Nanny Holiday Bonus/Raise - not straightforward and could use some advice

[Anonymous]

Is taking care of the new baby in addition to or instead of the housekeeping responsibilities? If it's a substitution, then she doesn't necessarily need a raise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter that you started at $21/hr. You can't expect her to take on additional duties (a new baby!) for the same rate just because you overpayed when you hired the nanny. If you're keeping her on, you need to obviously give her more than a 3% raise for an additional kid! That salary and those benefits were agreed upon when you hired her, when you had one kid. Would you do double the work for the same pay?????

In real life.... Corporate America... Yes this happens more frequently than not. Responsibilities change, but not necessarily pay.

[Anonymous]

Nanny here. You are paying her a very good salary, but most (good, deserving) nannies get a salary increase once they've been with a family for a year AND when her duties change (ie., a new baby is coming along). AND you refer to her as a nanny/housekeeper. Nannies in the top salary range make between $20-25/hour for one child, but since she is also you're housekeeper, thats an entirely separate job that she's squeezing in.
So, I wouldn't say you're "overpaying" her right now. I would say a $2/hour raise is in order with the addition of a new child, and $1/hour raise as her annual raise.

Reality check. OP said she was in DC. Nannies don't make $20- $25/hr for one child here. They don't. Sure, some nanny is going to post 3 minutes from now that she does, but she 's either lying, or has some very ignorant employers.

OP is definitely overpaying now. If you don't want to start over as others have suggested, OP, then you have to slow the rate of advance. Surely your nanny knows she is being overpaid. She will not be surprised if you don't offer large raises or bonuses.

Annual raises and bonuses are not automatic. They are earned. Since you are at the very top end of the pay scale, unless she has saved your child's life or taught your kid another language in 2 months, she is likely just doing her job and you don't need to give her an annual raise, contrary to the expectations of the quoted PP. If you want to give her a raise for the second child, which is a good idea, the range for this area is $1-$2/hr and you would be well with the norm to offer her $1/hr as the extra child bonus.

[Anonymous]

You all seem to be forgetting that is the the person caring for and raising your child!!! What is more important than that? If you have the money, give her a nice raise and bonus. If you love and your kids love her, that is number one. You need to show your appreciation. It should not matter what is common or if you are "paying her on the top end already."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all seem to be forgetting that is the the person caring for and raising your child!!! What is more important than that? If you have the money, give her a nice raise and bonus. If you love and your kids love her, that is number one. You need to show your appreciation. It should not matter what is common or if you are "paying her on the top end already."

+1
Assuming that you have a good person caring for your child, extra financial rewards are a wise investment.

[Anonymous]

Why are you raising dead threads about problems already solved to complain about raises and bonuses?

[Anonymous]

HO my God!! I wish I found one family like you!!! I have been a nanny for 22 years and I never got anything on my birthday....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all seem to be forgetting that is the the person caring for and raising your child!!! What is more important than that? If you have the money, give her a nice raise and bonus. If you love and your kids love her, that is number one. You need to show your appreciation. It should not matter what is common or if you are "paying her on the top end already."

Do you really have nothing better to do than dig up old posts from December to troll on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you raising dead threads about problems already solved to complain about raises and bonuses?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you raising dead threads about problems already solved to complain about raises and bonuses?

+1

People can do what they want. You can skip it if *you* want. Stop trying to control other people. No one appointed you forum police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you raising dead threads about problems already solved to complain about raises and bonuses?

+1

People can do what they want. You can skip it if *you* want. Stop trying to control other people. No one appointed you forum police.

It's odd to resurrect a holiday bonus post in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you raising dead threads about problems already solved to complain about raises and bonuses?

+1

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are paying at the top of the market. You have one very lucky and (surely) happy nanny.
If it were me, I would not be offering much in the way of an increase. As others have said, it's not the nanny's fault that you are already paying so high and when you add work, you generally add more compensation (although I have gotten work "piled on" in my nonprofit job, and it doesn't always come with compensation to match).
Your nanny may be wonderful, but she is replaceable. I would consider finding someone to come in at a lower (but not overly so) rate so that there is room to grow with raises and new responsibilities. There are many wonderful nannies out there.

Are you seriously suggesting this nanny should lose her job because when she was hired, her employers offered her a higher-than-market wage?

Im not the PP but I agree that the nanny is replaceable. Just because the employer made a mistake in not understanding the actually market, it doesn't mean that the employer has to live with this mistake and add to it by over inflating the salary even more over the next few years. OP- unless money is no issue to you, you are going to face the issue again and again each year. You already started way high and each year the nanny will expect more (even when the workload later declines). Its in your interest now to figure out what your ceiling is and how long you may want to keep this nanny. Let her know that since you hired her at the high end of the market that you will not be increasing her salary in the future. If she isn't pleased, you can find a great nanny that fits your budget.

+1. OP, you clearly had inaccurate information about DC market rates when you hired this nanny. You are not obligated to provide annual COLA increases given that you are already above market. The nanny may be disappointed, but she also knows she's got a very good gig at her current rate. I also agree with pps that she is unlikely to be able to complete the same amount of housekeeping with a new baby, unless she has a lot of downtime at present. Since housekeeping usually costs a bit more than straight nannying, you might reduce the housekeeping role and keep her salary the same after the baby comes. Or, if money isn't a big concern and you want to keep her happy, skip the annual COLA raise and increase her rate by $1 per hour, then cool it on annual COLA raises for the next few years.