My Nanny Quit and I'm Mad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP if you want your next nanny to stick around, here are some things you should do:

1. Make sure the schedule NEVER changes, so nanny has the flexibility to fit in other jobs. So if you agree to Tues & Thurs 8am-3pm (or whatever hours) make sure you are NEVER late to relieve her, so if she has an after school job at 3:30pm she can make it on time.

2. Guarantee those hours. This means if you don't need her one day, for ANY reason (including illness, vacation, grandma's in town, etc) she still gets paid for the full hours. And DO NOT under any circumstances try to switch her hours "Oh I don't need you on Tuesday this week so can you just do Friday night instead since I'm already paying you for those hours this week? *NO!*

3. Offer paid holidays, best to include all federal holidays. They may not fall on days she works but if they do, she needs to know she has them off with full pay. Offer her TWO WEEKS PTO of her choice, plus 3 paid sick days. Don't skimp on a Christmas bonus.

4. Pay a premium. One reason for this is, if nanny had a full time job of over 40 hours a week (most nanny jobs are 45-60 hours a week, so overtime is generally a given in this industry) she'd be getting overtime pay. Since you're taking up 2 of her days she can't get overtime pay with another family. The other reason for this is simply incentive to stay. If you have one child, and want your nanny to stay, you need to be paying a MINIMUM of $22/hr. And the higher up you go from there, the more likely your nanny is to stay long term. Sure, you can probably find someone willing to accept ther job at $18/hr, but will they stay more than 8 weeks? Unlikely. Pay the same nanny $26/hr and she may stick around until preschool.

5. Make her WANT to come over. Make sure that when she arrives the house is clean. No dirty dishes in the sink. No bottles from last night for her to wash. Ask her what her favorite foods and beverages are and keep them on hand for her in the kitchen, make sure she knows to help herself. Let her have time during naps to relax. Encourage her to rest and recharge during that time.

6. Ask around among your neighbors, acquaintances, etc. See if you can find others who would be willing to use her for a chunk of time that works with your schedule. If you need Tues & Thurs 8-3, maybe a neighbor could use her the same days after school. Or maybe a neighbor with a young child could use her Mon & Wed full dates. Try to help her find other jobs to give her more hours while working around your schedule.

You don't have to do these things, but if you only need 14 hours a week, I don't think you'll find anyone who will stay long term if you don't. If you simply can't afford these things, at 14 hours a week, then you simply can't afford a nanny.

Op here. We have set days and hours but I sometimes need to move it around. I am SAHM. We do not offer anything but a good hourly rate. If we don't need her, she can make up the hours. We won't offer any benefits because it's only 14 hours a week.

What I don't like is the way she treated us. She tossed is aside after basically treating her well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP if you want your next nanny to stick around, here are some things you should do:

1. Make sure the schedule NEVER changes, so nanny has the flexibility to fit in other jobs. So if you agree to Tues & Thurs 8am-3pm (or whatever hours) make sure you are NEVER late to relieve her, so if she has an after school job at 3:30pm she can make it on time.

2. Guarantee those hours. This means if you don't need her one day, for ANY reason (including illness, vacation, grandma's in town, etc) she still gets paid for the full hours. And DO NOT under any circumstances try to switch her hours "Oh I don't need you on Tuesday this week so can you just do Friday night instead since I'm already paying you for those hours this week? *NO!*

3. Offer paid holidays, best to include all federal holidays. They may not fall on days she works but if they do, she needs to know she has them off with full pay. Offer her TWO WEEKS PTO of her choice, plus 3 paid sick days. Don't skimp on a Christmas bonus.

4. Pay a premium. One reason for this is, if nanny had a full time job of over 40 hours a week (most nanny jobs are 45-60 hours a week, so overtime is generally a given in this industry) she'd be getting overtime pay. Since you're taking up 2 of her days she can't get overtime pay with another family. The other reason for this is simply incentive to stay. If you have one child, and want your nanny to stay, you need to be paying a MINIMUM of $22/hr. And the higher up you go from there, the more likely your nanny is to stay long term. Sure, you can probably find someone willing to accept ther job at $18/hr, but will they stay more than 8 weeks? Unlikely. Pay the same nanny $26/hr and she may stick around until preschool.

5. Make her WANT to come over. Make sure that when she arrives the house is clean. No dirty dishes in the sink. No bottles from last night for her to wash. Ask her what her favorite foods and beverages are and keep them on hand for her in the kitchen, make sure she knows to help herself. Let her have time during naps to relax. Encourage her to rest and recharge during that time.

6. Ask around among your neighbors, acquaintances, etc. See if you can find others who would be willing to use her for a chunk of time that works with your schedule. If you need Tues & Thurs 8-3, maybe a neighbor could use her the same days after school. Or maybe a neighbor with a young child could use her Mon & Wed full dates. Try to help her find other jobs to give her more hours while working around your schedule.

You don't have to do these things, but if you only need 14 hours a week, I don't think you'll find anyone who will stay long term if you don't. If you simply can't afford these things, at 14 hours a week, then you simply can't afford a nanny.

Op here. We have set days and hours but I sometimes need to move it around. I am SAHM. We do not offer anything but a good hourly rate. If we don't need her, she can make up the hours. We won't offer any benefits because it's only 14 hours a week.

What I don't like is the way she treated us. She tossed is aside after basically treating her well.

The bolded above: You did not treat her well, OP. You should have guaranteed hours (no make up!) and a set schedule with no changes. If you needed her on a different day it is in addition to her guaranteed hours.

Learn from this or you will be looking for a new babysitter every three months.

- signed, an MB

[Anonymous]

OP, I feel like the responses on here are pretty unfair.

Sure, you are offering only 14 hours a week, but your Nanny seems to have agreed on the terms by accepting the position on these terms so it would be unfair on her part to leave you high ‘n dry w/no one to watch your child.

Could she have possibly quit due to another issue?

• Job creep?
• Micromanagement?
• Low pay?
• No autonomy?

I am a Nanny who has quit jobs on the spot due to the above issues.

Just some food for thought.

[Anonymous]

You didn't treat her well.

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing whatever OP thought was such a great rate, just wasn't. I see lots of parents who are grossly misguided on what is honestly a decent rate for a good nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I feel like the responses on here are pretty unfair.

Sure, you are offering only 14 hours a week, but your Nanny seems to have agreed on the terms by accepting the position on these terms so it would be unfair on her part to leave you high ‘n dry w/no one to watch your child.

Could she have possibly quit due to another issue?

• Job creep?
• Micromanagement?
• Low pay?
• No autonomy?

I am a Nanny who has quit jobs on the spot due to the above issues.

Just some food for thought.

OP is a SAHM - how high and dry could she be? Did she have to reschedule her pedicure? God forbid!

OP changes the nanny's hours at her whim and makes her make up hours instead of guaranteed hours (which is pretty standard) and then wants sympathy because the nanny found a real job?! No. No one is being too hard on Princess OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I might be needing to quit. Do I find my next job first, or do I first tell this one that we all need to start looking?

You find a job that respects the fact that you need to give notice. I'm a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP if you want your next nanny to stick around, here are some things you should do:

1. Make sure the schedule NEVER changes, so nanny has the flexibility to fit in other jobs. So if you agree to Tues & Thurs 8am-3pm (or whatever hours) make sure you are NEVER late to relieve her, so if she has an after school job at 3:30pm she can make it on time.

2. Guarantee those hours. This means if you don't need her one day, for ANY reason (including illness, vacation, grandma's in town, etc) she still gets paid for the full hours. And DO NOT under any circumstances try to switch her hours "Oh I don't need you on Tuesday this week so can you just do Friday night instead since I'm already paying you for those hours this week? *NO!*

3. Offer paid holidays, best to include all federal holidays. They may not fall on days she works but if they do, she needs to know she has them off with full pay. Offer her TWO WEEKS PTO of her choice, plus 3 paid sick days. Don't skimp on a Christmas bonus.

4. Pay a premium. One reason for this is, if nanny had a full time job of over 40 hours a week (most nanny jobs are 45-60 hours a week, so overtime is generally a given in this industry) she'd be getting overtime pay. Since you're taking up 2 of her days she can't get overtime pay with another family. The other reason for this is simply incentive to stay. If you have one child, and want your nanny to stay, you need to be paying a MINIMUM of $22/hr. And the higher up you go from there, the more likely your nanny is to stay long term. Sure, you can probably find someone willing to accept ther job at $18/hr, but will they stay more than 8 weeks? Unlikely. Pay the same nanny $26/hr and she may stick around until preschool.

5. Make her WANT to come over. Make sure that when she arrives the house is clean. No dirty dishes in the sink. No bottles from last night for her to wash. Ask her what her favorite foods and beverages are and keep them on hand for her in the kitchen, make sure she knows to help herself. Let her have time during naps to relax. Encourage her to rest and recharge during that time.

6. Ask around among your neighbors, acquaintances, etc. See if you can find others who would be willing to use her for a chunk of time that works with your schedule. If you need Tues & Thurs 8-3, maybe a neighbor could use her the same days after school. Or maybe a neighbor with a young child could use her Mon & Wed full dates. Try to help her find other jobs to give her more hours while working around your schedule.

You don't have to do these things, but if you only need 14 hours a week, I don't think you'll find anyone who will stay long term if you don't. If you simply can't afford these things, at 14 hours a week, then you simply can't afford a nanny.

Op here. We have set days and hours but I sometimes need to move it around. I am SAHM. We do not offer anything but a good hourly rate. If we don't need her, she can make up the hours. We won't offer any benefits because it's only 14 hours a week.

What I don't like is the way she treated us. She tossed is aside after basically treating her well.

The bolded above: You did not treat her well, OP. You should have guaranteed hours (no make up!) and a set schedule with no changes. If you needed her on a different day it is in addition to her guaranteed hours.

Learn from this or you will be looking for a new babysitter every three months.

- signed, an MB

Exactly! I love how employers think that they are just the best. You will not keep anyone long term withough offering benefits on top of a good salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I might be needing to quit. Do I find my next job first, or do I first tell this one that we all need to start looking?

You find a job that respects the fact that you need to give notice. I'm a nanny.

For 14 hours a week and no guaranteed hours? The nanny is expected to pass up a chance to work a week of a new full-time job so that a SAHM can have a week to find another sitter? No, not fair. My notice would be the ten minutes it takes to tell you I am not coming back. I am an MB. OP's nanny deserves to make a living too.

[Anonymous]

Op here. We have set days and hours but I sometimes need to move it around. I am SAHM. We do not offer anything but a good hourly rate. If we don't need her, she can make up the hours. We won't offer any benefits because it's only 14 hours a week.

What I don't like is the way she treated us. She tossed is aside after basically treating her well.

Your situation is not set up to sustain someone who needs an income to live on. You may be the nicest employer in the world, but the $$ won't work for someone who needs to pay for rent, utilities, food, clothing, etc. No one can support a household on 14 hours of nanny work. Maybe find a mom or grandma who is just working to supplement the family income/get out of the house.

[Anonymous]

You need to find someone who is doing this for play money, not to support themselves. You need a housewife who just likes to cuddle babies and wants some spending money but whose husband supports them. THAT person will stay a long time.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps you should look to your friends and relatives who'd consider doing you a huge favor.

[Anonymous]

Is this a joke?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You find a job that allows you to give some type of adequate notice before leaving. How about if your employer gave you one days notice?

Perhaps you have no clue that some employers do exactly that, just out of spite. You give them two weeks, and the next day they tell you grandma's coming to help out. See how that works?

What do you think about the "Essential Procedures" thread? I'll try to bump it for you.

Please don't bother. You're the poster that wants your employer to write you a reference letter every six weeks? Since when do two wrongs make a right? Again, you want to be treated like a professional, act like one. Unless your employer has treated you in some egregious manner, giving one days notices sucks on your part. Just as much as it would suck if someone did that to you.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are a SAHM and your nanny never had more than 14 hours a week with you - none of them guaranteed - and you are pissed she didn't give you notice? How much notice did you want for 14 un-guaranteed hours?

She was probably able to start making a full-time salary right away - why would you begrudge her that? You don't even work!