Is this reasonable for snow days?
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Anonymous
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We have a part time nanny (3 days per week) who lives less than a mile from us. I think we have a generous package for our nanny, including a fair amount of paid time off and sick days considering that our nanny is only part-time and a lot of days that she leaves early (paid). I'm a teacher, so I'm often off for snow days when the weather isn't that bad (and DH still has to go to work). We never discussed snow days (I know-- next time it will go in the contract!). Here is what I'm thinking about proposing to our nanny for bad weather days:
If DH and I are both off from work, she gets a paid day off. (We definitely wouldn't need her and, if DH is off from work, it usually means we have more than the typical "everyone panic over 1 inch of snow". In that case, I don't want her to feel any pressure to be out driving in bad weather.) If I'm off from work but DH has to work, she can decide whether to come in for a shorter day (paid at normal salary but work 9:30ish-3:30ish to allow time for roads to be plowed and get home before dark) or can have the day off unpaid. (It would be really nice for me to use part of the day to catch up on grading/planning/household tasks and, presumably if DH is working, the roads aren't too bad.) Does this sound reasonable? I'll obviously discuss it with her (and am open to her ideas), but want to make a reasonable proposal. But, I don't necessarily want to set up a situation where we are paying her for some of the snow days we get around here when the roads are really ok. (Sometimes my county closes because the northern/western part is bad, but our area is fine, or because the sidewalks and side streets aren't all plowed, but our neighborhood is all clear.) What do other nannies and employers think? |
Anonymous
| How is her snow driving? |
Anonymous
| I think it depends on how close she is to you. If the schools are closed, that's usually because the roads are bad in some part of the county, but maybe not the whole thing. If she lives in your neighborhood then I'd say its reasonable. I appreciate it when my employers give me the option of spending the night before a snow that isn't expected to be too bad. |
Anonymous
| Op, you should have the discussion with her, and see what seems best for you both. |
Anonymous
| You are being perfectly reasonable. She lives within walking distance! What you're suggesting would be reasonable even if she didn't live so close. The key is some flexibility, which you're offering, with a nod to safety too, but she should not get paid for not working if circumstances are such that she should reasonably be able to get to work. |
Anonymous
| sounds reasonable OP and unless she lives in those Northern/Western areas, the road conditions in them are irrelevant for her to get in - even if they dictate what the school has to do. |
Anonymous
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Definitely reasonable!
And I say this as someone who grew up in a much warmer climate. Before moving here I had seen snow maybe 5 times in my life. |
Anonymous
| Why are you afraid to speak with her?? |
Anonymous
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Wait, what?
How is this reasonable - you have the day off because of snow, but you want your nanny to come in? |
Anonymous
How is that OP's problem? OP - I think that sounds very reasonable. FWIW - our contract w/our nanny states that if the federal gov't is closed for any reason (snow, hurricane, etc.) then our nanny gets the day off paid. Otherwise, she needs to take PTO or come in to work. |
Anonymous
Let me guess, you are one of those people that thinks a nanny should get off every single day that the employer gets off? Please. That is not reasonable. Many of us like to take a day off and still have the nanny work at least part of the day so we can get other things done. |
Anonymous
| Yes, OP, that is very reasonable. She lives close enough to walk if she needed to, and I'm sure she'll appreciate the option of coming in or not depending on her situation. I would suggest emphasizing the benefit of having her come in even when you're off , and that you really don't mind paying her for a full day even for shorter day of work, because it means a lot to you to have the time to get stuff done. |
Anonymous
+1 And to the PP, chances are if OP can afford nannies then she's working at the type of job that doesn't decrease the workload just because she has a day off. She can't just skip her workload like a nanny would if she didn't come in. She'll have to make it up eventually anyways. Please stop comparing nanny jobs to real jobs and the whole "wait but she gets this and nanny don't?".. Get a degree and a job somewhere in the real world if you want those benefits. |
Anonymous
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1:37- I am the Nanny who wrote the "wait, what?" comment.
Truthfully, I didn't see that the nanny lives less than a mile from MB. Still, I wouldn't want to walk a mile in a snowstorm. Or drive for that matter. I'm not an entitled nanny. I'm not a lazy, incompetent nanny. I have my bachelors and have CHOSEN this profession as a nanny because it's what I love doing. Yes, it's a "real job". How could you be such a condescending bitch? |
Anonymous
You still are not reading the OP's post. She wrote that if the weather was bad enough that both her school and her husband's workplace was closed then she would give the nanny a paid snow day. She would not give a snow day when only the K-12 school system was closed and other offices were operating as normal. This is entirely reasonable. Its smart for the OP to spell this out to the nanny because many of you seem to expect that if one of the parents is home, then it equals an automatic free paid day off which is an unreasonable expectation. |