New to having a nanny????

[Anonymous]

So we are thinking of hiring our first nanny. What besides the hourly pay are generally part of the offer?

If we are having our nanny transport to and from school are we obligated to provide her a care, or insurance?

What is standard as far as health care?

Any other perks that I should consider offering as part of a competitive offer.

[Anonymous]

Check out the "favorite perks" thread. Then you find someone who is up to your standards, and what her expectations are, and go from there. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

When you provide the car, you'll be assured of it's safety and condition.

[Anonymous]

In my experience:
-Guaranteed pay is normal. That means that if the nanny is available to work and you do not need her (because you're going out of town, you let her go home early, etc) that she still gets paid for the full day.
-paid vacation time. Nannies usually get two weeks: one is the employer's choice, one is the nanny's choice.
-paid sick days. 3-5 sick days paid for a full time nanny.
-time and a half past 40 hours. Legally required.

You are not obligated to buy her a car or pay for insurance. You are required to reimburse at the mileage rate. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/11/21/irs-announces-2013-standard-mileage-rates/ 56.5 cents per mile. It's nice to 'round up' if you're willing. Kids put wear and tear on a nanny's car. It's also GREAT if you buy an extra car seat -- that way you won't have to constantly take the car seat in and out of the nanny's car.

Health care is a perk, but not required by any means. Plenty of people don't offer it.

Perks that may seem small, but are really appreciated: keeping some snacks on hand for the nanny; a drink she likes, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. Letting her use the internet during her down time at work.

[Anonymous]

HE

[Anonymous]

I agree with 21:16. Also keep taxes in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience:
-Guaranteed pay is normal. That means that if the nanny is available to work and you do not need her (because you're going out of town, you let her go home early, etc) that she still gets paid for the full day.
-paid vacation time. Nannies usually get two weeks: one is the employer's choice, one is the nanny's choice.
-paid sick days. 3-5 sick days paid for a full time nanny.
-time and a half past 40 hours. Legally required.

You are not obligated to buy her a car or pay for insurance. You are required to reimburse at the mileage rate. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/11/21/irs-announces-2013-standard-mileage-rates/ 56.5 cents per mile. It's nice to 'round up' if you're willing. Kids put wear and tear on a nanny's car. It's also GREAT if you buy an extra car seat -- that way you won't have to constantly take the car seat in and out of the nanny's car.

Health care is a perk, but not required by any means. Plenty of people don't offer it.

Perks that may seem small, but are really appreciated: keeping some snacks on hand for the nanny; a drink she likes, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. Letting her use the internet during her down time at work.

Bolded above are NOT standard for nannies. I don't know anyone who pays sick days for a nanny or who allows her to use the internet at work. If you're thinking of paying for sick days, remember that the nanny will likely take them even if she doesn't get sick (who wouldn't?) so basically consider those extra vacation days you're offering.

[Anonymous]

I'd disagree that sick days are uncommon. There are plenty of nanny jobs that don't offer PTO or sick time or guaranteed hours however the ones that do are more attractive. They usually include two weeks vacation - 1 week at the employer's choosing and 1 week at the nanny's choosing, and around 3 sick days.

I do agree about not offering the Internet. It seems to be a real problem with some nannies abusing it. Someone who isn't going to take a job because they are more interested in surfing the web at nap time (usually more than nap time) isn't someone you want to hire anyway.

Its best to negotiate in terms of weekly gross pay and scheduled/guaranteed hours. Most nannies will report their average rate not their base rate. In your contract, you would write in the actual base and OT rates.

On providing a car, there are plenty of nannies that have a safe reliable car but not all nannies can meet this criteria. Using the federal mileage reimbursement is a good way to deal with the compensation but it is NOT legally required. The IRS rate only defines the maximum amount that can be reimbursed as non-taxable income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience:
-Guaranteed pay is normal. That means that if the nanny is available to work and you do not need her (because you're going out of town, you let her go home early, etc) that she still gets paid for the full day.
-paid vacation time. Nannies usually get two weeks: one is the employer's choice, one is the nanny's choice.
-paid sick days. 3-5 sick days paid for a full time nanny.
-time and a half past 40 hours. Legally required.

You are not obligated to buy her a car or pay for insurance. You are required to reimburse at the mileage rate. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/11/21/irs-announces-2013-standard-mileage-rates/ 56.5 cents per mile. It's nice to 'round up' if you're willing. Kids put wear and tear on a nanny's car. It's also GREAT if you buy an extra car seat -- that way you won't have to constantly take the car seat in and out of the nanny's car.

Health care is a perk, but not required by any means. Plenty of people don't offer it.

Perks that may seem small, but are really appreciated: keeping some snacks on hand for the nanny; a drink she likes, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. Letting her use the internet during her down time at work.

I agree with what this poster has to say. One PP mentioned taking a look at the "favorite perks" thread. You can look but I wouldn't go throwing in every possible perk that you can manage. Yes, you want to offer a competitive package, but if you plan on keeping nanny for more than a year or two then you are going to want to leave room for increase in pay and perks. Health insure, for instance, is something that most nannies don't expect, especially at the beginning of a position. Offering health insurance after a year or two would be a major perk that would help to keep your nanny happy after she has been working there for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience:
-Guaranteed pay is normal. That means that if the nanny is available to work and you do not need her (because you're going out of town, you let her go home early, etc) that she still gets paid for the full day.
-paid vacation time. Nannies usually get two weeks: one is the employer's choice, one is the nanny's choice.
-paid sick days. 3-5 sick days paid for a full time nanny.
-time and a half past 40 hours. Legally required.

You are not obligated to buy her a car or pay for insurance. You are required to reimburse at the mileage rate. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/11/21/irs-announces-2013-standard-mileage-rates/ 56.5 cents per mile. It's nice to 'round up' if you're willing. Kids put wear and tear on a nanny's car. It's also GREAT if you buy an extra car seat -- that way you won't have to constantly take the car seat in and out of the nanny's car.

Health care is a perk, but not required by any means. Plenty of people don't offer it.

Perks that may seem small, but are really appreciated: keeping some snacks on hand for the nanny; a drink she likes, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. Letting her use the internet during her down time at work.

Bolded above are NOT standard for nannies. I don't know anyone who pays sick days for a nanny or who allows her to use the internet at work. If you're thinking of paying for sick days, remember that the nanny will likely take them even if she doesn't get sick (who wouldn't?) so basically consider those extra vacation days you're offering.

Paid sick days ARE common. I find it weird that you would think they are not. 2 weeks vacation, 3-5 sick days and then some Federal Holidays (depending on what the parents get off themselves and if they would still like some help that day even if they are off). Generally you at least get Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Independence Day/Labor Day out of the Federal Days.

[Anonymous]

21:16 again. Completely forgot about federal holidays. Thank you 20:13.

Also, to the PP who said offering internet is uncommon: If you re-read my post, you'll see that I specified it as a perk.

[Anonymous]

What?? I've never heard of someone not allowing the nanny internet access. Is access to a bathroom also a perk?

[Anonymous]

Does any toilet paper go with that bathroom perk?

[Anonymous]

Whenever people "allow" this or that, you have to expect that they are referring to a young teen or child. Personally, I'm too old to be "allowed" anything.

[nannydebsays]

Anonymous wrote:So we are thinking of hiring our first nanny. What besides the hourly pay are generally part of the offer?

If we are having our nanny transport to and from school are we obligated to provide her a care, or insurance?

What is standard as far as health care?

Any other perks that I should consider offering as part of a competitive offer.

Nannies are hourly employees, entitled to overtime after 40 hours. The way to KEEP a nanny is to offer guaranteed hours, meaning that if you come home early (or take some vacation days)and let nanny leave, you don't then dock her pay.

Generally 2 weeks PTO and 5 sick days are offered, although more families are simply offering 15 days PTO, plus holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Day) and if you include some federal holidays as well that's a nice perk.

You can ask nanny to use her car, but if you have more than 2 kids, this will narrow your pool of applicants quite a bit, since most nannies don't own minivans or large SUV's. If she uses her car you pay standard IRS mileage, and you INSIST that she adds a business rider to her car insurance policy. Some employers pay for the rider, some don't.

Wait to offer help with health insurance until her 1st or 2nd anniversary with you, and remember that money isn't taxed.

It's also a nice thing to do to offer her computer access during nap times once she's finished with any kid related work she has to do, and offering her food and drink (although that's a heated topic here) is both kind and gracious. A true professional nanny will not eat you out of house and home, and will respect your leftovers and such.

And one of the biggest perks you can offer is sincere appreciation for a job well done. Thank her when she leaves each day, and be interested enough to ask how your kids did with her each day. If a nanny knows you give a darn about her, she will (again, if she is a professional) take initiative on her job, which makes you an even happier employer.