Breach of Contract

[Anonymous]

In what world does either party get 6 weeks notice? This would only happen if there was a very good bond between the family and the nanny and an amicable parting where either the family or the nanny could afford 6 weeks time. Normally the contractual notice period would be 2 weeks and I think this is often violated by the nanny or just paid out in severance by the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This family and their nanny signed a 12–month contract by which they agreed to 6-weeks notice. They quit without notice, cause, or compensation.

They have neither given her the 6-week notice, nor paid her for the notice period. Initially they said they would pay her half, while threatening her with litigation. After she sent her address for the check to the lawyer, they went silent, and no check showed up in the mail, much less for half the amount.

Have you been in a situation like this? What did you do? If not, what would you do?

Does nanny have the agreement to pay half in writing? If so, she needs to keep harassing the lawyer or take them to small claims court.

Otherwise, because the family has already engaged counsel, the nanny should hire a lawyer to reach out to the family’s lawyer. Figure out why the check hasn’t arrived, figure out what cause of action the family alleges in its threats of litigation, etc.

If the nanny already agreed to accept half as satisfaction / settlement of the dispute, I’m not sure if she can try to enforce the contract for all 6 weeks now. She may have waived that right. All depends on what was signed and agreed to!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In what world does either party get 6 weeks notice? This would only happen if there was a very good bond between the family and the nanny and an amicable parting where either the family or the nanny could afford 6 weeks time. Normally the contractual notice period would be 2 weeks and I think this is often violated by the nanny or just paid out in severance by the family.

Posts like this make me realize that nannies have no clue of their rights.
Any contract can dictate whatever the two parties want, there is no 'normal'. The four corners of that contract dictate how everyone is going to agree to and behave.
I have a three month notice and severence built into my contract, this does sseveral things, it makes employers think twice about any flipancy with my employment and give me time to find another position so I am not jobl/homeless and exactly the same for the employer. If anyone does not want to fulfill the agreement then they just pay the severence.
Go take a class on at will contracts so you can safeguard your future in the nanny employment world, as Human Resource departments do not exist in our environment.

[Anonymous]

I currently have a babysitter who works 4 days a week and we pay every two weeks at a set amount. We have a contract stating we pay her set amount for childcare services but no where in said contract does it state that we have to pay her for the days that she calls off. Should we still pay her set amount even though we have had to rearrange our schedule in order to get care for our children?