Is my nanny being unreasonable regarding pay commute?

[Anonymous]

Never heard of this either. She should have brought up during the interview process. To act miffed about it now just adds insult to injury.

[Anonymous]

She should have considered commute time when applying to jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am paying this perk for my nanny. She asked me for it when starting to work for us. It was my first experience hiring a nanny ever and i agreed. now, I am paying her commute which adds up to about 3K per year. She takes metro and bus every day. I do not like that I am paying for this but whatever. Few more months and my child goes to preschool and I can happily say good bye to nanny

Wow. Tell us how you REALLY feel about your nanny. I bet your nanny is just as happy to be getting rid of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am paying this perk for my nanny. She asked me for it when starting to work for us. It was my first experience hiring a nanny ever and i agreed. now, I am paying her commute which adds up to about 3K per year. She takes metro and bus every day. I do not like that I am paying for this but whatever. Few more months and my child goes to preschool and I can happily say good bye to nanny

Wow. Tell us how you REALLY feel about your nanny. I bet your nanny is just as happy to be getting rid of you.

Really?? Sounds to me like a normal MB who has had enough of her greedy nanny!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am paying this perk for my nanny. She asked me for it when starting to work for us. It was my first experience hiring a nanny ever and i agreed. now, I am paying her commute which adds up to about 3K per year. She takes metro and bus every day. I do not like that I am paying for this but whatever. Few more months and my child goes to preschool and I can happily say good bye to nanny

Wow. Tell us how you REALLY feel about your nanny. I bet your nanny is just as happy to be getting rid of you.

Really?? Sounds to me like a normal MB who has had enough of her greedy nanny!!!

+1 Why do so many nannies feel like MB have an endless supply of money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am paying this perk for my nanny. She asked me for it when starting to work for us. It was my first experience hiring a nanny ever and i agreed. now, I am paying her commute which adds up to about 3K per year. She takes metro and bus every day. I do not like that I am paying for this but whatever. Few more months and my child goes to preschool and I can happily say good bye to nanny

Wow. Tell us how you REALLY feel about your nanny. I bet your nanny is just as happy to be getting rid of you.

Really?? Sounds to me like a normal MB who has had enough of her greedy nanny!!!

+1 Why do so many nannies feel like MB have an endless supply of money?

It's something they negotiated at the beginning of employment. Why does that make the nanny greedy?? It's not as if PPs nanny is doing like OPs nanny trying to renegotiate mid contract. If an MB negotiates for a mess of extra non childcare duties and the nanny agrees, whose fault is it? The nanny! This nanny negotiated for a paid/reimbursed commute and found an MB to agree. I say good for her, and by your post I'm sure she's glad to be rid of you too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is not entitled to be paid for her commute time, nor to be reimbursed for the gas and mileage.

Her bringing this up, however, might be her way of saying that she can't handle the cost and/or time involved in the commute any longer. If you like her and would like to keep her working for you, it would be a good idea to discuss this with her ("Molly, I'm sorry, DH and I discussed this and we're just not comfortable paying you your hourly rate for your commute time. This is not something that is typically compensated for in any job. But are you having problems with your commute, has it turned out to be longer than you anticipated?") so you can get a sense whether she is going to quit over this or not.

If she is going to quit, you can then decide if you want to keep her badly enough to offer her a gas stipend (for instance). As I said, she is not entitled to this, but occasionally an employer will make such a gesture (usually when the family is moving farther away, but not always) so if you discover this is a critical problem for her and really want to keep her you can decide how to act.

I agree with this advice.

[Anonymous]

The unhappy nanny ALWAYS leave ... if you like her, help her with the commute ... if you don't help, get ready to have to find a new nanny.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'll bet your nanny heard that another nanny receives this perk and thinks she's entitled to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The unhappy nanny ALWAYS leave ... if you like her, help her with the commute ... if you don't help, get ready to have to find a new nanny.

Let her leave. Asking for an additional perk after only six months on the job? It will be one thing after another with this nanny.

[Anonymous]

Thank you everybody for confirming what I already believed. My nanny lives approximately 10 minutes away and although I like her, she's not extra extraordinary or over-the-top good so if she chooses to leave over this then so be it.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I could say to her if the passive aggressive attitude continues? I want to somehow show her that this isn't a common perk for not only nannies but most jobs. It just kind've tweaks me that she assumes it is and is acting unprofessional.

[Anonymous]

The first nanny we employed requested a raise after six months on the job after she heard that "other nannies" received more. We had done our research and knew that she was receiving a very competitive wage and had not taken any additional responsibilites other than what had been initially agreed upon. We declined and she responded with a passive-aggressive attitude from that day on. One day, my DH said goodnight to her twice and she ignored him. She was fired the next day. We heard that she went nine months without finding a job because she asked for more than the market rate. Ask her directly if she is angry about something because her mood is making it unpleasant to work with her. If she denies it, tell her you then expect things to improve soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everybody for confirming what I already believed. My nanny lives approximately 10 minutes away and although I like her, she's not extra extraordinary or over-the-top good so if she chooses to leave over this then so be it.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I could say to her if the passive aggressive attitude continues? I want to somehow show her that this isn't a common perk for not only nannies but most jobs. It just kind've tweaks me that she assumes it is and is acting unprofessional.

I'm the poster who said she is not entitled to this but that if you liked her you should try to gauge if her commute would be a dealbreaker for her - 10 minutes???? Wow. She's got a lot of nerve.

What you should say is what you would say, or what your manager would say, at your own job. "The attitude you've been bringing to work is completely unprofessional and unacceptable. We don't hold it against you that you asked for this new benefit - no one would get anything in life if they didn't ask for it - but this is not a perk that most people receive, including nannies. Here are the numbers of some nanny agencies in our area. I'd recommend you give them a call to chat about typical compensation and benefits packages. If after those conversations you still feel that what we're offering is unfair, please let me know and we will schedule a(nother) formal sit-down to discuss it. However I still expect you to bring the enthusiasm and professionalism I saw during your interview/first few months to work every day."

Sorry OP, she sounds really entitled. I hope a firm reality check shakes her up into performing better but I'd be on your toes in case you need to find a replacement soon.

[Anonymous]

Let her go. That's rediculous. There are so many good nannies outthere.

[Anonymous]

Are you folks living under a rock. there are nannies who get metro benefits and get paid for gas and mileage whenever their vehicle is used to transport the kids. Some of you employers are so cheap, you want excellent care for your kids and you want to pay pennies on the dollar for it. It's time you recognize the value of your nannies and show them more appreciation, that includes paying them well, because they have families to feed too. After all it's only for a few years until your child starts school, if you're paying your nanny at the rate she's happy with, everything else will go smoothly and stress free.