How much of a raise to give?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do another $2.50 an hour with room for growth.

Room for growth is for people who give appropriate raises. OP doesn't. She started a high end nanny on the low end of the range and left her there. She needs to play catch up AND compensate for a new baby. She needs to plan for at minimum a $3-$4 raise, and if that's the top of their range, make plans for next year when she can no longer afford this nanny.

That is not a high end nanny. That is a nanny. Hate to break it to you, many people are not getting raises right now.

How is she not a high end nanny? Nearly a decade of experience, with a solid track record of maintaining long term positions, various related certifications and special skills, relevant education course work, the ability to juggle the needs of a share and share families, AND OP seems very happy with her performance and the effort she puts in daily. Hate to break it to you, but your average nanny barely speaks English, has no education, flits from job to job, and meets the minimum bar of keeping the kids alive each day. THIS nanny can have her pick of jobs, although it doesn't seem in her nature to job hop. Enough with the people aren't getting raises excuse. That was true a couple of years ago, and that excuse might have worked, but the economy is recovering, people ARE getting raises, and intelligent nannies go where they are valued.

[Anonymous]

I hope she finds a new family while you're on maternity leave, I can't imagine why she would stick with you!

[Anonymous]

Wow, since when is $20 for two kids a poor salary? And then another 3-5 for another kid - that is a decent paying job. Don't know where all of you work but these are pretty standard rates in the DC area...

[nannydebsays]

OP, as someone who struggled through unpaid "maternity leave" in my first job, when I didn't know any better, you need to seriously evaluate whether your budget can handle paying for nanny care. If you can't afford to pay her for your maternity leave, you can't afford to pay her to care for both your kids.

Nannies are the most expensive form of childcare. Even a shared nanny is, at the least, minimally more costly than daycare.

If you cannot pay your nanny AT LEAST what you would pay for daycare, tell her so, and let her find another family for the share.

That would be about $3300/month, according to your example.

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny and work for a nanny share; one of the moms got pregnant this past summer and I found myself in the same position. First, I'm shocked she is staying even though you won't be paying her for maternity leave. If my pay were cut for 3 months I would be unable to make ends meet and would therefore leave for a different position. Second, I have gotten small raises each year I have been with my families and now make $10 per family. I got a $3/hr raise with the new baby, so now I make $23/hr.

In the end though, this could be a pointless discussion. Your nanny sounds like she could be making just as much, if not more, elsewhere, and I would leave as soon as I found out you would be cutting my pay for three months. That is incredibly rude and it doesn't sound like you are a fair employer.

[Anonymous]

You are insane not to pay this nanny during your maternity leave. She sounds amazing and trustworthy, and this is how you return her services?

Feel free to give her my number if she is looking for a fair paying employer that won't dock her pay for circumstances out of her control

[Anonymous]

Where did OP say she wasn't paying her? All she said was they weren't using her, but that doesn't mean they aren't paying her. There are quite a few days a year that we don't use DS' nanny but we still pay her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did OP say she wasn't paying her? All she said was they weren't using her, but that doesn't mean they aren't paying her. There are quite a few days a year that we don't use DS' nanny but we still pay her.

OP said:

don't want to lose her especially since we won't be using her during our maternity leave.

Why would she fear losing her nanny over maternity leave if it was simply a matter of not using her? She is obviously concerned because by "not using her" she means not paying her. She is worried and she should be. She is doing less than the bare minimum to keep a nanny she is lucky to have, and one that I'm sure others would be happy to take off her hands.

[Anonymous]

OP here,
I'm a little shocked by some of the reactions since I was just asking for advice on how to handle this situation appropriately. We are first time employers and didn't do much research about nannies prior to hiring ours. I had no idea about annual raises or bonuses until recently. We only discussed whether our nanny and current share family would stay with our addition. We have yet to discuss the financial aspect and are trying to come up with a reasonable offer for our nanny. I'm sure she has her own thoughts considering she wrote our original contract. However, We want to make an attractive offer but not exceed our limit. It doesn't seem like a smart decision to pay more than daycare costs for two children. We participate in a share because it is within our price range and comparable to a center in our area. We could not afford a nanny on our own. That said, most of my maternity leave is unpaid and will be difficult to manage without the added expense of childcare. Would it be reasonable to find a temporary replacement for our family? Possibly find another family to fill our spot until I return to work?

[Anonymous]

Posters are being a bit harsh. If the nanny thought she was over qualified and underpaid, she shouldn't have accepted the job....I sure wouldn't. OP has implied that she isn't in the expensive DC area so $20/hr for two kids elsewhere can be reasonable. I do think that the nanny will struggle a bit only being paid half her regular salary for 2-3 months but if she agrees, it doesn't make OP cheap.

I would probably accept $3-$4 extra for a third child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here,
I'm a little shocked by some of the reactions since I was just asking for advice on how to handle this situation appropriately. We are first time employers and didn't do much research about nannies prior to hiring ours. I had no idea about annual raises or bonuses until recently. We only discussed whether our nanny and current share family would stay with our addition. We have yet to discuss the financial aspect and are trying to come up with a reasonable offer for our nanny. I'm sure she has her own thoughts considering she wrote our original contract. However, We want to make an attractive offer but not exceed our limit. It doesn't seem like a smart decision to pay more than daycare costs for two children. We participate in a share because it is within our price range and comparable to a center in our area. We could not afford a nanny on our own. That said, most of my maternity leave is unpaid and will be difficult to manage without the added expense of childcare. Would it be reasonable to find a temporary replacement for our family? Possibly find another family to fill our spot until I return to work?

It would be extremely difficult to find a temp family for a share. Much easier to replace you. You cannot compare your share to a daycare dollar for dollar. You chose a share over the center for a reason, and that's because you get more for your money. You get better ratios, more flexibilitythe day is tailored to your children's needs, you get to make the rules, less illness, and so on. Lots of benefits over daycare, and while the costs are comparable, you shouldn't make the cost of daycare your hard line if you'd like to stay in this share. If the share and daycare are equal to you, I'd suggest daycare. With this mindset, your offer will not be attractive. At this point, she should be making much more than you're willing to pay, and I honestly don't think you deserve her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Posters are being a bit harsh. If the nanny thought she was over qualified and underpaid, she shouldn't have accepted the job....I sure wouldn't. OP has implied that she isn't in the expensive DC area so $20/hr for two kids elsewhere can be reasonable. I do think that the nanny will struggle a bit only being paid half her regular salary for 2-3 months but if she agrees, it doesn't make OP cheap.

I would probably accept $3-$4 extra for a third child.

OP said that shares in her area range from $20-$24/hour and her nanny is paid on the low end. My guess is that she is in another metropolitan area where nannies are paid more than the DC area. Her nanny came in on the low end, they kept her there, and now they want to go cheap on the new baby raise. OP is most certainly cheap.

[Anonymous]

You can probably find temporary care but if I were that nanny there is no way I would come back to you

[Anonymous]

I agree with others who say that if you do not keep this nanny during your maternity leave, you will end up looking for a new nanny.
She should get a $3 an hour raise after you go back to work. 2 from you, 1 from the other family. Neither family has given her a raise, it is time both of you step up to the plate.

[Anonymous]

does she know you plan on cutting her paycheck in half for a few months?