Vacation Pay: Does this make sense to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do guaranteed hours and I would pay her for the week that you're away. We pay her for the time we're away. If she then chooses to take a trip or whatever I don't feel taken advantage of. We have also written in our contract that we offer 2 weeks vacation and 1 week of sick time that can be used as vacation. I would so much rather have someone tell me in advance they'll be out than have to scramble at the last minute.

I give 12 days PTO to be used for any reason. Also, OP, consider allowing PTO to accrue, rather than giving it all at once.

[Anonymous]

Op. You should pay her but I think some of you MBs need to get smart about vacation. Almost every family I have worked for puts a stipulation on vacation. The first can be taken after 3 or 6 months, the second after 6 or 9 months. Most companies don't even give out those types of benefits until 90 days, why should it be any different for a nanny? There is not reason a nanny needs to take off that much vacation at the start of a position. It's so unprofessional. I've heard of so many nannies using up vacation and sick days only to quit after a couple months in. Start putting stipulations to protect yourself. If you're future nanny has an issue with it, I would take it as a red flag. Any professional will not have a problem with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course you pay her when you're away. That's what you agreed on in your contract.

If my boss tells me that my work is closed on X week, but we'll be paid (something that happens in my field), and I schedule my vacation for that week, that's being responsible and sensible, not something that should be punished with docked pay.

OP here. I get this, and I have not had a problem with this exact scenerio on the past. We were going to be gone, so she goes out of town while we are gone. I am a bit frustrated in this situation because, seeing it in black and white, it looks like she took a two week unpaid vacation during this time not because it was more convenient for us. It really isn't. But because she would get paid for part of this additional vacation.

I get why she did this. And it is my fault for making this a possibility. I will just need to be more strict about these thugs in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op. You should pay her but I think some of you MBs need to get smart about vacation. Almost every family I have worked for puts a stipulation on vacation. The first can be taken after 3 or 6 months, the second after 6 or 9 months. Most companies don't even give out those types of benefits until 90 days, why should it be any different for a nanny? There is not reason a nanny needs to take off that much vacation at the start of a position. It's so unprofessional. I've heard of so many nannies using up vacation and sick days only to quit after a couple months in. Start putting stipulations to protect yourself. If you're future nanny has an issue with it, I would take it as a red flag. Any professional will not have a problem with it.

This sounds reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you need to pay her while you are away--but no, that doesn't automatically mean she is "off."
You could still have her come in to do child related chores--laundry, sorting through clothes, organizing toys, etc.

[Anonymous]

You also don't have to agree to the extra vacation. If she needs a job that will accommodate more frequent breaks, paid or unpaid, that might or might not be you.

I could manage an extra 2-3 weeks a year beyond PTO, for example, and would be happy to save the money if she chose weeks that weren't too hard to cover and gave me lots of advanced notice. If I had a job with only two weeks off, though, it would be impossible to offer unlimited time off, paid or not.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you should pay her for the week your family travels. That is, as I understand, your agreement. I agree with some other posters that it may be wise to arrange her vacation/pto in a way that it accrues or is divided up a bit over the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op. You should pay her but I think some of you MBs need to get smart about vacation. Almost every family I have worked for puts a stipulation on vacation. The first can be taken after 3 or 6 months, the second after 6 or 9 months. Most companies don't even give out those types of benefits until 90 days, why should it be any different for a nanny? There is not reason a nanny needs to take off that much vacation at the start of a position. It's so unprofessional. I've heard of so many nannies using up vacation and sick days only to quit after a couple months in. Start putting stipulations to protect yourself. If you're future nanny has an issue with it, I would take it as a red flag. Any professional will not have a problem with it.

I have an accrual system, but can take my vacation at any time. If thongs don't work out between us for any reason, any vacation time that I have taken that has not accrued will be taken out of my final check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op. You should pay her but I think some of you MBs need to get smart about vacation. Almost every family I have worked for puts a stipulation on vacation. The first can be taken after 3 or 6 months, the second after 6 or 9 months. Most companies don't even give out those types of benefits until 90 days, why should it be any different for a nanny? There is not reason a nanny needs to take off that much vacation at the start of a position. It's so unprofessional. I've heard of so many nannies using up vacation and sick days only to quit after a couple months in. Start putting stipulations to protect yourself. If you're future nanny has an issue with it, I would take it as a red flag. Any professional will not have a problem with it.

I have an accrual system, but can take my vacation at any time. If thongs don't work out between us for any reason, any vacation time that I have taken that has not accrued will be taken out of my final check.

In practice, this is how we do things, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay her, but remind her that "guaranteed hours" means that she is available to work. That means that in the unlikely event your vacation gets cancelled or is cut short, she will have to take those days unpaid so that you can hire back up, or come to work.

Before nannies say that's not fair if she's made non-refundable plans, that's what you do with your vacation days. Your NF's vacation, for which you're paid guaranteed hours, is a gamble if you do that.

This. +1

I totally agree w/this answer.

+2 with the caveat that your vacation time was known to her when she made these plans. If you decided on the last week of vacation based on the fact she was off, I don't think she should be paid. If she's just tacking on an extra week of unpaid vacation, then I would pay for the second week. Also agree that unpaid time off should be for emergencies only. To my thinking, that's part of the implicit contract with guaranteed hours. I won't cancel payment on you, and you won't cancel time (beyond contracted vacation) on me.

OP here. Yes. She knew when we were taking vacation. And I do think that she chose this particular trip with these particular friends because we were going to be gone for part of it.

Thank you. I am feeling better about this. And I will talk to her about taking unpaid vacation only in emergencies.
I think that it was the way she put it....gave me a calendar with dates listed as unpaid, then suddenly "paid" because we were leaving for our own vacation that day.

If you lined up your vacation to when she'd be out, it's unpaid.

If she knew of your plans and lined it her vacation to overlap with yours, it's paid.

[Anonymous]

Tell her she will get the second week paid, since you're out of town, and that she can't have the first week at all because she used her vacation time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boss did that to me last year: didn't pay me when she went away since I was going away as well. So this year I made plans for when she went away and didn't tell her: I got paid.

Sucks to be dishonest but really what's the difference paying me sit in my house or sit on the beach in Hawaii? I didn't ask to have those 2 weeks off. If you cancel your trip of course I'd cancel mine. I thought it was messed up they didn't pay me last year, so this year I lied. Don't feel bad at all.

That is much better than sitting back to wait for them to disclose their xmas, or spring break, or summer trips and then rudely book a separate one and "game the system." Always coordinate with your employer to sort out weeks that make sense. Most office jobs require a Vacation Request form in order to manage resources and vacation time slots. Providing reliable childcare is very different than working on a team where a knowledgeable sub is somewhat present or you can just do a couple phone calls from the beach and not lose a client.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op. You should pay her but I think some of you MBs need to get smart about vacation. Almost every family I have worked for puts a stipulation on vacation. The first can be taken after 3 or 6 months, the second after 6 or 9 months. Most companies don't even give out those types of benefits until 90 days, why should it be any different for a nanny? There is not reason a nanny needs to take off that much vacation at the start of a position. It's so unprofessional. I've heard of so many nannies using up vacation and sick days only to quit after a couple months in. Start putting stipulations to protect yourself. If you're future nanny has an issue with it, I would take it as a red flag. Any professional will not have a problem with it.

agree.

I've most typically seen you get 10 days of PTO - 5 of your choosing (first vetted/approved by NF) and 5 of their choosing, plus any "bonus" vacation due to the NF additional vacations.
Sicks days come up, call them immediately.
Doctor appointments must be arranged with your employer or find a sub for yourself. Personal appointments are non-pay, find a sub for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course you pay her when you're away. That's what you agreed on in your contract.

If my boss tells me that my work is closed on X week, but we'll be paid (something that happens in my field), and I schedule my vacation for that week, that's being responsible and sensible, not something that should be punished with docked pay.

OP here. I get this, and I have not had a problem with this exact scenerio on the past. We were going to be gone, so she goes out of town while we are gone. I am a bit frustrated in this situation because, seeing it in black and white, it looks like she took a two week unpaid vacation during this time not because it was more convenient for us. It really isn't. But because she would get paid for part of this additional vacation.

I get why she did this. And it is my fault for making this a possibility. I will just need to be more strict about these thugs in the future.

I agree with you OP, she is doing this for the money. This shows her degree of professionalism (and lack thereof) and respect.
Childcare is a give and take, relationship-based job. Once trust is lost or she shows a bad attitude repeatedly or a lack of understanding, time to think about a new nanny. You will be vastly relieved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay her, but remind her that "guaranteed hours" means that she is available to work. That means that in the unlikely event your vacation gets cancelled or is cut short, she will have to take those days unpaid so that you can hire back up, or come to work.

Before nannies say that's not fair if she's made non-refundable plans, that's what you do with your vacation days. Your NF's vacation, for which you're paid guaranteed hours, is a gamble if you do that.

This. +1

I totally agree w/this answer.

+2 with the caveat that your vacation time was known to her when she made these plans. If you decided on the last week of vacation based on the fact she was off, I don't think she should be paid. If she's just tacking on an extra week of unpaid vacation, then I would pay for the second week. Also agree that unpaid time off should be for emergencies only. To my thinking, that's part of the implicit contract with guaranteed hours. I won't cancel payment on you, and you won't cancel time (beyond contracted vacation) on me.

OP here. Yes. She knew when we were taking vacation. And I do think that she chose this particular trip with these particular friends because we were going to be gone for part of it.

Thank you. I am feeling better about this. And I will talk to her about taking unpaid vacation only in emergencies.
I think that it was the way she put it....gave me a calendar with dates listed as unpaid, then suddenly "paid" because we were leaving for our own vacation that day.

If you lined up your vacation to when she'd be out, it's unpaid.

If she knew of your plans and lined it her vacation to overlap with yours, it's paid.

Awesome game of chicken she is playing. How old is she?