Vacation
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Anonymous
| I have an employer who does not give me the day after Christmas off even though she knows I travel out of state to visit family each year. This year, I decided to take the 26th off through the 1st of January. I am no longer happy at my job for numerous reasons (nothing with the kids, feel taken advange of by employer) and have decided to begin interviewing for a teaching position this spring. As a result, I need at least one full vaction day that I can pull hours from in order to interview during the week. I was planning on no longer taking the day after Christmas off so I could save that vacation day for later. When I tried to discuss my change of plans with my employer, she said that she had made plans to go out of town so there wouldn't be any children to care for so I still had to have the 26th off and use a vacation day. Her solution, I can take time off whenever I just won't get paid or I have to make the hours up. This normally wouldn't be such a big issue but last year my employer "banked" hours that she didn't need me to work and ended up having me make up almost 90 hours because it was in my contract. Therefore, I am unwilling to give her that power over my nights and weekends again. What should I do and how do I get her to see my side of the situation? |
Anonymous
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There is no way for you to get her to see your side of the situation because she is INSANE! Who in God's name makes their make up hours, especially 90.
Having said that, it wasn't very smart on your end to accept such a bad contract. Suck it up and take it unpaid. Lesson learned. |
Anonymous
| *makes their nanny make up hours-Sorry! |
Anonymous
| I want to clarify that I took that contract because the nanny agency explained that it would be more like trading a couple hours here and there. For example, if you come in an hour early on Tuesday, you can leave and hour early on Friday. |
Anonymous
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Nanny agencies are not out to help nannies. Their first priority is to secure a nanny for paying customers and to negotiate a contract that favors parents.
The average nanny is not going to accept banking hours in their contract. If my boss takes a day off, I get paid. It is up to you to negotiate your contract. Look out for yourself because nobody else is going to. |
Anonymous
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I agree on the hour banking issue, but I don't agree that you should get paid for the day after Christmas if you already requested a vacation day and now you want to work. They don't have to come up with work for you to do, and they don't have to pay you for doing nothing.
Also, does your MB know that the reason you want to "save up" vacation time for after the holidays is for job interviews? If she does, this would not encourage cooperation on her part. The week between Christmas and New Years is the most common time where employees in any industry use their paid vacation days. |
Anonymous
+1 It's a bad contract and I hope you find a great new position, but if she's already made plans around you requested vacation, you'll just have to suck it up and take it unpaid. Consider it a lesson learned and focus on your interviews. |
Anonymous
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I understand that you don't want to put yourself in a situation of having to make up hours again. She really screwed you over on that last year. However you don't have much of an argument in this situation. The vacation day you requested was granted and now your plans have changed, but you also discovered that your employer made other plans and doesn't need you. Unfortunately you will have to use the day as a vacation day as originally planned unless you want to take an unpaid day. Your employer is correct having you follow through with your plans to use a paid vacation day for a day you requested. As a nanny I would never expect my employer to accommodate my last minute change in plans if they have already planned around my requested vacation day. My change in plans=my problem.
Your only option at this point is taking unpaid time off for interviews in the spring. |
Anonymous
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There is a post about a MB changing vacation plans less than a week before xmas. And people are like well that is ok
why is it ok for MB to change plans and days off but not the nanny? |
Anonymous
| Just call in sick when you need to interview. Clearly she doesn't respect you, why should you respect her? |
Anonymous
I think the difference is that in that scenario, the planned days off were additional to the annual vacation days that the parents might choose (in most contracts, one week is parents' choice and one week is nanny's choice). If they were, in fact, official vacation days, then that wouldn't be okay - the nanny would need to make plans freely without worrying about changes - but it sounded like they were "bonus" days off. |
Anonymous
I don't believe that this fact was ever stated. |
Anonymous
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Thank you all for your opinions and advice!
I am upset about the situation because my employer kept from me that she had planned on taking the day after Christmas off and led me to believe that if I wanted the 26th off I would have to use a vacation day. Now I have found out that I would have gotten the 26th off anyway without having to use my last vacation day. I feel like I am always playing a game with her that she set up (so unprofessional and nothing I have experienced before). |
Anonymous
As an agent, this is not true at all. I care about the nannies I work with. Further, it is of no benefit to me to throw them under the bus during contract negotiations, so why would I? I want all parties involved to be satisfied so they have a happy, long-lasting relationship (and then hopefully come back to me when they are ready for their next job or nanny). |
Anonymous
| I think the hr banking is wrong, but i do not see how your MB handled the 26th as wrong. Of course employers want nannies to use their vacation on days that overlap with when the family does not need time. also it does not seem clear that she made plans prior to you asking for it off, rather than after. |