Should I expect my employer to pay me while they are vacationing?

[Anonymous]

I'll make this short.

In my contract the family is going on two one week vacations, I am also paid two weeks vacation.

However, after I was hired they decided to take another week of vacation! Pretty much leaving me without pay for that week, at least that's how I look at it.

I fully expect to be compensated that week since I was never aware of a third vacation and I was depending on working/making money that week.

Should they compensate me? And how do I bring this up!? I don't want to be rude...

[Anonymous]

If they decide to take the time off, they need to pay you. You aren't refusing to work. You also need to amend your contract to state that you are paid for all vacations of their choosing, I've never heard of a family specifying how much time they are going to take off before.

[Anonymous]

You should be paid for it just like they would have to pay a daycare if they took their kids on vacation for a week - they're reserving your time and expertise and you ARE available to work so you are paid for it. They may ask you to bring in the mail, get on top of some laundry, organize the kids' closets, or otherwise do more in-depth versions of your regular tasks while they're away, but it's not okay for them to just not pay you.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are getting bad advice.

Guaranteed pay is a perk you need to negotiate. It is not standard for hourly jobs. If the parents used to work, or currently work, hourly jobs, it may never have crossed their minds that you would expect anything different.

That being said, it is a very common benefit in the nanny world. If you were an employer coming on and asking, I'd say, absolutely, you should offer this.

I'd definitely bring it up, but just tread lightly. Don't make comparisons to daycare or bring up issues of fairness. It's a benefit that you overlooked requesting and now want to retroactively add. Hopefully, they will think its reasonable and add it.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP. The OP is getting bad advice.

There is no entitlement to get paid solely because you are available to work. If you wanted to get paid while the family is away, you needed to negotiate guaranteed pay for your standard hours 52 weeks a year. There are many nannies who negotiate for and receive this perk, but it is not nearly as universal as the nannies on here want you to believe. It's an expensive add-on that parents need to factor in when they set the hourly rate for your job.

Also, the daycare model-where parents pay whether or not they use the service-doesn't work here. Daycare centers charge an annual tuition, then divide that number across a set period of time (9 or 12 months) for the convenience of parents. Most school systems pay their professional teachers the same way. Nannies get paid hourly rather than on an annual basis, and the default rule for hourly pay jobs is no pay when your employer does not need you.

Of course, feel free to explain your situation to the parents and ask that they pay you.

[Anonymous]

Agree with 19:57. Except that I absolutely do think the daycare model is relevant. the nanny family reserves the nanny's time, whether the opt to use it or not. Most nannies cannot easily make up the time they miss from their FT job. But this is an argument for why a family SHOULD pay a nanny 52 weeks a year; it does not mean it's mandatory and it certainly DOES need to be negotiated and clearly spelled out because it's so unusual compared to other hrly jobs.

I do not see it as an "expensive add-on". I view nanny's pay as a constant - if i can afford to pay it 51 weeks, I can afford 52. We don't go on tons of vacation though. If you can afford 3 weeks of vacation a year i'm hard pressed to see how you cannot afford to pay your nanny on a consistent basis though.

[Anonymous]

I don't think OP is getting bad advice. While guaranteed hours should be negotiated upfront, there are relatively standard(as standard as anything in this industry) and can be found easily if OPs employers choose not to agree to it. They are changing the agreement if it specifically spelled out how much vacation they would take, and OP has a right to negotiate this change to the agreement.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are getting bad advice.

Guaranteed pay is a perk you need to negotiate. It is not standard for hourly jobs. If the parents used to work, or currently work, hourly jobs, it may never have crossed their minds that you would expect anything different.

That being said, it is a very common benefit in the nanny world. If you were an employer coming on and asking, I'd say, absolutely, you should offer this.

I'd definitely bring it up, but just tread lightly. Don't make comparisons to daycare or bring up issues of fairness. It's a benefit that you overlooked requesting and now want to retroactively add. Hopefully, they will think its reasonable and add it.

This. +100.

[Anonymous]

No they don't have to pay you. But than you don't have to be available when they return.

[Anonymous]

Guaranteed hours are standard in nanny jobs, OP. Just as with any other form of childcare, you pay regardless of whether your child attends or not. You do have to educate new nanny employers about this, as you can see, because many would like to take advantage of your mutual ignorance by convincing you that their lack of policy is standard, but it isn't. Talk to your employers, use daycare as an example of something they'd have to pay for even if they pulled their son out for a week of vacationing, and make the offer to take care of things around the house while they're away.

An alternative is banking hours, but I never recommend that.

[Anonymous]

ofcorse; no question,their have to pay you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No they don't have to pay you. But than you don't have to be available when they return.

+1

[Anonymous]

Guaranteed hours are standard in nanny jobs, OP. Just as with any other form of childcare, you pay regardless of whether your child attends or not. You do have to educate new nanny employers about this, as you can see, because many would like to take advantage of your mutual ignorance by convincing you that their lack of policy is standard, but it isn't. Talk to your employers, use daycare as an example of something they'd have to pay for even if they pulled their son out for a week of vacationing, and make the offer to take care of things around the house while they're away.

An alternative is banking hours, but I never recommend that.

This poster is wrong. Guaranteed hours are a negotiated perk. An important and fair one, if you ask me, but not a standard by a long shot. It isn't the same as a day care situation at all, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that your contract should have spelled this out so you wouldn't be in the position of having to bring up something like this later, when they may not be willing to alter the contract.

I do agree with the PP that you shouldn't bank hours. This could easily turn into a situation that would be inconvenient and stressful for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they decide to take the time off, they need to pay you. You aren't refusing to work. You also need to amend your contract to state that you are paid for all vacations of their choosing, I've never heard of a family specifying how much time they are going to take off before.

+1

[Anonymous]

We pay a weekly salary regardless. However, we ask that hours are made up, either checking on the house while we are away, watching our dog, etc., all with the understanding that make up hours or times have to be agreeable to/convenient for the caregiver.