new nanny chronically late

[Anonymous]

We are on day 5 with our new nanny and she has been late every single day. Usually by about 10 minutes. I have spoken with her twice about the need to be on time and nothing has changed. It's a particular issue to us because DH and I take a commuter rail to work and it doesn't come very often--so if we miss our train, we're stuck for 30 minutes waiting for the next one. Is it too much to expect that a nanny walk in the door at precisely her start time?

I guess we could look for a new nanny but I am hoping not to have to do that. We have 3-year-old twins and they are already thrown off by the departure of our previous nanny (moved out of the area for personal reasons) and I really don't want to put them through another transition. In other respects our new nanny seems very good.

Any suggestions for how to push a nanny to be on time beyond emphasizing how important it is to us?

[Anonymous]

Tell her that if she does not arrive on time, then she will leave you no option but to start looking for another nanny.

But start looking for a new nanny now.

No. There are no suggestions for how to push the nanny to be on time. Presumably she is an adult. Adults have to get to work on time; otherwise, they get fired. She needs to resolve this herself or face the consequences.

[Anonymous]

I am a 24hr nanny M-F. I manage the newish (5 months) weekend 24hr nanny. The weekend nanny only has to come in and be on time once a week. But this has never happened! She is usually 15-2O minutes late. But recently she has been up to 45 minutes late!!! I've spoken with her about this. I've alerted my boss to this, but nothing has changed!

She is a grown adult, who is severely unprofessional and disrespectful!!!!! I would fire her, but it was so much work to find a weekend nanny. Some people are just inherently untrustworthy, and won't change.

[Anonymous]

OP, I agree that this is very bad and probably a sign that you need a new nanny.

But, you could tell her that you absolutely MUST leave the house by X time, which is why she cannot be late. Adjust her required arrival time to 10 minutes before you need to leave so that you have time for a calm hand-off and just a little bit of breathing room.

But be very clear with her that this is non-negotiable and if she cannot be there on time you will have to find someone else as you cannot afford to be late to your job routinely. The only possible incentive is to dock her pay in 15 minute increments every time she is more than 5 minutes late, but if you're at that point in week 1 then you simply need to bite the bullet and start over.

[Anonymous]

Dock her pay.

[Anonymous]

You've already spoken to her about it and quite frankly, you shouldn't have needed to. This speaks volumes about her character and work ethic. You need to replace her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I agree that this is very bad and probably a sign that you need a new nanny.

But, you could tell her that you absolutely MUST leave the house by X time, which is why she cannot be late. Adjust her required arrival time to 10 minutes before you need to leave so that you have time for a calm hand-off and just a little bit of breathing room.

But be very clear with her that this is non-negotiable and if she cannot be there on time you will have to find someone else as you cannot afford to be late to your job routinely. The only possible incentive is to dock her pay in 15 minute increments every time she is more than 5 minutes late, but if you're at that point in week 1 then you simply need to bite the bullet and start over.

OP here. Thanks everyone for your comments. We actually already do exactly the bolded--we need to leave 10 minutes after her start time, which is why her being 10 minutes late is such a problem! We had this system in place with our previous nanny for some time and it worked with no problem--but then, previous nanny was always right on time.

Sigh. I agree it's not a good sign. Any other advice is welcome.

[Anonymous]

Maybe ask her what the issue is? I would be honest with her - "Nanny, we are really excited about you based on our interviews, but are very concerned that you have been 10 minutes late on each of your work days since you started. We really need you to be here exactly at your start time because we will miss the train if we do not leave exactly on time. Is there a reason that you are late every day?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I agree that this is very bad and probably a sign that you need a new nanny.

But, you could tell her that you absolutely MUST leave the house by X time, which is why she cannot be late. Adjust her required arrival time to 10 minutes before you need to leave so that you have time for a calm hand-off and just a little bit of breathing room.

But be very clear with her that this is non-negotiable and if she cannot be there on time you will have to find someone else as you cannot afford to be late to your job routinely. The only possible incentive is to dock her pay in 15 minute increments every time she is more than 5 minutes late, but if you're at that point in week 1 then you simply need to bite the bullet and start over.

OP here. Thanks everyone for your comments. We actually already do exactly the bolded--we need to leave 10 minutes after her start time, which is why her being 10 minutes late is such a problem! We had this system in place with our previous nanny for some time and it worked with no problem--but then, previous nanny was always right on time.

Sigh. I agree it's not a good sign. Any other advice is welcome.

OP, it is a VERY bad sign that she is brand new and is late every single day. At the beginning nannies put up a front that shows them as being great and then it slowly backslides. Hopefully you have only had her for a week and your children are not too attached. Find a new nanny now because I know from experience that it will only get worse.

[Anonymous]

Wow so you've already talked with her twice in 5 days and she STILL comes in late? This is not good. It wont get better.. I'd get a new nanny before this one builds any type of bond with your child. There are many good nannies out there who WILL be on time.

[Anonymous]

I am scheduled to work at 8. I arrive at 7:45 per request of my mb. I'm not paid for it but I do it anyways. Maybe if you aren't paying your nanny for that time that could be why she isn't sowing up

[Anonymous]

Op, I'm a nanny and let me tell you, on my first week on a new job, that's when I'd be on my very best behavior so if you already spoke to her twice and she still was late 5 out of 5 worked days.... I hate to say it but looks like you are not a good match and it is better to make the twins go thru the transition sooner than later. If you feel like she deserves the (6th) chance, I'd give her this week and unless she 0/5 late, I'd honestly think about a new nanny.

[Anonymous]

You've got to find a new nanny. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Has she given a reason why she has been late?
Lateness is usually a red flag. Sometimes when beginning a job, I have been late while getting used to rush hour traffic patterns, finding parking etc. But sheesh. If I was late the first two days because of that, I would leave WAY early on the third day to not repeat that. Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry OP, I agree with the others - start looking now. A nanny who can't be on time during her FIRST WEEK is going to cause so many more headaches for you down the line. This is still probationary in most jobs, so those of us who value our employment are on our very best behavior really the whole first month. This is a catastrophic sign from your nanny, especially if you've spoken to her (twice!) and it hasn't changed. Make the switch now before your kids get attached to her and it gets more difficult to replace her.