How many hours per week of childcare and light housework is fair in exchange for room&board?

[Anonymous]

If you are not a troll here is what I think. Why do you and your husband let an adult with a job and a bf live off of you? Seriously not being mean but she should be able to provide for herself if she is that busy doing her own thing. I offered a family $250 to live in one of their basement rooms for only a couple years to finish school plus provide weekly cleaning service, babysitting and keeping dog when they travel and was turned down. I wouldn't even eat their food or need ride. Give this girl six months to finish her semester and find a place. Asking her to fit you in her school will end up in resentment.

[Anonymous]

OP I did the same thing in grad school and our arrangement was 10 hours per week. I worked with a single mom. She was an er surgeon and I would help with on call nights. I often made $100-200 extra per month for the on call nights. I was in charge of dropping the twins off at daycare and sometimes I picked them up. She also let me use her second car ALL the time. It was awesome and the maid cleaned my room and bathroom too! It doesn't sound like this arrangement is working for you. I think 10 hours per week sounds reasonable. I am a stay at home mom now and I would kill for a me day. You should have her babysit for a good chuck of time during the week and weekend. It needs to be mutual for you too!

[Anonymous]

Her benefit from free Room and board is basically around $600/mo. so that's $150/week. at $15/hour, she should be giving you about 10 hours/week of childcare or errands or something.
She is totally taking advantage of you. Either end the relationship or have a direct conversation with her about your renewed expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are describing is illegal. She must be paid minimum wage for every hour worked.

Room & Board count as part of minimum wage. What are you talking about?

Not according to the law

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs79b.htm

I JUST posted the FAQ above that says that is does, in fact, count as part of the minimum wage if the room is for the benefit of the employee, not the employer, which it is in this case.

In this case, the OP did not hire a live-in nanny. She offered a room (which the girl needed), in exchange for a variety of domestic tasks that the OP can do herself. This person is paying off her room, not living there to be available to OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her benefit from free Room and board is basically around $600/mo. so that's $150/week. at $15/hour, she should be giving you about 10 hours/week of childcare or errands or something.
She is totally taking advantage of you. Either end the relationship or have a direct conversation with her about your renewed expectations.

+1 This. 10 hours/week.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone! I talked to her this week and acknowledged the fact that it has been impossible for her to provide any childcare for us during the week because of her schedule, so I asked her to be responsible for cleaning the girls bedrooms and doing their laundry once a week, plus loading/unloading the dishwasher. Plus, if/when we need her on weekends for childcare she will provide it. I also stressed the fact that she really needs to get a car, unless she manages to move (and work/study) to DC. She spends a lot of her time waiting for the metro, walking to the metro, waiting for buses, etc. And it is expensive. I think her life will be easier with a car, even job opportunities since most people require their sitter/nanny to have a car.

She is on a student visa, so she doesn't have permission to work but there are plenty of sitter/nanny jobs out there and people don't even ask about that.

Let's see how things will work out from here on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone! I talked to her this week and acknowledged the fact that it has been impossible for her to provide any childcare for us during the week because of her schedule, so I asked her to be responsible for cleaning the girls bedrooms and doing their laundry once a week, plus loading/unloading the dishwasher. Plus, if/when we need her on weekends for childcare she will provide it. I also stressed the fact that she really needs to get a car, unless she manages to move (and work/study) to DC. She spends a lot of her time waiting for the metro, walking to the metro, waiting for buses, etc. And it is expensive. I think her life will be easier with a car, even job opportunities since most people require their sitter/nanny to have a car.

She is on a student visa, so she doesn't have permission to work but there are plenty of sitter/nanny jobs out there and people don't even ask about that.

Let's see how things will work out from here on.

Public transit is nowhere near as expensive as owning a car, something she is likely to discover when she looks for one. Even if she is spending a couple hundred dollars a month on bus and metro, unless she is also making heavy use of cabs and uber, she is coming out ahead of a car payment + gas. I wouldn't get your hopes up there unless someone (you?) basically gives her a car.