Late: how often is too often

[Anonymous]

If you have told your nanny that it is important for her to be on time, how often is too often for her to be late? (let's say we're talking about 15 minutes late)

once a week?
once a month?
ever?

[Anonymous]

If its once a week, I consider it a problem. Its a function of the job that she is screwing up 20% of the time.

[Anonymous]

once a month. once a week is intolerable and reveals she is not factoring in any fudge time for normal traffic.

[Anonymous]

More than once every few months is unacceptable. If you're trying to give her the benefit of thr doubt, atbthr beginning give her time to figure out traffic etc. (But that should be done in a week or so, and she should be early if not on time).

[Anonymous]

I don't think I've ever been 15 minutes late to work. I'm usually 5-10 minutes early every day. If I were going to be late by even a minute I would text MB/DB and let them know. Families need a nanny who is reliable and prompt. Unless there is an emergency or a really bad car accident/traffic there's no excuse for being late.

[Anonymous]

Once a month is too much. I have somewhere to be, and it's unacceptable for me to get there late once a month.

[Anonymous]

I'm an experienced nanny who has never been late - I probably annoy my MB/DB by showing up ~15 min. early every day, but I like the time to settle in, make coffee, and chat about DC before the day begins. (I've likewise never worked for parents who came home late, and have always had the respect I've shown to my employers' schedules reciprocated in regards to my own.)

But you've had to talk with your nanny about being on time and are now wondering what is acceptable... if she is already an employee and has had issues with being on time, it is my opinion that this would be cause for probation and as such she absolutely shouldn't be late at all in the next three months. If this is a new hire and you are impressing upon her the importance of being on time, you'll want to give her a week or so to get familiar with traffic/parking or bus routes/schedules or whatever mode of transportation she's using. After that...maybe once or twice a year for an extreme circumstance would be acceptable? Knowing how to manage your time, schedule, commute, etc. is a fundamental part of being an employed adult and IMO you shouldn't ever have to address it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I've ever been 15 minutes late to work. I'm usually 5-10 minutes early every day. If I were going to be late by even a minute I would text MB/DB and let them know. Families need a nanny who is reliable and prompt. Unless there is an emergency or a really bad car accident/traffic there's no excuse for being late.

Not really. Some folks just don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Never and the same goes for you. How often are you late? If I were a nanny and my hours were from 7:30am-5:30pm, I would be there every morning on time and I would expect you to be home no later than 5:30 pm. Nannies also have a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I've ever been 15 minutes late to work. I'm usually 5-10 minutes early every day. If I were going to be late by even a minute I would text MB/DB and let them know. Families need a nanny who is reliable and prompt. Unless there is an emergency or a really bad car accident/traffic there's no excuse for being late.

This is me as well. I wait in my car, but am early. I text if I may be a few minutes late due to an accident on the road. That accident would easily cause me to be late if I did not plan for that possibility. Most of the times that I have texted that I may be late, which is extremely rare, I’m still generally on time.

OP, the fact that you are asking means that it is too much, period. Have a direct conversation with her. Find out why she’s late (does she have children that she is getting off to school?). Ask her if she has a plan to resolve the issue. Clearly tell her that reliability is not optional.

[Anonymous]

Once month is too often. I am a nanny who has never once been late since I started this new job seven months ago and was late once in my last job of three years, and never once late in my job before that.

[Anonymous]

Ive been late three times in my 5 years as a nanny - all because of SIGNIFICANT (we’re talking trains broken down on the tracks) subway delays. I was about 15 minutes late because of those. I arrive on average 5-10 minutes early to be sure any unexpected minor delays won’t make me late. I consider anything more than once every 2-3 months too much for a nanny. It’s our job to be there so you can get to work on time. Punctuality is a major part of the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ive been late three times in my 5 years as a nanny - all because of SIGNIFICANT (we’re talking trains broken down on the tracks) subway delays. I was about 15 minutes late because of those. I arrive on average 5-10 minutes early to be sure any unexpected minor delays won’t make me late. I consider anything more than once every 2-3 months too much for a nanny. It’s our job to be there so you can get to work on time. Punctuality is a major part of the job.

Punctuality and reliability.

[Anonymous]

I was 3 mins late once in 8 years.

But how often is MB late letting me off work 1-3x a week

[Anonymous]

3 times a year.