Letting nanny go, afraid she'll start to "check out"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could do what I did. I told nanny that we would withhold her last weeks pay check and deduct any days we thought she wasn't working at her full ability. So that kept her on her toes until the end and we ended up paying her her regular check.

I would have quit on the spot and it is illegal for you to withhold pay and I would sue you.

[Anonymous]

OP, you arent crazy. We are also letting our nanny go in the fall and we told her last week.

I dont think the care will fall off bc, presumably, she is relying on you for a good recommendation.

Also, she has had a few interviews and they have all been in my house. Most are friends with us and she lives a little far and works too late to come out after hours.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would first make sure you can get into the daycare you want. Then I would give 4 weeks notice. If she continues to be a wonderful nanny and stays until the end then I would give 2 weeks severence on her last day with her final paycheck. Also a nice reference letter and small gift are very appreciated. I wouodnt worry about her " checking out " good quality people don't do that. If she spends an extra 10 minutes looking at her phone per day it won't be the end of the world.

[Anonymous]

I was given two months notice last year when the family I worked for was moving away. I was really grateful for that Rob I was really sad to not be working for them anymore. The one thing that made the job hunt harder was I didn't have an exact end and just late August or early September. I also had a trip planned (and already booked and paid for) to the UK in October, the trip was booked a month before I knew I'd be Nov hunting. My two cents is to let her know sooner than later so she can plan accordingly. Had I known is be job hunting in the late summer I wouldn't have planned the trip for a month later (though it all worked out in the end and I'm glad I went.)

I had another family hire me for a temporary time, probably 9 months, until a slot opened at daycare and a slot opened after 3 months. I was annoyed to be job searching so soon, and I really liked the kids so it was a bummer. The parents were nice but pretty self centered. The only way my ethic changed was I no longer woke the older kid up after a one hour nap and let him sleep until he was rested. I no longer card is he was awake until 930 when he he was clearly exhausted during the day.

OP I wouldn't worry too much about the nannys work slacking. So what is she does look at her phone more. Big whoop. Get them a pass to the pool or other super fun place and just relax. It will be ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not give someone two months of notice. Two weeks, yes. Two months, absolutely not. I'd have the same worries as you, OP. Give two weeks notice and one weeks severance.

Yeah, but you want two months notice, don't you?

No. Two weeks would be fine. We have several backup options.

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth, we gave our nanny one month notice because we cared about her landing on her feet and finding a new job. The quality of her work stayed consistent for about three weeks and right after she got a job offer, the quality or her work plummeted. She was on her phone at all times and stopped caring about engaging with my kids meaningfully. We let her go early as a result

[Anonymous]

Hi OP- We might be in the same position of letting our nanny go due to daycare. Any tips on how you had this conversation with your nanny would be appreciated. I posted a similar question a few weeks ago and the general consensus was provide 1 months notice, 1 week severance (as good will) and a good reference!

Would love to hear on how you had the conversation with your nanny though!

[Anonymous]

Nanny here. I was given six weeks notice that my employers would be moving. As a bonus for me to stay until the end, I was given two weeks extra pay. My care for my charge never once declined. I never missed a day or was late either. Honestly, I would of stayed regardless of the bonus pay. I really liked them. I appreciated the long notice. Find a nanny who has a great work ethic. It's that simple!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I was given six weeks notice that my employers would be moving. As a bonus for me to stay until the end, I was given two weeks extra pay. My care for my charge never once declined. I never missed a day or was late either. Honestly, I would of stayed regardless of the bonus pay. I really liked them. I appreciated the long notice. Find a nanny who has a great work ethic. It's that simple!

I seem to get positions where the parents' schedules change so they don't need a nanny anymore or something happens in their personal lives so that they want to change nannies (so the new one won't know about the history). They let me finish the week, no severance, and it's so frustrating, because I know that it's not only not my fault, there's nothing I could have done to convince them to let me stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I was given six weeks notice that my employers would be moving. As a bonus for me to stay until the end, I was given two weeks extra pay. My care for my charge never once declined. I never missed a day or was late either. Honestly, I would of stayed regardless of the bonus pay. I really liked them. I appreciated the long notice. Find a nanny who has a great work ethic. It's that simple!

I seem to get positions where the parents' schedules change so they don't need a nanny anymore or something happens in their personal lives so that they want to change nannies (so the new one won't know about the history). They let me finish the week, no severance, and it's so frustrating, because I know that it's not only not my fault, there's nothing I could have done to convince them to let me stay.

How many times has that happened to you? If it's many times maybe you need to think about how you're choosing employers, or what you might be doing in the job, that's leading to short tenure and notice given.

Employers may not tell you the truth - changes in schedule or personal circumstances can certainly happen, but they're also convenient excuses for making a change if they just don't think things are working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could do what I did. I told nanny that we would withhold her last weeks pay check and deduct any days we thought she wasn't working at her full ability. So that kept her on her toes until the end and we ended up paying her her regular check.

Our popular troll alert, why do you disrespect nannies so much and WHY do you even hire them and then treat them so horrible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I was given six weeks notice that my employers would be moving. As a bonus for me to stay until the end, I was given two weeks extra pay. My care for my charge never once declined. I never missed a day or was late either. Honestly, I would of stayed regardless of the bonus pay. I really liked them. I appreciated the long notice. Find a nanny who has a great work ethic. It's that simple!

I seem to get positions where the parents' schedules change so they don't need a nanny anymore or something happens in their personal lives so that they want to change nannies (so the new one won't know about the history). They let me finish the week, no severance, and it's so frustrating, because I know that it's not only not my fault, there's nothing I could have done to convince them to let me stay.

How many times has that happened to you? If it's many times maybe you need to think about how you're choosing employers, or what you might be doing in the job, that's leading to short tenure and notice given.

Employers may not tell you the truth - changes in schedule or personal circumstances can certainly happen, but they're also convenient excuses for making a change if they just don't think things are working.

Well, when the parent has the paperwork in hand when they tell me their hours have been drastically cut, or I'm looking at the schedule that doesn't have any evening or weekend hours required, I tend to believe that it's true. And because I was going to the divorce hearings, I knew that DB was trying to get full and would have to make some major concessions to get them, so again, I saw the writing on the wall, and given what I knew of the mother, I believed him too, although I didn't see the custody agreement.

There's no way to predict accurately when MB or DB will have hours cut, at least none that I've seen. And yes, I no longer take positions with a single parent who is separated but not divorcing, or who is going through a divorce, because I have no clue how the custody will turn out.I also try not to take a position in which a parent is attending school, but that's not always something they say, and some get bent out of shape if a nanny asks, so I don't.

[Anonymous]

Did you all even read that the nanny's work declines when things are going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you all even read that the nanny's work declines when things are going on?

Some nannies' work declines. I guarantee that in every case that I've been given notice, I make sure to work even harder, because I need the reference to be wonderful. Yes, I know I won't be there after Friday, but the kids and I do special activities building slowly towards my leaving, I let them help me pack, kids and I purge their clothes and toys one last time, we make sure that all of their things are organized and put away. So far, it's meant that all my references rave, even when they just want to get on with their lives post-nanny. Parents also seem to feel that kids shouldn't care when the nanny leaves, and that makes sense if you have apathetic teens or infants under 6 months. But kids anywhere in between love and miss the nanny (which is why I get teary phone calls for weeks afterwards).