Advice needed on letting nanny go
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Anonymous
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Firstly my nanny is really good and we have a great relationship. She has been with us for 1.5 years. She is kind, works hard and has a great attitude. However, my firm shut its office in June and I haven't been able to find a job since. Originally I thought it would be easier so we told nanny not to worry about her job since we really like her and I planned on going back. However, circumstances have changed..
I haven't had any luck and it doesn't look like I will find one in the next few months. We are now feeling the financial stress more keenly. Secondly, our kids are in school FT now. Our nanny was very flexible and was willing to clean during many of the hours the kids are in school. Her pay is the same but she worked fewer hours a week (originally 17 gross). So the reality is that she would have been a luxury we would have kept if I could find a well paying job but isn't worth it otherwise. I need advice on 3 fronts. 1. When should we let her know? Normally I would tell her ASAP but she is leaving to visit her country for 3 wks for christmas and I don't want to ruin that for her. She is leaving in a week and a half anyway so would it make much difference anyway? 2. Severance and notice. I was thinking if we tell her in January we would give notice until the end of the month and then 2 wks severance? 3. Bonus? I live in NJ where bonuses are quite common. Last year we gave her 2 weeks salary (not prorated) because we wanted to show her we really liked her. We actually told her we were not prorating because we wanted to show her goodwill but not to expect double that later. Thoughts? Thanks so much for your help! |
Anonymous
| I would let her know now and tell her that you will be able to keep her on through January. Its never fun to be let go but its actually better to know sooner rather than later as you have more options. She may for example decide to stay overseas longer. I would be annoyed if I was traveling back to my home country and trying to get back within 3 weeks because of my job only to lose it the week I returned. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
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1. Tell her ASAP. Give her as much time as possible to find a new job. She may have some time during her vacation to update her resume and job search.
2. Any severance is generous and would be appreciated. 3. Bonuses are not expected but very much appreciated. -I would have a glowing letter of recommendation ready and waiting for her. Be willing to speak with potential employers as a reference. -Perhaps you could offer to send an email or two to friends recommending her services. |
Anonymous
| Considering that you already told her not to worry about her job security, I would tell her ASAP. |
Anonymous
| 2nd 11:12's advice. |
Anonymous
| Tell her now. |
Anonymous
| Tell her ASAP so she has time to find a new position. |
Anonymous
| I agree with the others. Tell her now so she can get her resume ready and maybe even apply for jobs while she's away and skype interview or whatever. And like a pp mentioned she might want to stay longer (or less) if she has a clear picture of the job status. She may want to curb Xmas spending as well. |
Anonymous
| She probably can't afford a trip overseas if she's getting the sack, so tell her now. Seriously |
Anonymous
| You knew this months ago and you should have told her then..Now you can kill two birds with one stone: ruin her Christmas and have her looking for a job in winter. |
Anonymous
I don't see where you got that. OP probably assumed like many people that eventually she would find a new position, so why would someone let the nanny go, find a new position, then ask the nanny to come back? If OP's family was able to pay the nanny from June when OP didn't have a position, they did have some financial cushion but understandably now finances seem to be depleting without one parent bringing home income. |
Anonymous
This is good advice. Ignore 19:55. Clearly, she has issues. |
Anonymous
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While I think 19:55 went too far with what they said, I do kind of agree. This is the worst time of year to fire someone. I decided to leave a job in the past, and decided I wanted to do this about 2 weeks before Christmas. I ended up waiting until the middle of January to give notice because I didn't want to tell them I was leaving and make them find someone new (or try to find something new myself) right in the middle of the holidays. As it wasn't a situation that I needed to leave immediately, it just wasn't working out in the long run, I felt it best to wait another few weeks and I started my search, but knew that it would be hard to interview during a time like that.
I also agree with the PP that said the nanny might have decided to change her christmas plans (coming home early/late or just canceling her plans totally) once she knew that money might end up being an issue. If I was making huge plans like leaving the country, I would have preferred to have known by Sept/early Oct that I might not have a job by the beginning of the new year. That way I could have planned something else instead, saved up my money not just from that trip I canceled, but even from casual spending over the previous months. I think any nanny would prefer a heads up in advance and then later be told if it is just getting too much financially for the parents and get a months notice, than to just get notice at the very end. In a way, she did know that something was up, but when you told her not to worry about her job, that might have been taken as you had more money than you really did, and that even having no job for 6+ months wouldn't have been an issue with your finances. |