Nanny Understands Pay?
![[Post New]](/nanny-forum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Advice Please:
I have a 60+ nanny who is legal but does not drive, speaks only a little English and has about 15 years of nanny experience. She has been with us in DC for 2.5 years and cares for a 3yo and 1yo, 42 hours a week, the 3yo is in preschool 3 days a week and she helps with light housekeeping. Four weeks paid vacation (taken all at one time) and 5 sick days. We have family come and visit a lot and so this year she will have had a total of 48 days paid off (even more days off last year). She is net $17.50 per hour ($750/week), 20+ pocket money per week, plus one week bonus pay. I really try and make her feel like part of our family, usually I have breakfast made for us all when she arrives and we eat together with the kids, I listen to her problems, any time she needs to leave early or come in late, I make arrangements so we can accommodate her without reducing her pay, etc. The problem is that I am really getting the feeling that she thinks that we are not paying her enough. She frequently talks about nanny friends who "make much more" than she does and other families who are "offering very good salaries". I think that with the time off, the pay and the fact that she has a lot of flexibility, our pay is competitive. If you asked her-- I know that she would say that she loves our kids and loves working with us-- but I also think that she believes that she is doing US a favor. Question 1-- Am I right? Are we competitive? Question 2-- If so- how do I help her understand that she is incorrect in believing that everyone else is making more than she is and that there are a ton of other employers out there looking to pay more? I want us both to be happy where we are and I want her to feel appreciated but I know that we really can't afford a higher salary. Thanks in advance. |
Anonymous
Does she speak enough English for you to say that? Or do you have someone who can translate for you? If she really is hinting around at wanting more money, she probably believes you can afford to pay more. |
Anonymous
|
Two possibilities here
1. She is really ill-informed. Nannies do not tell the truth about how much they make on the playground. You don't have to make an issue of it but find out who she is talking about and try to find out how much they are really making from the mom. 2. She is playing you. She is just complaining when she is getting a good deal because she thinks there is room to get more from you. She probably doesn't know about sites like DCUM where we discuss competitive pay and how much information is available. I think you should just brush it off as much as you can. Older people talk like this a lot (like my mom) and if you make it an issue, they might be like "What? I was just making conversation." If you can't brush her off, maybe show her some surveys or gently point out that she is indeed getting a competitive/good deal. |
Anonymous
| She will see that if she tries to leave and find greener pasture elsewhere, the flexibility, large pto, etc won't be there. |
Anonymous
| This is more than generous, honestly. |
Anonymous
|
Is it possible you are projecting? If she has 15 years experience, it seems unlikely that she really thinks she is underpaid. Particularly since she cannot drive -- and this becomes a huge obstacle as kids get older. Do you know what her salary was before you?
Perhaps she is concerned that you think may start to think she is *overpaid* given the preschool kid whose school days will only get longer. And frankly, I'll say it-- $17.50 NET is very high. (It could also be that the figures she is hearing from other people are gross and she doesn't appreciate the difference. $750/week net is the equivalent of about $960/week gross.) |
Anonymous
|
You are being more than fair, OP. Your nanny is gaming you for a better salary. No problem there, it is in her best interest to get you to agree to a max salary with the least work on her part.
Resist. |
Anonymous
| Its not your job to make her appreciate her situation. You know that you are paying her well/competitively. That is deterrent enough to keep her from finding something better. If she tries to find another job she will see that she hasa good deal. |
Anonymous
I think you are very competitive with you pay AND with your vacation and sick days. Has she been at this rate since the beginning (2.5 yrs ago) or has she had raises since then? If she started at that rate and has not has a raise, she count be hinting that she expects a raise after all that time. I do think that her rate is very good since you mention it is NET and not GROSS. Then the amount of Vacation you had been doing was actually twice as much as needed, and this year even more. I think that the extra vacation is fine if doing that instead of a raise, but she might not be realizing that. I would add up how much extra vacation it is and the rate she would be making if actually working that amount of time, and add it to her rate to show what kind of "raise" it is. She also might forget that 2 weeks is standard, and so not counting federal holidays, show her that other (maybe 40-42 days?) off has been almost 6 weeks!!! Not sure if some of that has been sick days used or not, so that means 5-6 weeks of vacation other than federal holidays. When comparing that to 2 weeks, if she can't see how great she has it, then I would have some real concern about her judgment. Some people would rather have more pay (and work) than extra paid time off though, so maybe she is one of these. If so, then this is not the job for her. |
Anonymous
| OP why are you paying a non-english speaking and non-driving nanny this much?? On the market, she would be lucky to make $10-$12 an hour average gross. Your vacation package and salary is WAY over market for a nanny who lacks these two basic qualifications. |
Anonymous
| OP here- thanks for the feedback-- I realize that I need to have a talk with her and lay out the benefits clearly and tell her that although she is appreciated and valued, there isn't more money coming. |
Anonymous
|
NET means that you pay her 17.50 ON THE BOOKs,
and so that means about 3 dollars of that she doesn't see right? So that is 14.50 to mostly care for a 1 year old and some time with the older one. Sure, I agree that many other career nannies are paid more, however 1 She should not complain about this to you 2 Nannies should not ask for a raise 3 your agreement should stand 4 YOu need to tell her there is no more money coming! I am slightly biased to think that there are only some nannies that are over 60 that are very active with two small children. I feel like I am always hearing this complaint of talking about their friends salaries. Same old story. That is a whole lot of vacation too. And I have an age discrimination because I am at the age that many women get pregnant, I have been told! "I wanted an either younger or older nanny" when I am being interviewed. I hear this all the time. Every nanny has their issues |
Anonymous
No, "net" means after taxes so the nanny is taking home $17.50. |
Anonymous
| she is making like 1000 a week gross. Honestly her qualifications are probably put her in the 14-16 hour range gross. Most people who pay higher amounts for driving and english speaking nannies. |
Anonymous
|
I agree your pay and package are more than fair. Have you tried showing her what her weekly paycheck is GROSS and breaking that down into $$ per hour GROSS?
If she doesn't get that I don't know what else you can do. She isn't likely to find something better than this elsewhere. |