s/o does anyone offer maternity leave to nannies?

[Anonymous]

No I would not offer paid leave since I would need to pay for replacement care in the mean time. I am happy we do not have to decide about holding the job for months at a time without knowing if the nanny will come back or the temporary person will quit too soon. Our nanny was about 50 when she started with us and I liked that about her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have a nanny yet why are you worried about maternity leave ? Higher someone older then 40. Make it a rule that the nanny can not have relationships with men. Yes that is possible, she would be your employee and you control what she does if she wants to be your nanny.( have you thought about a live in nanny? They are much easier to control) By having such rules you will eliminate party girls and you will find yourself a serious nanny who values her job and makes it her # 1 priorty.

That is insane. MB here.

Anyway, the answer is no with the exception that there are always crazy people with special circumstances.

There is never paid leave. Even companies have to have a certain number of employees (can't remember, maybe it is 20) to be obligated to offer UNPAID leave. Even at my company that is often listed in "Best places to work" as well as the Federal Government, you usually get 6 weeks of paid leave only, not 3 month or anything like that. These are for the cushiest jobs. For nannies, the answer is no paid leave.

For unpaid leave, it is a very risky situation for the employer because mothers may decide to not come back to work. It is always a very emotional decision and there is never one universal best answer. People often decide to have their baby first, then decide if they want to continue working or not.

THEN, if a nanny decides to come back to work, what is she going to do with a newborn baby? Bring it back to work? Newborn babies are hard enough as it is to watch when you have no other kids. You can barely take care of yourself. So, how are you supposed to take care of a newborn baby, plus your charges, and do a good job enough to be paid for it?

It really doesn't make any sense.

But I would imagine that there may be some special situations where unpaid leave may be offered. Perhaps mom has a flexible job and wants to play SAH mom for 2-3 months. Maybe there is a family member who can take over but not permanently and they are reasonably sure that the nanny would come back. Or, maybe they think of as "I have to do a nanny search now, or in 3 months. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the nanny and just put off nanny search for 3 months since I can arrange temporary childcare easily."


Why are you asking if you don't even have a nanny yet?

Federal gov gives you ZERO paid maternity leave. I'm pregnant. I will be using two weeks of vacation + sick I've accumulated over the 1.5 years. I can get 16 wks of unpaid leave under the FMLA because the gov has more than x number of employees and that's the law. Isn't it shocking even the gov doesn't give paid mat leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never offer maternity leave to my nanny. If you get pregnant we part ways. I am not subjecting my kids to a revolving load of nannies to cover you for 6 months so you can come back, work another year and then be pregnant again.

+1 I have older nanny who is done with childbearing for this same reason.

[Anonymous]

Unless you are an outstanding employer for one reason or another, your nanny door will revolve. Most people can't be unhappily stuck at a job that pays so little, yet demands so much.

This is why the best employers either pay a lot, or suck up a lot, for the sake of stability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I add it to the contract after a year. It is unpaid except for accrued leave, 20 weeks max with no more than 16 weeks post-birth (she can start before the birth), and bringing the baby to work is not an option. We have four kids of various ages, and the car situation alone makes that a non-starter.

I also add language about accommodating prenatal appointments, and what we would do if it turned out she was having a difficult pregnancy.

Like the PP, it seems like the right thing to do even though the terms aren't that generous, but it would be a difficult and expensive accommodation, especially where I live now where there are no agencies and a small nanny pool.

Just a question..

What happens if the temporary nanny you find is better than your old nanny? And she is available indefinitely? You will go back to the old nanny who is not as good and now has a baby of her own who she is probably thinking about alot? Just to keep your end of the contract?

Um ... yes. This is what it means to offer maternity leave: you guarantee the job will be there. Just like in any other industry. This is, however, why O don't offer it until after 1 year. By then I should kow if this is a nanny worth waiting for. Since it's unpaid leave, if she quits to be a SAHM and I have a fab replacement, then it's all good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I add it to the contract after a year. It is unpaid except for accrued leave, 20 weeks max with no more than 16 weeks post-birth (she can start before the birth), and bringing the baby to work is not an option. We have four kids of various ages, and the car situation alone makes that a non-starter.

I also add language about accommodating prenatal appointments, and what we would do if it turned out she was having a difficult pregnancy.

Like the PP, it seems like the right thing to do even though the terms aren't that generous, but it would be a difficult and expensive accommodation, especially where I live now where there are no agencies and a small nanny pool.

Just a question..

What happens if the temporary nanny you find is better than your old nanny? And she is available indefinitely? You will go back to the old nanny who is not as good and now has a baby of her own who she is probably thinking about alot? Just to keep your end of the contract?

Um ... yes. This is what it means to offer maternity leave: you guarantee the job will be there. Just like in any other industry. This is, however, why O don't offer it until after 1 year. By then I should kow if this is a nanny worth waiting for. Since it's unpaid leave, if she quits to be a SAHM and I have a fab replacement, then it's all good.

Except unless you are literally the devil then you told your replacement that it is short term and she has other commitments, plans, and offers for when your nanny is supposed to return, so once again you are left empty handed.

[Anonymous]

Man, this gives me little patience when I hear MBs whining about their maternity leave issues. Apparently only affluent white women and their kids matter. What I'm hearing is that when I do get pregnant, I should kie and hide it as long as possible and let you fire me so I can get unemployment, you know since I don't even merit unpaid maternity leave and should be distributed against for being childbearing age. This whole thread is so selfish it's sickening.

[Anonymous]

These same MBs would jump at the offer of paid leave for themselves with employers of over 50 people, but would fight against legislation that extended to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man, this gives me little patience when I hear MBs whining about their maternity leave issues. Apparently only affluent white women and their kids matter. What I'm hearing is that when I do get pregnant, I should kie and hide it as long as possible and let you fire me so I can get unemployment, you know since I don't even merit unpaid maternity leave and should be distributed against for being childbearing age. This whole thread is so selfish it's sickening.

I don't know what you are talking about? What affluent white woman? I'm MB and I'm black. I'm middle class.

You just saw discussion about how being in a salaried government job gives zero maternity leave.

Also think about the life path that MB led that led to that salaried job with little but more benefits than a nanny job.

Let me tell you I worked my little buns off in my teens and 20's to establish my career. Nannies talking about job creep here and sick leave? I made sure I ace'd every test to get into the best school, took every assignment my boss gave me, acted in a pleasant manner at all times.

This gives me some sick leave and if I work for an employer who has more than 50 employees, a job of the same level will be given back to me if I return to work in 120 days. That's it.

You obviously have some severe reading comprehension problems or are delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I add it to the contract after a year. It is unpaid except for accrued leave, 20 weeks max with no more than 16 weeks post-birth (she can start before the birth), and bringing the baby to work is not an option. We have four kids of various ages, and the car situation alone makes that a non-starter.

I also add language about accommodating prenatal appointments, and what we would do if it turned out she was having a difficult pregnancy.

Like the PP, it seems like the right thing to do even though the terms aren't that generous, but it would be a difficult and expensive accommodation, especially where I live now where there are no agencies and a small nanny pool.

Just a question..

What happens if the temporary nanny you find is better than your old nanny? And she is available indefinitely? You will go back to the old nanny who is not as good and now has a baby of her own who she is probably thinking about alot? Just to keep your end of the contract?

Um ... yes. This is what it means to offer maternity leave: you guarantee the job will be there. Just like in any other industry. This is, however, why O don't offer it until after 1 year. By then I should kow if this is a nanny worth waiting for. Since it's unpaid leave, if she quits to be a SAHM and I have a fab replacement, then it's all good.

Quite literally, in any industry, they do not guarantee your job unless they have 50 employees. So you are going way beyond any industry. Good for you, I think, as long as your kids don't get shafted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MB here - I found our first nanny (let's call her Nanny A) as a referral from my own boss. Nanny A was her weekend babysitter for years and was looking for a full time position. My boss's regular nanny, Nanny B, had a baby when my son turned 1. My boss asked me if I would be willing to do a share for a month so that Nanny B could have a month of maternity leave. I said it was fine with me if Nanny A felt up for it. Nanny A agreed and I was paying her her normal salary and my boss was paying her as well though that was between them and I don't know how much.

As a result, my boss was able to give Nanny B a month of paid maternity leave. After that month, Nanny B left her baby with her own mom and went back to work. I know that she also started bringing her baby to work with her on occasion.

As my boss's kids got older (they were 2 and 5 at the time that Nanny B had her baby), Nanny B started to work fewer hours and transitioned into a part time nanny with a schedule that fit with what my boss needed for after school and vacation/sick day care. It seems to be a relationship that has worked well for them since I believe that Nanny B has been with them for almost 10 years now.

A boss should not be asking a subordinate if they can do nanny share. That's an inappropriate question!!!!! No means awkward forever and possibility of promotion gone.

Imagine the upheaval on here, if an MB asked a nanny something similar, that involves sharing something that impacts the nanny's kids life so profoundly. That MB will be chewed out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MB here - I found our first nanny (let's call her Nanny A) as a referral from my own boss. Nanny A was her weekend babysitter for years and was looking for a full time position. My boss's regular nanny, Nanny B, had a baby when my son turned 1. My boss asked me if I would be willing to do a share for a month so that Nanny B could have a month of maternity leave. I said it was fine with me if Nanny A felt up for it. Nanny A agreed and I was paying her her normal salary and my boss was paying her as well though that was between them and I don't know how much.

As a result, my boss was able to give Nanny B a month of paid maternity leave. After that month, Nanny B left her baby with her own mom and went back to work. I know that she also started bringing her baby to work with her on occasion.

As my boss's kids got older (they were 2 and 5 at the time that Nanny B had her baby), Nanny B started to work fewer hours and transitioned into a part time nanny with a schedule that fit with what my boss needed for after school and vacation/sick day care. It seems to be a relationship that has worked well for them since I believe that Nanny B has been with them for almost 10 years now.

A boss should not be asking a subordinate if they can do nanny share. That's an inappropriate question!!!!! No means awkward forever and possibility of promotion gone.

Imagine the upheaval on here, if an MB asked a nanny something similar, that involves sharing something that impacts the nanny's kids life so profoundly. That MB will be chewed out.

PP here - I appreciate your concern, but it wasn't that big of a deal to me. My boss and I are friends as well as coworkers - probably largely because we work in a primarily male industry and we were the only ones with babies and nannies, etc. I will admit that I wondered if I should be paying less than my regular rate, but I didn't want to stiff my nanny and I looked at it as an extended playdate for my son who could walk and was just starting to talk and loved being around the bigger kids.

I will say that the one who this was unfair to was probably my nanny. I did my best to make sure that she didn't feel pressured into it, but after a couple of weeks it was clear that caring for a 1 year old who was out of his familiar routine along with a 2 year old and 5 year old was harder than she had expected.

[Anonymous]

"Apparently only affluent white women and their kids matter. What I'm hearing is that when I do get pregnant, I should kie and hide it as long as possible and let you fire me so I can get unemployment, you know since I don't even merit unpaid maternity leave and should be distributed against for being childbearing age. This whole thread is so selfish it's sickening. "

Um - Noooo...what it means is that nanny family employers are reacting just as the VAST majority of employers of 1 employee would react - that this is not a benefit they can afford to offer. That is why even FMLA only applies to employers of over 50 (FIFTY!) people. Given that the law saying a company has to hold your job only applied for those with 50 (!) employees; how in the world is it hard to understand that an employer of 1 employee, who cannot do her job without that employee, is not willing to offer paid leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Apparently only affluent white women and their kids matter. What I'm hearing is that when I do get pregnant, I should kie and hide it as long as possible and let you fire me so I can get unemployment, you know since I don't even merit unpaid maternity leave and should be distributed against for being childbearing age. This whole thread is so selfish it's sickening. "

Um - Noooo...what it means is that nanny family employers are reacting just as the VAST majority of employers of 1 employee would react - that this is not a benefit they can afford to offer. That is why even FMLA only applies to employers of over 50 (FIFTY!) people. Given that the law saying a company has to hold your job only applied for those with 50 (!) employees; how in the world is it hard to understand that an employer of 1 employee, who cannot do her job without that employee, is not willing to offer paid leave?

FMLA just means when you come back, your job of the same level is still there. It says nothing about paid leave. For Federal Government employees, they get some weeks of sick leave. THERE IS NO MATERNITY LEAVE PAY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have a nanny yet why are you worried about maternity leave ? Higher someone older then 40. Make it a rule that the nanny can not have relationships with men. Yes that is possible, she would be your employee and you control what she does if she wants to be your nanny.( have you thought about a live in nanny? They are much easier to control) By having such rules you will eliminate party girls and you will find yourself a serious nanny who values her job and makes it her # 1 priorty.

You are certifiably crazy. No employer can tell an emoyee they cannot have a relationhip with another person. You are a very angry and disturbed person.