Do nannies expect $ when they don't work?

[Anonymous]

We employ a part time nanny 2.5 days per week, and she has been with us for 2 years. We don't pay her a salary, but an hourly rate (meaning we pay her for any overtime). Even for holidays when she doesn't work, as well as weeks when we are away, we pay her what the normal hours are plus half of her monthly medical insurance.

I am self employed and only get paid for the hours I work. This last week, she called out sick on Monday and therefore I had to scramble for childcare for part of the day, but had to cancel the rest of my clients (thus, I can't bill for all of those hours). Then, she said she can't make it tomorrow, so I've found a back up sitter to cover the day while I work, but I obviously will be out the same amount of money to pay her as I would the regular nanny.

So nannies, if your employer has to pay someone else to cover for you because you can't make it to work, do you also expect to be paid?

[Anonymous]

Yes, but I negotiated sick days. My Mb unfortunately has no back up care. Which is a mistake.

[Anonymous]

Yes as long as it's under my PTO time ( or vacation time).

I have 10 PTO days per calendar year and 2 weeks (14 full days). Plus all major holidays.

[Anonymous]

Maybe if you double her rates, you won't need you to give her any benefits. Which do you prefer?

[Anonymous]

Frankly I think nannies are a bad match for those who do not get paid if they do not work because of just this problem.

[Anonymous]

Would you like to mention, OP, what hourly rates (or fees), you bill your clients, when you do work? I suspect what you charge for your services has a significant built-in buffer to absorb your added costs of being self-employed, such as taxes, insurance, and other additional fees.
Plus your varied work schedule.

Please don't make the GRAVE error of penny-pinching the nanny's meager wages, just because you don't get the same "benefits" that she expects.

If you manage to retain the same nanny for more than six months, you should count your blessings, and compensate your child's nanny accordingly. That should be your primary concern here, not your gross fear of overpaying the nanny.

Revolving-door primary caregivers cause enormous
damage to the development of a young child. Hence, the poor reputation of high-turnover daycare workers.

[Anonymous]

If you offer PTO, OP, then yes, you should pay her when she calls out and count it towards PTO. If she has exceeded her PTO, then no, her time off would be without pay.

For such a part time nanny, it would be unusual to have very much, if any, PTO. It's a good idea, of course, but not common.

You also should have a reliable back up plan for childcare. If she is taking off two days in a week, you may have a reliability problem with her.

[Anonymous]

OP here - we pay her $30 an hour plus $300 a month toward her health care. I was able to find back up care for today, but the money I budgeted for her is now going for someone else, which I think is relevant. As I said, she is not on salary and we have no contract. She was hired as a part time baby sitter initially, and that has not changed, but I just gave her a 10% raise in January to $33 per dour. For the person that asked, my hourly rate that I charge clients is $50, but there is travel time between clients and paperwork time I don't get paid for. Basically, once we pay her, we just break even.

[Anonymous]

OP again - sorry, what is PTO?
And maybe I wasn't clear. We pay her for the hours she would normally work in a given week even if she doesn't work that many hours (if I am home early, if it is a holiday, etc). The rare occasion when she stays an extra half hour, we round up to the next whole hour and pay her for all of her hours worked, which is what I meant by overtime (which I feel is obviously what she deserves if she is here more hours - she should get paid for all the hours she works).

[Anonymous]

PTO is paid time off.

Unless your nanny is super nanny, you are being extremely generous in how much you pay her. You pay her too much.

Do you give her vacation or sick days? I understand you pay her when you go away, but what about when she needs vacation or gets sick days? Is that something you negotiated upfront? It doesn't appear to be the case.
And yes, while she is a part time sitter, you do have set hours for her, it isn't as if you call her and see if she is available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PTO is paid time off.

Unless your nanny is super nanny, you are being extremely generous in how much you pay her. You pay her too much.

Do you give her vacation or sick days? I understand you pay her when you go away, but what about when she needs vacation or gets sick days? Is that something you negotiated upfront? It doesn't appear to be the case.
And yes, while she is a part time sitter, you do have set hours for her, it isn't as if you call her and see if she is available.

We pay her the amount we do because we believe that people deserve a living wage. What do most nannies get paid? Much less than that would seem impossible to live on in DC. We do not give her vacation or sick days, because if I don't work, I don't get paid and therefore have no funds to pay her. Each year, I save throughout the year to be able to pay her for the summer because I don't have students during the summer (my work is tied to the school year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTO is paid time off.

Unless your nanny is super nanny, you are being extremely generous in how much you pay her. You pay her too much.

Do you give her vacation or sick days? I understand you pay her when you go away, but what about when she needs vacation or gets sick days? Is that something you negotiated upfront? It doesn't appear to be the case.
And yes, while she is a part time sitter, you do have set hours for her, it isn't as if you call her and see if she is available.

We pay her the amount we do because we believe that people deserve a living wage. What do most nannies get paid? Much less than that would seem impossible to live on in DC. We do not give her vacation or sick days, because if I don't work, I don't get paid and therefore have no funds to pay her. Each year, I save throughout the year to be able to pay her for the summer because I don't have students during the summer (my work is tied to the school year).

Unless your nanny has a lot of experience or some fantastic degree, $20 an hour is on the higher end of what to pay a nanny. It is nice that you want to pay what you consider to be a decent way, but it also sounds like you wouldn't be struggling so much financially if you found someone less expensive.

[Anonymous]

Your nanny is a part time employee without a contract stating the explicit benefit of PTO. I would not pay her when she does not work. Benefits are certainly not standard for part time work and have not been agreed upon otherwise.

[Anonymous]

You pay her $33/hr? How many children?

That is way over market unless she is watching 4 children for more than 20 hours.

You are paying too much, if you are in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTO is paid time off.

Unless your nanny is super nanny, you are being extremely generous in how much you pay her. You pay her too much.

Do you give her vacation or sick days? I understand you pay her when you go away, but what about when she needs vacation or gets sick days? Is that something you negotiated upfront? It doesn't appear to be the case.
And yes, while she is a part time sitter, you do have set hours for her, it isn't as if you call her and see if she is available.

We pay her the amount we do because we believe that people deserve a living wage. What do most nannies get paid? Much less than that would seem impossible to live on in DC. We do not give her vacation or sick days, because if I don't work, I don't get paid and therefore have no funds to pay her. Each year, I save throughout the year to be able to pay her for the summer because I don't have students during the summer (my work is tied to the school year).

You are right and deserve to be commended for your respect for the work that dedicated nannies do. Your paying the nanny $33./hr speaks volumes of the outstanding human being you are. I hope you continue to be vocal about this very important issue.

There are countless parents I know who earn quadruple your income, yet pay their child's nanny half as much as you do. You are outstanding and richly deserve all the best.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,
on behalf of all nannies who love their work