When does the nanny week start? Mon or Sun?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We are new to the job of being employers of a nanny. Looking for some guidance.

We've had our nanny for 4 weeks. So far every week she's worked 50 hours, and we've paid time and a half for hours over 40 per our agreement. Next week she's asked for the Friday after Thanksgiving off. No problem. And we're planning to pay her 8 hours paid holiday leave on Thanksgiving. She's also taking off Tuesday for a personal appointment. We found a back up through a service. I actually have to work on Sunday, so we asked her to come in to help my spouse for 6 hours on Sunday. In no small part, to help her get some more hours next week.

She informed me this morning that the nanny week is Monday to Sunday, and so the hours she works on Sunday will be part of this week, and she should get time and a half for Sunday.

She said she's been a nanny a long time and this is always how it works.

Is that the case? Long time nannies? And long time nanny employers?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Our nanny started on a Tuesday, so her pay period runs from Tuesday through Monday. She gets the weekends off but we calculate overtime based whether she completed 40 hours prior to the overtime hours. We have always used the original starting day of the week as the beginning of the nanny pay week.

[Anonymous]

I understand what she is saying. But for me as a nanny I start my weeks on Saturday so that Friday is my end/ last day. I however work random days meaning I work all 7 days just not every week.
It's really about what works for both of you.

[Anonymous]

The week, for OT purposes can start on any day. How have you been calculating hours so far? Also, for OT purposes, PTO doesn't count. Only actual hours worked.

[Anonymous]

The week, for OT purposes can start on any day. How have you been calculating hours so far? Also, for OT purposes, PTO doesn't count. Only actual hours worked.

This. With three days off this week, she won't be getting any OT no matter when your week starts. In the future, it would be good to specify in the contract what the work week is to avoid confusion in a regular work week with no PTO.

[Anonymous]

In my own experience, my work week has always been Monday-Sunday.

With that being said, you write the paycheck OP, so you get to set whatever you want the week to be. Just be consistent. It would never occur to me to challenge my employer on this. Seems rude.

[Anonymous]

It is not reasonable to insist on OT in this case. Unless you have already established a mon-Sun work week then a "week" by the normal definition starts on Sunday. She can look at a calendar to verify this.

[Anonymous]

I've actually done research on this. Per labor laws, the work week for purposes of OT pay can be defined as a contiguous seven day period. You just have to be consistent, and ideally explicit in your work agreement. Our nanny's week runs from Sunday through the end of the following Saturday.

[Anonymous]

OP here:
Thanks for all the helpful replies. This is the first time we've asked her to work on a weekend, so we hadn't previously defined what the work week was (i.e. Sun-Sat vs. Mon-Sun). Since I had failed to be explicit, giving the nanny the benefit of the doubt and paying her overtime for Sunday.

[Anonymous]

OP, PTO is not calculated for OT, only hours worked are.

You don't need to pay OT in the example you give here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, PTO is not calculated for OT, only hours worked are.

You don't need to pay OT in the example you give here.

+1

Work week starts whenever you mutually agree it does but either way this weekend shouldn't involve OT

[Anonymous]

She did not ran ot if she's on vacation/holiday, sick, pto etc, only if she's physically present for the original 40 hrs. You can just tell her you don't need her on Sunday if you want to keep this from being an issue. Also if you pay her the ot this time you're going to set a precedent and she'll expect it everytime and she'll use this time as the reason why she's entitled toit next time.

[Anonymous]

OP here: I guess I didn't explain the situation very well.

The week prior to Thanksgiving she worked M-F 50 hours.

The week OF Thanksgiving she worked for us Sun, Mon, and Weds. She took off Tues and Friday, and we are paying her holiday hours on Thursday (8).

In question is whether or not the Sun PRIOR to Thanksgiving should count towards the week prior when she had worked 50 hours. Or the week of Thanksgiving when she's only working 20 hours (+8 of holiday PTO). If those 6 hours on Sunday count towards the prior week because the week runs Mon-Sun, then those 6 hours are time and a half. If the 6 hours are part of the Thanksgiving week, because the week runs Sun-Sat, then they are paid just her normal hourly rate.

We ended up honoring her request and paying time and a half. But thanksgiving week, she's only getting 26 hours total bc of the time she took off. Whether or not PTO is part of the count toward time and a half is a moot point.

thanks for the information, though!