Question about extra vacation.
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Anonymous
| Our 4-day-a-week nanny is going to get 2 extra weeks of paid vacation because we're going to be gone. Is it fair to ask her to work 4 or 5 extra days sometime in the year to partially make up for that time. She gets 3 weeks vacation anyway, so she'll be getting 5 weeks vacation in total. |
Anonymous
| No it's not. You pay her while you're gone to maintain her availability. It's not her fault you are going on vacation and don't need her. If you have a contract guaranteeing hours, you should hold end your end of the bargain. If you don't, you should consider how you'd feel if she used your vacation as job hunting time. |
Anonymous
| No. Unless you want her to go get a new job. |
Anonymous
| No, it's not reasonable to shift the hours. It is reasonable to ask her to come in and do some simple things like bring in the mail, water some plants, do any kid organizing projects that have been put off...that sort of thing. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
How many hours does she work? 3 weeks is super generous.. it usually takes a FT professional 5 years out of college to get 3 weeks. |
Anonymous
+2 This is what I state in my contract/work agreement. I'm available for pet-sitting (not house sitting as I have my own responsibilities at home), bringing in the mail, watering the plants, will go to the house to wait for a service call if required, do a closet clean out, full cleaning of the children's rooms/nursery/playroom, and so on, and I get paid fully for those weeks. If I want to coincide my own vacation with theirs and am not available for those things, it is unpaid (or taken as one of my scheduled vacation days if I prefer). I don't think anything else is fair for a FT nanny (35hr/wk+). If she's a 3-hours-in-the-afternoon, 4-day-a-week nanny, it gets a little fuzzier for me as I don't have a lot of experience with PT benefits. |
Anonymous
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I agree with PPs. You can't ask her to make up time that technically she hasn't 'lost' in the first place.
I like the idea you see on this forum of having one week's vacation of the nanny's choosing and one week of the family's choosing, so that the nanny's vacation and your vacation can overlap. |
Anonymous
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I will never get why nanny employers view the nanny's paycheck so differently from how they would view a daycare payment. She has reserved the time for you. If this is a regular gig w/ any sizable amt of time each week then it contributes a good chunk to her weekly pay and so she probably relies on it to pay the bills. You don't HAVE to pay her when you're gone, but if I were that nanny, I would be job hunting for someone willing to truly guarantee hours so I could pay my bills without having to work weekends/nights to "make-up" the time. You effectively have a "slot" in her schedule. Use it as you see fit, but pay to preserve the slot.
- an MB astounded at why other MBs don't view their regular nanny's pay as a fixed weekly expense. |
Anonymous
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PP,
You are a rare breed on these forums. It's nice to know there are MB's like you out there, just wish I could find one who is reasonable like you. Your nanny is lucky to have you. |
Anonymous
| OP you could look at the extra 2 weeks as the bonus and not do a Christmas bonus. An extra two weeks of vacation is compensation. Nannies need to stop looking at this as a windfall that doesn't count in any way toward their compensation. |
Anonymous
| If paying the nanny while you go on vacation is such a hardship, one has to question whether or not you can truly afford a vacation. Like a PP stated, her paycheck should be a fixed expense in your budget, not a means to pay for your vacation. It might be smart going forward, to have some of her vacation overlap with yours, but no it is not reasonable to forfeit hours within the time she reserves for you then turn around and lay claim on hours she does not reserve for you. |
Anonymous
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To the windfall poster...I bet you are a gem to work for
If you want to have a professional nanny...who plays with your children and teaches them..who showers daily...who helps you manage your household...who is a substitute parent when you aren't there..you have to pay for it!! Not fair to the nanny at all to exchange days. Even if she says okay, I guarantee you she won't be happy about it and will always hold that in the back of her head..you will lose loyalty. And not giving her a Christmas bonus is tacky...I cant believe someone wrote that... Signed, Nanny who got 7 weeks paid vacation. All paid holidays. And a Christmas bonus..a generous one. And a brand new car as a bonus in addition to the suv I drive the kids in *****families are out there who appreciate nannies and the wonderful care their children receive. The professional standard is 52 paid weeks a year...why would anyone accept less?? Are you telling me that you want the woman who rocks your child to sleep to lose 2 weeks of income? And I am sure you are getting that time paid so it's no skin off your back. |
Anonymous
| Thank you. That's helpful. |
Anonymous
|
My hours are guaranteed. If they leave town for 6 weeks, I'm still paid my guaranteed rate.
Only if I use more sick and vacation time than was agreed to am I paid less. |