimating her earnings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

Or the nanny misheard, or the MB has no idea what she pays the nanny because DH does it.

Also, depending on whether the nanny has guaranteed hours, it may not be so easy to determine what she pays the nanny. My own nanny chose a high hourly rate rather than guaranteed hours, because she works a lot of OT at time and a half and she thought she'd do better this way. In passing recently, she said to me "well I make x per year." She actually makes significantly less than x, in part because she takes a fair amount of unpaid time off and apparently didn't factor that in when estimating her earnings.

You really hired a not-so-bright person, but I guess she loves your kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

Or the nanny misheard, or the MB has no idea what she pays the nanny because DH does it.

Also, depending on whether the nanny has guaranteed hours, it may not be so easy to determine what she pays the nanny. My own nanny chose a high hourly rate rather than guaranteed hours, because she works a lot of OT at time and a half and she thought she'd do better this way. In passing recently, she said to me "well I make x per year." She actually makes significantly less than x, in part because she takes a fair amount of unpaid time off and apparently didn't factor that in when estimating her earnings.

You really hired a not-so-bright person, but I guess she loves your kid?

+1 it doesn't sound like she "chose" the higher hourly rate over guaranteed hours. It sounds like she didn't understand the math and you took advantage of her.

[Anonymous]

Why would you assume an MB took advantage of her? Sounds like the MB has been upfront but the nanny "takes a fair amount of unpaid time off".

Guess what? That is the nanny's choice. If she doesn't understand the implications of her choices, that's her problem.

You think it's an MB's job to say, hey, nanny, you should rethink taking that time off without pay. It leaves you without pay, and, you know, that may be tough on your budget.

My guess is you nannies would freak out on an MB who tried to tell you what to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

Or the nanny misheard, or the MB has no idea what she pays the nanny because DH does it.

Also, depending on whether the nanny has guaranteed hours, it may not be so easy to determine what she pays the nanny. My own nanny chose a high hourly rate rather than guaranteed hours, because she works a lot of OT at time and a half and she thought she'd do better this way. In passing recently, she said to me "well I make x per year." She actually makes significantly less than x, in part because she takes a fair amount of unpaid time off and apparently didn't factor that in when estimating her earnings.

You really hired a not-so-bright person, but I guess she loves your kid?

She was bright enough to get a master's degree from a good school. How about you, sweetness?

Obviously, my nanny hadn't spent a lot of time crunching the salary numbers and I'm sure she'll figure out come tax time. My point is simply that one or both parties in the example here might be mistaken as opposed to lying. Not sure why everyone on this board always assumes a sinister motive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

Or the nanny misheard, or the MB has no idea what she pays the nanny because DH does it.

Also, depending on whether the nanny has guaranteed hours, it may not be so easy to determine what she pays the nanny. My own nanny chose a high hourly rate rather than guaranteed hours, because she works a lot of OT at time and a half and she thought she'd do better this way. In passing recently, she said to me "well I make x per year." She actually makes significantly less than x, in part because she takes a fair amount of unpaid time off and apparently didn't factor that in when estimating her earnings.

You really hired a not-so-bright person, but I guess she loves your kid?

She was bright enough to get a master's degree from a good school. How about you, sweetness?

Obviously, my nanny hadn't spent a lot of time crunching the salary numbers and I'm sure she'll figure out come tax time. My point is simply that one or both parties in the examp
le here might be mistaken as opposed to lying. Not sure why everyone on this board always assumes a sinister motive.

Your masters nanny can't figure out her income? No wonder "education" is going down the drain. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you assume an MB took advantage of her? Sounds like the MB has been upfront but the nanny "takes a fair amount of unpaid time off".

Guess what? That is the nanny's choice. If she doesn't understand the implications of her choices, that's her problem.

You think it's an MB's job to say, hey, nanny, you should rethink taking that time off without pay. It leaves you without pay, and, you know, that may be tough on your budget.

My guess is you nannies would freak out on an MB who tried to tell you what to do.

Thank you. The nanny is an adult in her 30s, not a middle-schooler with undeveloped math skills. I went out of my way to explain the implications of her choice and to make sure she understood there could be significant fluctuations in her income. We estimated our likely vacation days but made clear that we weren't promising to limit them based on the estimate. There is no language barrier, she's well-educated, and she talked it over with her family before deciding. Frankly, she seems perfectly happy with the arrangement, because there are a lot of weeks when she does very, very well based on overtime that gets calculated from a higher base than she would have had with guaranteed hours.

It is so odd to me that some nannies on this board want to be respected as professionals, yet insist that other nannies aren't capable of understanding their own needs and negotiating on that basis. There is no single compensation package that works for everyone, just as there is no single type of nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why on earth would an MB lie about how little she pays her employees? If anything, I imagine people would inflate the amount to seem really generous or something. Who lies about getting a bargain on an employee? That doesn't make any sense.


Agreed. This makes no sense at all. But, of course, the nannies here always try to inflate rates, so I guess this imaginary logic is another sign of that.


Sure, because reporting on what we have seen firsthand is imaginary logic. You're right, I must have just imagined my MB saying she pays me less than she really does...

Or you could be lying, which is the more likely scenario.

Or the nanny misheard, or the MB has no idea what she pays the nanny because DH does it.

Also, depending on whether the nanny has guaranteed hours, it may not be so easy to determine what she pays the nanny. My own nanny chose a high hourly rate rather than guaranteed hours, because she works a lot of OT at time and a half and she thought she'd do better this way. In passing recently, she said to me "well I make x per year." She actually makes significantly less than x, in part because she takes a fair amount of unpaid time off and apparently didn't factor that in when estimating her earnings.

You really hired a not-so-bright person, but I guess she loves your kid?

She was bright enough to get a master's degree from a good school. How about you, sweetness?

Obviously, my nanny hadn't spent a lot of time crunching the salary numbers and I'm sure she'll figure out come tax time. My point is simply that one or both parties in the examp
le here might be mistaken as opposed to lying. Not sure why everyone on this board always assumes a sinister motive.

Your masters nanny can't figure out her income? No wonder "education" is going down the drain. Sorry.

Or maybe she is earning enough and busy enough living that she doesn't need to spend time counting her beans as they roll in. My DH has two professional degrees and runs a business. Like the nanny here, his pay fluctuates based largely on how much he works. He usually has a very rough idea of how things are going, but never really knows what his annual income will be until the end of the year. We live below our means and the variation is always at the margins, so it's not something we obsess about.

[Anonymous]

The nanny's W-2 will be all the explanation she needs. PP does not seem to to be the tyoe of employer that pays under the table.