Our nanny quit unexpectedly

[Anonymous]

OP here. We pay her more than minimum wage ( $17/ hour) for 45 hours a week. We thought we had been kind by giving her the days off and a two times I told her to stay home because she still had high fevers. She works one more week for us. She doesn't realize the predicament she left us in. We now need to scramble to find a replacement to cover us until January. It's not my problem she fell sick and is unreliable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We pay her more than minimum wage ( $17/ hour) for 45 hours a week. We thought we had been kind by giving her the days off and a two times I told her to stay home because she still had high fevers. She works one more week for us. She doesn't realize the predicament she left us in. We now need to scramble to find a replacement to cover us until January. It's not my problem she fell sick and is unreliable.

And your lack of childcare is not her problem. See how that attitude works? You reap what you sow OP. Going forward you would do well to realize that getting sick and needing time off comes with the territory of being a human, which I assume is what you would be looking to hire? If you can't accommodate sick days, nanny care is not for you. Look into daycare centers.

[Anonymous]

She isn't unreliable just because she got sick.

I wish she would have come in and given your infant strep.

[Anonymous]

You fired her but asked her to work one more week. You made a commitment to her too and changed your plan. To hire another nanny but expect her to stay when you are not happy with her is mean. Not paying her for the time she worked is spiteful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We pay her more than minimum wage ( $17/ hour) for 45 hours a week. We thought we had been kind by giving her the days off and a two times I told her to stay home because she still had high fevers. She works one more week for us. She doesn't realize the predicament she left us in. We now need to scramble to find a replacement to cover us until January. It's not my problem she fell sick and is unreliable.

Being sick and unreliable are two different issues. Unreliable is taking off to take of. That is not being sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We pay her more than minimum wage ( $17/ hour) for 45 hours a week. We thought we had been kind by giving her the days off and a two times I told her to stay home because she still had high fevers. She works one more week for us. She doesn't realize the predicament she left us in. We now need to scramble to find a replacement to cover us until January. It's not my problem she fell sick and is unreliable.

Oy. OP - you sound like a mess of an employer. First - it doesn't matter if you have a contract, she isn't a slave, she can quit and not work for her AT ANY TIME. This is the reality of having a nanny versus going with daycare. Your choice. Second - you didn't even pay her for the days she was sick! That - in and of itself - is not standard nor is $17/hour particularly generous. I'm not sure why you have this sense that you've been wronged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You fired her but asked her to work one more week. You made a commitment to her too and changed your plan. To hire another nanny but expect her to stay when you are not happy with her is mean. Not paying her for the time she worked is spiteful.

We technically didn't fire her. This temp position is until early January. We were uncertain when we hired her if my mom would be taking over in January or if we would be keeping her. We informed because of her unreliability we wouldn't need her past January, even if we still go the nanny route. Then she gave us a week notice. I'm surprised a nanny missing 5 days when she has only been 7 weeks is not being unreliable? I've seen other posters say " fire her" when the nanny calls off too much. We did have back-up for those days but she gave us short notice and I had to miss certain meetings. That's an issue.

[Anonymous]

This is OP's original post. She forgot to mention here that she got her nanny sick and THAT is the reason she missed work.
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/nanny-forum/posts/list/301273.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You fired her but asked her to work one more week. You made a commitment to her too and changed your plan. To hire another nanny but expect her to stay when you are not happy with her is mean. Not paying her for the time she worked is spiteful.

We technically didn't fire her. This temp position is until early January. We were uncertain when we hired her if my mom would be taking over in January or if we would be keeping her. We informed because of her unreliability we wouldn't need her past January, even if we still go the nanny route. Then she gave us a week notice. I'm surprised a nanny missing 5 days when she has only been 7 weeks is not being unreliable? I've seen other posters say " fire her" when the nanny calls off too much. We did have back-up for those days but she gave us short notice and I had to miss certain meetings. That's an issue.

Sounds like you weren't the most tactful about telling her you wouldn't be extending her position. Put yourself in her shoes. Boss tells you your work hasn't been great but they'll keep you around another month. Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't immediately start looking for a new job, especially without any real guarantee that they will actually keep you employed for that month? I understand not wanting to extend with this nanny, as it may have been a streak of bad luck for her but it did put you in a bad position. But you showed your hand too soon (and were rather callous about it- why keep insisting it was her unreliability rather than just keeping quiet for the time being or telling her your mom will be taking over) and now you have little recourse.

If you don't want to pay your nanny for next week, just tell her not to come in. I'm sure she'll be relieved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We hired a nanny for a three month temp position with the possibility of it extending if we didn't have my mother become our daughter's primary caretaker. It's been two months and our nanny has missed 5 days for sickness ( strep throat and flu) and because her mother suffered a heart attack. We really liked her and she was incredible with our daughter but her reliability was an issue. We want a nanny who won't take days off. We informed last week that we aren't interested in keeping her. We let her know we will have another nanny if my mother isn't available. She quit today and gave the excuse that she found a position that starts before this position ends. We now have a week to find a new nanny ( she gave us a week notice). My husband feels we shouldn't have to pay her for her last week with us because she is leaving. I feel a little bad because we didnt pay for any sick days and she is wonderful. The weirdest part is all her former references said she was very reliable and rarely took a sick day. Regardless of that fact..can we legally not pay her because she is quitting anyway or somehow take her to court for quitting before the position end? We do have a contract.

Good luck troll...that is not going to happen. People need days off, even in temp positions.

[Anonymous]

I agree that it was a lot of time off. Might have just been bad luck, but she didn't have a history with you, so better to cut your losses.

BUT, you have to pay for all the time she worked, and since you told her when you said you were letting her go in January that you didn't know how much longer you'd need her, why are you surprised she quit sooner?

This was a bad experience for both of you. Pay her and move on.

[Anonymous]

She worked the days, you need to pay her for those days.

It isn't a complicated thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound crappy. You do not want someone with strep around a baby. She was right not to come. Same thing with her mom. There is a difference from taking personal days and one for real illness and a family emergency. Try a day care if you feel this way.

This. OP, you suck.

The month I started a nanny job, I also got strep. I also got a 24 virus (vomiting and dizzy). Even though it was caused a big hassle for them, my bosses were nothing but kind and understanding. In other words, they treated me like a human.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that it was a lot of time off. Might have just been bad luck, but she didn't have a history with you, so better to cut your losses.

BUT, you have to pay for all the time she worked, and since you told her when you said you were letting her go in January that you didn't know how much longer you'd need her, why are you surprised she quit sooner?

This was a bad experience for both of you. Pay her and move on.

Even though OP didn't have a history with her, she wrote that all her references said she was very reliable. I think she is having an unfortunate streak of bad luck. OP sounds like she wants a robot. This nanny or another, all will get sick and need days off. Your nanny did the right thing, especially if your child is very young and more open to illness. Your nanny did the right thing.

[Anonymous]

Your husband is just awful OP, no offense, but just awful.

How dare he even contemplate denying pay to someone simply by the fact that they gave you short notice??! That is outrageous!! That is modern day slavery in my book! Shameful.

I cannot believe he would treat someone in such a manner, most especially someone who cared for his precious child. Thank goodness I am not married to him.

Anyway, she worked those days/hours on the clock. You have to pay her. No ifs, ands or buts. She gets paid.

And no, why would you take her to court? Sure, she may have signed a contract agreeing to give you more notice, but employment is "at-will" so you can not sue someone for leaving a job. What can you sue them for? To force them to render the services you lost?? You certainly cannot get any monetary compensation from someone just because they didn't work a week.

Would you really take the time to file a claim in small claims court?? What a head-ache that would be, the money, time, loss of wages, etc....