Nannying on snow days?
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Anonymous
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FTM here, still home with DS and deciding between my options as far as staying home vs hiring a nanny. The little man was a sickly guy for his first few weeks, so I'm definitely not into the idea of daycare, although I'm sure we'll enroll him in preschool in a few years, but until then I very much want to try to control SOME of the germs with which he comes into contact. I know I sound like a control freak. It's funny how you have "everything figured out" until baby is in the hospital for the first month.
Anyway, sorry, completely irrelevant. My point is, I do not have a nanny and am still researching my role as MB, deciding if its a good fit. I will probably ask some painfully obvious questions, please just realize its so I can be a great employer. My question, out of curiosity, is, what do you do about snow days? Do you follow the public school system? Do you expect them to come in? There are so many issues I can see from every side, it all seems so complicated! |
Anonymous
| I would think that if there are unsafe driving conditions, your nanny shouldn't have to come in. However if you HAVE to be at work and have no other options, you can offer for your nanny to stay over the night before snow is expected. I've done this multiple times. Good luck with your nanny search! |
Anonymous
| We follow the federal schedule for the most part. |
Anonymous
| It all depends on the woman you get. |
Anonymous
Or man. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| Nanny here. We take snow days on a case-by-case basis. If it's a snowstorm overnight that has dumped 12+ inches of snow I will likely stay home (per MB's instructions). On some snow days I go into work late once the morning rush hour is over (I normally start at 7am). My MB works from home though so we have some flexibility. |
Anonymous
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We follow the federal schedule. You don't want to follow the school system that is designed around the full bus routes. You'll end up with closures and delays when the roads are fine, daycares are open and every other office is open.
If you work in healthcare or another field where you are required to work or if you are required to telework and need childcare then you do not need to offer snow days. You should make provisions for safety though such as offering to let the nanny stay the night if she feels unsafe driving. You can also pursue a live in nanny or someone who lives close to your house. You should be upfront in the interview whether you require childcare on days when the federal government is closed which isn't often. |
Anonymous
| This is one of those situations that seperate the great bosses (who keep great nannies for years) from the meh or the awful. You should put your nanny's safety first, and if it is truly bad, ask her to stay home (especially if you have deemed it too bad for YOU to work). You should build personal/sick days into her compensation and take the snow days from here if you must, but please pay her for them. |
Anonymous
This is ridiculous. There are many jobs including doctors, nurses, first responders etc where people are deemed essential and required to report to work. There are also jobs where the employee is expected to telework and have childcare. The employer can hire a live in nanny, a nanny who lives close to her house, or offer to let the nanny stay over. These are all reasonable and common job requirements for employers who themselves do not have flexible work arrangements. |
Anonymous
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We used to follow fed closure schedule but then we had multiple times when the feds made a decision based on DC conditions and metro status but that did not match our situation in MoCo - at least not for the entire day. So we are now case by case. But obviously if there is tons of snow, we're not going to expect her in. She also lives right on a main artery and we live just off a pretty big one too so roads are normally plowed early and well.
whatever you do, do not follow school schedule as they close constantly. |
Anonymous
How about you work on your reading comprehension and read my whole post. I suggested OP consider her nanny's safety a priority. Your solutions would in fact do that, while many people just don't care. A lot of people like to have the nanny come in, despite the fact that they aren't working, so they can "get some things done", nanny's safety be damned. The teleworking is another example of it has been deemed unsafe for you to drive to work, and you should expect no more of your nanny unless you are willing to make it safe for her. That is all. |
Anonymous
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We follow the federal schedule.
However, even when there is a delay I try to arrive at work as close to my start time as possible. When the winter months are here, I watch the weather and plan accordingly. If I know we're supposed to get an inch of snow overnight, I'll wake up earlier so I can make sure my car is clear of snow and has time to warm up. I'll give myself extra time to get to work by leaving earlier too. Fortunately, my commute to work is very short. |
Anonymous
| Nannies should not have to work if the snow is bad enough to shut parts of the city down. Some parents insist on going into work even if they don't have to. |
Anonymous
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"Nannies should not have to work if the snow is bad enough to shut parts of the city down."
It's a big metro area and this board covers a wide area. Work conditions in downtown DC and metro status may not be relevant to a family living in Gaithersburg whose nanny is 5/10 minutes away. Also after the horrific disaster a few years ago of people getting stuck for hours heading home at rush hour, the feds are a bit more conservative now and if you are not in DC then fed decisions based on commute factors are again not relevant. |