Live in nanny and going on vacation without a kid

[Anonymous]

Hi, I need advice and would appreciate some help.
We have a live in nanny and pay to her $600 a week for 5 days. We are going on vacation for a week, and leaving a kid with her home. So we thought of paying her the usual $600 + $240 for Saturday Sunday, and we thought of adding a little extra say about another $100. However, the nanny brought up pay for the nights we are away. I am not sure how to handle this. I feel that we already pay her for 2 weeks of vacation, 6 federal holidays and are planning to give her a bonus in the amount of 4-weeks salary at the end of the year.
Please note, that she stays with us all the time, all her meals are provided. She has very good living conditions on the same floor as everybody else and there are some other perks here and there. She seems very happy how we treat her. I was caught by surprise when she asked about a pay for night hours.

Any input? thank you!

[Anonymous]

You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

Also, if she lives on the same floor as your family, I promise you her "living conditions" are not as awesome as you think they are. No one wants to live literally at work right up under their boss, no matter how nice the "office" is.

[Anonymous]

MB here. I went to an out of state wedding and my nanny kept the kids because kids were not allowed at the wedding. I paid my nanny for awake hours only and this was at her suggestion. My children do not need care at night and the nanny slept a solid 8 hours each night. Also, while it rarely happens, our nanny was hired with the condition she knew we would need occasional weekend babysitting and overnights. In 5 years we've needed these about 5 times. Our nanny has been totally okay with our arrangement. Thank goodness! I'm not sure what I would do with a nanny that started a nickel and dime approach to things, nor would I do that to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

Also, if she lives on the same floor as your family, I promise you her "living conditions" are not as awesome as you think they are. No one wants to live literally at work right up under their boss, no matter how nice the "office" is.

You sound like an angry troll. From your post, there is no desirable accommodation for a live-in nanny. So why do they exist? I'm just hoping you're not a nanny and oh so happy you're not mine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MB here. I went to an out of state wedding and my nanny kept the kids because kids were not allowed at the wedding. I paid my nanny for awake hours only and this was at her suggestion. My children do not need care at night and the nanny slept a solid 8 hours each night. Also, while it rarely happens, our nanny was hired with the condition she knew we would need occasional weekend babysitting and overnights. In 5 years we've needed these about 5 times. Our nanny has been totally okay with our arrangement. Thank goodness! I'm not sure what I would do with a nanny that started a nickel and dime approach to things, nor would I do that to her.

So what would happen if you nanny decided to go out late in the evening or at night, or if one the kids woke up sick. You aren't paying her for those hours so you can't tell her what to do with her hours during unpaid time. Or do you expect her to simply work for free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

OP is here- because I think we are already giving her a nice pay package (and I am sure some of the people here jump at me bcs i said that), I don't think we should pay extra for nights. Alos, he might or might not need her during the night. She takes care of every third night if he wakes up, but that is so really so she hardly does anything at night anyway, besides may be being awaken for a few minutes if he cries without getting of the bed. Only if he cries 10-15 minutes and it's not clear from the monitor, that he is ok, she should go and check on him. Ok, I got that extra benefits don't count. I guess we get used to good things too fast thank you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

Also, if she lives on the same floor as your family, I promise you her "living conditions" are not as awesome as you think they are. No one wants to live literally at work right up under their boss, no matter how nice the "office" is.

You sound like an angry troll. From your post, there is no desirable accommodation for a live-in nanny. So why do they exist? I'm just hoping you're not a nanny and oh so happy you're not mine!

She doesn't sound at all like an angry troll, although you do given how much you added to her post that she didn't say. Not having any private space and having a bedroom next door to your bosses/charges is far from ideal. It gives her nowhere to go during her off hours to get some space away from work.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you expect her to be responsible for the kids while you are away you need to pay her. You can work out an amount she is comfortable with for the overnights but you can't expect her to not get paid. If you aren't paying her then her time is her own and she isn't responsible for the kids. You are asking her to be the responsible adult 24/7 - she is an employee, and as such needs to be compensated for that time. Most people pay regular pay for all awake hours and a set amount for while the kids are sleeping (say $75/night).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

OP is here- because I think we are already giving her a nice pay package (and I am sure some of the people here jump at me bcs i said that), I don't think we should pay extra for nights. Alos, he might or might not need her during the night. She takes care of every third night if he wakes up, but that is so really so she hardly does anything at night anyway, besides may be being awaken for a few minutes if he cries without getting of the bed. Only if he cries 10-15 minutes and it's not clear from the monitor, that he is ok, she should go and check on him. Ok, I got that extra benefits don't count. I guess we get used to good things too fast thank you

Are you okay with her leaving the house while he is sleeping seeing as he won't need her at all?
And you expect her to wake up during the night when he cries, wait a few minutes then either go back to sleep or go check on him - and she should do that for free because....?
She is an employee hired to provide childcare. She is not a 3rd parent.
You won't keep her long if you take advantage of her even if other aspects of how you treat her are good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

Also, if she lives on the same floor as your family, I promise you her "living conditions" are not as awesome as you think they are. No one wants to live literally at work right up under their boss, no matter how nice the "office" is.

You sound like an angry troll. From your post, there is no desirable accommodation for a live-in nanny. So why do they exist? I'm just hoping you're not a nanny and oh so happy you're not mine!

There's a big difference between a basement apartment and living on the same floor as the family and sharing a bathroom with the kids. I was just trying to illustrate to OP that her nanny probably sees the situation differently than she. I never said there are no desirable accommodations for a live-in. I've been one and I loved my basement apartment with my own bedroom, kitchen, living room, and entrance. I would NOT see living on the same floor as a family as a "benefit" for me, and I'm not sure who would.

[Anonymous]

Op you sound like a great Mb but you really need to pay extra for night hours. If she is responsible for the children and cannot leave she is working and needs to be compensated.

[Anonymous]

The 600 you pay her is for 5 days for x amount of hours. You can't just add on more hours expecting not to pay more. I would think you are cheap, don't have your priorities in order, and would be very offended.

[Anonymous]

I'm a nanny and if I am responsible for kids during the night I get paid my normal rate. My MB said this is fair and standard. Why is this even a question?

[Anonymous]

OP is here - it's a full time job with a salary and not an hourly rate. If I have to stay late in the office, i am not getting paid extra. It gets reflected on my bonus or some nice perk like dinner in the office or cab ride home. What is bonus for? it's for situations like this - when employee goes beyond his direct responsibilities. Sounds fine, i pay for nights, but no bonus shall be expected or at least not in the amounts we planned. There was nothing extra and beyond.
As for the leaving conditions, I am sure a darker basement is better, than a nice room in the corner with a separate bathroom. we should have thought of that. I am sure should would love walk up the stairs 2 floors all the time, especially at night.