Nanny wants to bank hours

[Anonymous]

Our nanny has needed to take a number of 1/2 days off in the past few weeks, and is out of PTO. I can continue to accommodate these absences in terms of covering the childcare, but I can't afford to pay her for them (her PTO accrues at 1 day per month (12 days a year, all her choice), so she won't have a new "bank" as of Jan. 1).

Her regular schedule is 40 hours/wk. She has asked if we can bank the hours to use in another week for a date night or something so that she doesn't lose the income. On the one hand, that sounds great. On the other hand, I can't legally do that without paying overtime for those hours if they are shifted to another week, correct? If that's the case, I will have to tell her no.

Here's an example: Nanny needs Wednesday morning off this week for an appointment (4 hours). She is out of PTO, so she loses 4 hours of pay for that day. She would like to work those 4 hours on a weekend day next week, after she's already worked a 40 hour week.

[Anonymous]

I should add that all hours are not equal to me; I can't necessarily "find" 4 hours in the same week where I need coverage that will work with her schedule.

[Anonymous]

That's not banking earned hours. That's making up time.

Tell her what's acceptable to you and what works for you. If having her over on a weekend for four hours doesn't work for your lifestyle, then say no.

[Anonymous]

Stupid. Do not do this.

[Anonymous]

No. Her issue that she went through all her PTO.

[Anonymous]

Legally, she can only do this within a pay period. You could always offer to give her extra hours, however, in a different pay period and just adjust her pay accordingly.

[Anonymous]

OP, does this actually work for you? If you have a nanny that works while you are at work, then it doesn't seem like this works for you. So she'll take hours off during your work hours, you'll have to find and pay for back-up care, and then you have to find extra hours that same week that you could use her even though you don't need her?

That wouldn't work for me anyway. She used up all her PTO. That's that.

[Anonymous]

Don't do this.

[Anonymous]

Agree. This doesn't make sense. If the nanny had half a brain she would realize that she could make up the money babysitting for someone else. She should be thankful that you are OK with her taking leave without pay. Many employers couldn't accommodate this.

[Anonymous]

If I ran out of paid days off, I wouldn't expect to be paid for any extra days. I've never understood this. If I need to leave the country unexpectedly, and like my job, and employers, I don't expect to be paid for those days, especially if they are not included in my contract agreement.

[Anonymous]

If I ran out of paid days off, I wouldn't expect to be paid for any extra days. I've never understood this. If I need to leave the country unexpectedly, and like my job, and employers, I don't expect to be paid for those days, especially if they are not included in my contract agreement.

You're clearly not a nanny. Mpst nannies do not behave like responsible adults or professional employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If I ran out of paid days off, I wouldn't expect to be paid for any extra days. I've never understood this. If I need to leave the country unexpectedly, and like my job, and employers, I don't expect to be paid for those days, especially if they are not included in my contract agreement.

You're clearly not a nanny. Mpst nannies do not behave like responsible adults or professional employees.

That's a ridiculous statement. I can't tell if you are being serious or not but I'm an MB and I think that's a really stupid thing to say. I've had several wonderful nannies for my children who were both responsible and professional.

[Anonymous]

OP here: the reason I can accomodate the time off is that I work from home. If I'm not in a busy period, I just cover the time and finish up whatever wasn't done at night. Not ideal, but better than a new nanny search. If I am busy, then yes, I do have to pay for backup care, another reason I'm not interested in paying 1.5x for other hours.

Except for the frequency of these appointments, she is an excellent, very reliable nanny, so I'm not looking to replace her. She even schedules the appointments far enough in advance that I can find backup, so she's not leaving me in the lurch, exactly.

To the poster who quibbled with the definition of "banking" hours: what you describe is exactly the same thing. Overtime is to be paid when working more than 40 hours a week; you can't get around that rule by paying in advance.

I think I will tell her that if we can use her for extra hours during the same week, we'll do it, but otherwise I can't make it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If I ran out of paid days off, I wouldn't expect to be paid for any extra days. I've never understood this. If I need to leave the country unexpectedly, and like my job, and employers, I don't expect to be paid for those days, especially if they are not included in my contract agreement.

You're clearly not a nanny. Mpst nannies do not behave like responsible adults or professional employees.

Actually, I'm a nanny, and have 15+ years of experience. I've always operated like this, and I'm a lot happier for it. If I have to go to a funeral, and I've exceeded my paid days, I'll go to the funeral, because attending my great-aunt's homegoing has no dollar amount. and you know what? a lot of clients, have STILL paid me...go figure.

[Anonymous]

Heck no, don't do this. Maybe she'll stop taking all these days off if she knows she's not going to get paid. If you agree then she'll continue taking 1/2 days and it will continue to be frustrating to you!