How to bring up to parents i need to get paid when they decide to have me not work ?

[Anonymous]

I work part time for two different families.

Family A i have worked for 1.5 years now , i work 1-2 days a week (every wed with some extra monday/fridays when needed). I didn't get paid the day before thanksgiving even tho it fell on my normal day(and i offered/wanted to work) bc the dad was home from work. This week i am not getting paid either bc the dad has the week off of work. I took this job before i got married and am now trying to save for a house. The mother sent me an email before Christmas to check in with me (she works as a nurse so when i work i see her husband who's a 9-6 job and not her) She says they are thrilled with me and the kids love me and want to see how things are going on my end. I am planning on having coffee with her next week and need to know how to bring this up to her (or give a month notice which i agreed to 1.5 years ago when i started working)

Family B i have been working for 5 months now two set days a week , Tuesday & Thursday. When i started 5 months ago we agreed i would be paid 10 hours even if it was less (which never happens) and paid more if its more , so i assumed they would pay for days they dont need me but they haven't. I have worked many date nights for them on saturday nights , stayed late on sometimes very short notice (instead of 5 pm 10 pm so they could go out to dinner) , gone in early on short notice. I don't mind working extra and going in early/late bc i really like the kids and the parents are very nice as well. Christams this year fell on a Tuesday and Thursday they are going skiiing (mother works for school system). As well as next tuesday they don't need me bc of New years day. That is three days i would normally work and recevied no extra pay.

Between family A and B i am out a lot of money and am not enjoying this time off due to the fact its my husbands busiest time of year at work and i'd rather be working.

How do i bring this up to the families so i can avoid this in the future holiday's? Or is it time to start looking for just one family to work for an make sure i discuss this prior to starting ?

[Anonymous]

I always mention that I need guaranteed hours when starting a new position. That means if they don't need me I still get paid. If I can't work (say I am sick) then I don't get paid because it is me that is unavailable. I am willing to come in and do some housekeeping on days that childcare is not needed, or the ONLY time I am willing to bank hours is on days like this, I will sometimes take the day paid and do a Saturday evening instead. If they use more hours on the Sat evening, then they pay me the rest of the hours, BUT if they don't use me for all of them - say I owe 5 and they only need 4 - then we are considered equal again.

It can be very difficult to get families you are currently working for to agree to this as they will be used to not paying you and will think that they can just find someone else that will not be asking for this kind of agreement instead of keeping you on. The family B that agreed to 10 hours a week, they should be paying you under your terms. You all agreed on 10 hours per week (so you can count on the money) and if they aren't using you then they are obviously not using you for at least 10 hours, which was the agreement. So while they could argue that they don't need you, they HAD agreed to need you (or pay at least) for 10 hour a week. I would bring up the fact that everyone needs to be able to count on a certain pay each week to be able to deal with their finances monthly, and that paying guaranteed hours will help with the high turnover rate that PT positions tend to have.

If they want to compare (like some people try to do) your job to a PT coffee shop employee or other retail, you can mention how extremely high the turnover rate is for employees at these types of places as well.

[Anonymous]

You need to go into this understanding that you are fundamentally asking to renegotiate your compensation package with each family. Guaranteed hours make sense (my nanny has them) and are pretty standard in FT nanny jobs. Seems a bit less so in PT nanny jobs, epsecially if it's just 1 day a week sometimes like with family A.

You need to sit down with them and explain that December has made you realize that the lack of guaranteed hours are creating a financial strain for you. You NEED to express regret for not thinking of this when you first started with them (or last reviewed your pay with them in Family A's case). But say that you really need to ensure a consistent pay level each week because you are reserving the time in you schedule for them. They are paying to "hold" your time, even if they are not using it in effect. If you are dead set on getting guaranteed hours and not eager to job hunt then consider offering to reduce your rate SLIGHTLY in recognition of the fact that you are in effect asking for something that will increase costs on their end to your benefit and was not part of what was initially agreed.

[Anonymous]

You're talking about two different things: guaranteed hours and paid holidays.

Guaranteed hours would mean you are paid for each T/W/TH that you could normally expect to work (day before Thanksgiving, yes; Christmas/New Year's, no).

Paid holidays means that you are paid even when a major holiday falls on one of your work days.

You are a very part time nanny. I suspect you will have success with the guaranteed hours request, but will meet with resistance on the paid holiday request. Paid holidays are not usually a perk of part time employment. If they really want to keep you happy, maybe they'll agree.

[Anonymous]

Agree with others that you can always ask but realize that you not asking for a standard benefit provided to a very part time sitter. If you need guaranteed hours and want holiday paid time off, you are better off searching for a full time job where these benefits are more common.

[Anonymous]

You're talking about two different things: guaranteed hours and paid holidays.

Guaranteed hours would mean you are paid for each T/W/TH that you could normally expect to work (day before Thanksgiving, yes; Christmas/New Year's, no).

Paid holidays means that you are paid even when a major holiday falls on one of your work days.

You are a very part time nanny. I suspect you will have success with the guaranteed hours request, but will meet with resistance on the paid holiday request. Paid holidays are not usually a perk of part time employment. If they really want to keep you happy, maybe they'll agree.

This is a great post. Very true.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you look for a standard full-time position? you're more likely to get the guaranteed hours and paid holidays.

[Anonymous]

Even a more extensive pt position, say 20+ hrs/wk with one family would be more likely to provide some guaranteed hours.