Question about extra vacation.

[Anonymous]

Like all other aspects of nanny compensation, whether a nanny will make up hours in this circumstance is a negotiable that must be considered by both parties in light of the overall compensation package.

That said, you should have negotiated this when you signed a contract. You should have determined your total budget for nanny services, then figured out with the nanny whether to spread that evenly over 52 weeks or pay a higher rate but only for hours actually worked or work out a hybrid arrangement, like even pay for 52 weeks with some shifting of hours to offset the large number of paid vacation weeks. Either way, you need to factor in all the PTO when setting her hourly rate or annual salary.

If you didn't address hours-shifting at contract time, I like the pp's idea of telling the nanny that paying her for your vacation time plus her vacation time will limit what you can do at bonus time, assuming that you did not guarantee a bonus in the contract. PTO is absolutely compensation. A nanny is never owed a bonus, so giving her the extra PTO in lieu of a cash bonus would be fine.

[Anonymous]

If they want to keep me on, they pay me. Or I get a new job. So simple, no?

[Anonymous]

I personally feel its pretty f'ed up to hold out on a bonus you normally would have given because YOU took an extra vacation. A bonus is compensation, but its supposed to show appreciation for a job well done. Do you also short your waiter on their tip because you ordered a more expensive meal than originally planned? I have a feeling the people saying that this can replace a bonus are most likely the ones that don't ever give one, and use BS like this to rationalize it smh...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally feel its pretty f'ed up to hold out on a bonus you normally would have given because YOU took an extra vacation. A bonus is compensation, but its supposed to show appreciation for a job well done. Do you also short your waiter on their tip because you ordered a more expensive meal than originally planned? I have a feeling the people saying that this can replace a bonus are most likely the ones that don't ever give one, and use BS like this to rationalize it smh...

I agree.. That commenter is ridiculous to even suggest that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our 4-day-a-week nanny is going to get 2 extra weeks of paid vacation because we're going to be gone. Is it fair to ask her to work 4 or 5 extra days sometime in the year to partially make up for that time. She gets 3 weeks vacation anyway, so she'll be getting 5 weeks vacation in total.

No, it is not all right. You chose to take this time so why should she have to suffer for your personal choicrs? You are not only cheap but a bitch.

[Anonymous]

No, it is not all right. You chose to take this time so why should she have to suffer for your personal choicrs? You are not only cheap but a bitch.

Wow, what a rude response. Nannies on this board are mean.

[Anonymous]

I have two weeks paid vacation in my contract. Ive gotten 5, counting the upcoming week. When they go away they pay me, and that's never been a question.

[Anonymous]

You better pay her if you want her to keep working with you.

[Anonymous]

OP, the nannies on this board are not typical of nannies in the real world, and this issue is not as black and white as they want you to think. You are hearing from a handful of crazies who act as though they speak for the entire trade.

Give your nanny lots of notice of your weeks away so she can pursue other work or plan a vacation of her own. And you should absolutely ask her how she would feel about making up some of the time. Depending on what other committments she has, she may be comfortable with this. If not, you can be conservative with her bonus and with future raises. Yes, raises and bonuses are meant to show appreciation, and presumably you are happy with her work. But raises and bonuses should also be determined in relationship to how much work the job entails relative to her basic/current compensation, and all those extra vacation weeks are relevant.

Obviously, when you renew her contract, you'll want to renegotiate how you handle this situation in the future and then factor that into her compensation package.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the nannies on this board are not typical of nannies in the real world, and this issue is not as black and white as they want you to think. You are hearing from a handful of crazies who act as though they speak for the entire trade.

Give your nanny lots of notice of your weeks away so she can pursue other work or plan a vacation of her own. And you should absolutely ask her how she would feel about making up some of the time. Depending on what other committments she has, she may be comfortable with this. If not, you can be conservative with her bonus and with future raises. Yes, raises and bonuses are meant to show appreciation, and presumably you are happy with her work. But raises and bonuses should also be determined in relationship to how much work the job entails relative to her basic/current compensation, and all those extra vacation weeks are relevant.

Obviously, when you renew her contract, you'll want to renegotiate how you handle this situation in the future and then factor that into her compensation package.

Are you a nanny or a MB? Regardless, I think you are being unreasonable. It's not the nannies fault that the family decided to take more vacation time. Nannies rely on a steady income, just like any other professional. To call all the nannies on this board a bunch of crazies is out of line.

[Anonymous]

OP, the nannies on this board are not typical of nannies in the real world, and this issue is not as black and white as they want you to think. You are hearing from a handful of crazies who act as though they speak for the entire trade.

Give your nanny lots of notice of your weeks away so she can pursue other work or plan a vacation of her own. And you should absolutely ask her how she would feel about making up some of the time. Depending on what other committments she has, she may be comfortable with this. If not, you can be conservative with her bonus and with future raises. Yes, raises and bonuses are meant to show appreciation, and presumably you are happy with her work. But raises and bonuses should also be determined in relationship to how much work the job entails relative to her basic/current compensation, and all those extra vacation weeks are relevant.

Obviously, when you renew her contract, you'll want to renegotiate how you handle this situation in the future and then factor that into her compensation package.

I agree with this. This isn't one or two days, its two extra weeks of vacation time which is sizable extra compensation. I would be less inclined to do a big raise or bonus on top of giving the nanny an extra two weeks of PTO.

[Anonymous]

I would love to see the MB's on here who think it's ok to do this have their jobs tell them we are giving you 2 extra weeks vacation and you won't be paid for it or if you want to be paid for it you will have to make up the time. Bet you won't think it's so fair of them to ask you to make up the time or not be paid. The nanny didn't ask for these weeks off and should still be paid. The MB could ask for things like the nanny coming over every day of their vacation to take in the mail, water the plants, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see the MB's on here who think it's ok to do this have their jobs tell them we are giving you 2 extra weeks vacation and you won't be paid for it or if you want to be paid for it you will have to make up the time. Bet you won't think it's so fair of them to ask you to make up the time or not be paid. The nanny didn't ask for these weeks off and should still be paid. The MB could ask for things like the nanny coming over every day of their vacation to take in the mail, water the plants, etc.

+1000000

This is your nanny's livelihood, you can't just take two weeks of her pay away and expect that to be okay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see the MB's on here who think it's ok to do this have their jobs tell them we are giving you 2 extra weeks vacation and you won't be paid for it or if you want to be paid for it you will have to make up the time. Bet you won't think it's so fair of them to ask you to make up the time or not be paid. The nanny didn't ask for these weeks off and should still be paid. The MB could ask for things like the nanny coming over every day of their vacation to take in the mail, water the plants, etc.

+1000000

This is your nanny's livelihood, you can't just take two weeks of her pay away and expect that to be okay!

+200000

[Anonymous]

MB, here. Yes, you pay her for those two weeks that you are not using her. But, there is nothing wrong with considering this two week perk you're providing her when deciding on future perks (rasies, extra paid time off days, etc). Perhaps, for example, at her aniversary or at another time that you'd like to gift her something, you offer a few days of paid time off (vice a larger amount). Or you give her one week's pay vs two as a holiday bonus. Whatever you are comfortable with ...