yearly raise and petty cash questions

[Anonymous]

We have a wonderful nanny that we love. We are coming up on the 1 year employment anniversary and we plan to give her a raise. What is fair/standard practice? For nannies--would you prefer increase salary or adding healthcare stipend?

An unrelated question--she is going to start taking DS who is 15 months old on bigger outings (indoor gyms, museums etc) instead of just staying local. What is typical for weekly petty cash to cover travel and entrance fees?

[Anonymous]

We give our nanny a 5%-8% raise each year. We also added health insurance after the first year. She has been with us 5+ years.

For petty cash we used to do a cash reimbursement system (think big envelope, cash, receipts, itemized ledger), but it got to be a pain so we soon gave her a credit card and she submits all of the receipts. If she pays for anything in cash we reimburse her.

[Anonymous]

You can also get her a prepaid card to use weekly for petty cash. You can keep track of what is being spent that way (not to say you shouldn't trust your nanny but it's nice to have an idea of what was spent).

$1 or so an hour seems standard. It also depends on how long she has been with you, how much she makes, etc.

[Anonymous]

My raises have always been about a dollar per hour. If she pays part of her health insurance, the tax benefit may be greater if it was given as health insurance stipend. Ask her.

Petty cash varies on how much she'll need. Is she taking the child to lunch? I shop and run errands for my employers. We used to do cash, but they got me credit card. It is much easier if you expect to go over $30/$40 a week.

[Anonymous]

My boss always give 60 backs.

[Anonymous]

M here-if she is already paid within the market $1.
Cash varies on how much she'll need.

[Anonymous]

we have usually done 3 - 5% as a raise. this is sustainable for us - $1/hr each year would not be as we just celebrated our 5 yr anniversary with the nanny this year and hope she will be with us for at least 1.5 more years, possibly more. a $1/hr raise each year would mean we could no longer afford her after just a few years since her hrs are 50/week.

[Anonymous]

It also depends on how you started her salary.If you started low to mid range then 3% -5%. If you started her at the high end of the market then 1% - 2%.

[Anonymous]

Agree