Another question about guaranteed hours

[Anonymous]

We are looking for a full time nanny and interviewed someone today that made me wonder if I am being fair. I work 2 days a week and on those days I am always home by 5pm. I'm a physician though so I tell all candidates that if I ended up getting an emergency at the end of the day it is possible I might not be home until 6pm, however, in the 2 months at my current job that has never happened. So in guaranteeing hours we will guarantee up to 5pm and if I do come home late we will obviously pay for the extra time at time and a half (it would put her over 40 hours). She wanted me to guarantee until 6pm but I don't really think that is necessary. Should I not mention occasionally I might be home later? I am just trying to be fair because I don't want to be late but at the same time I don't think it's necessary to guarantee hours I may not ever use.

[Anonymous]

You do not have to guarantee every hour that she works. Just say that the job is for 40-50 hours per week, with 40 guaranteed hours. Most days end at 5 pm, but the nanny should be available until 6pm, and will be paid for all hours worked.

It's definitely wise to spell out the requirements up front, not just say that "some flexibility is required" but the purpose of guaranteed hours is to make sure the nanny has a livable salary every week, not to lock down a schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do not have to guarantee every hour that she works. Just say that the job is for 40-50 hours per week, with 40 guaranteed hours. Most days end at 5 pm, but the nanny should be available until 6pm, and will be paid for all hours worked.

It's definitely wise to spell out the requirements up front, not just say that "some flexibility is required" but the purpose of guaranteed hours is to make sure the nanny has a livable salary every week, not to lock down a schedule.

Thank you, that's what I thought and what I planned to do. This nanny was not a good fit for us anyway but she was kind of arguing with me and wanted me to guarantee those extra hours. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do not have to guarantee every hour that she works. Just say that the job is for 40-50 hours per week, with 40 guaranteed hours. Most days end at 5 pm, but the nanny should be available until 6pm, and will be paid for all hours worked.

It's definitely wise to spell out the requirements up front, not just say that "some flexibility is required" but the purpose of guaranteed hours is to make sure the nanny has a livable salary every week, not to lock down a schedule.

You're nuts. Most normal people have other plans after work, but if you pay super high rates, she may be happy to cancel her plans for you.

[Anonymous]

What happens if you need to stay until 6 one day, but your nanny has a restaurant reservation for 5:30? If you're not paying her to be available for that time, she's free to go and it falls on you to find someone to cover it. Paying for an extra 2 hours a week is probably worth avoiding that stress and building some good will with the person you depend on to care for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happens if you need to stay until 6 one day, but your nanny has a restaurant reservation for 5:30? If you're not paying her to be available for that time, she's free to go and it falls on you to find someone to cover it. Paying for an extra 2 hours a week is probably worth avoiding that stress and building some good will with the person you depend on to care for your child.

Nanny here. While I agree the OP should offer guaranteed hours, I don't think she needs to include the possibility of the nanny needing to stay late (especially if only one hour), if it will happen as rarely as the OP says. As a nanny, I know that on occasion I might need to stay later than scheduled, and plan for that. The parents may have to stay late at work unexpectedly, get stuck in traffic, or have some kind of emergency. That's just part of being a nanny and why families like the flexibility we provide. It may be inconvenient for me to stay late every once in a while but I wouldn't expect the family to guarantee those potential hours, or come up with one hour of back up care. Of course a family should always have an emergency back up - family close by, a neighbor, friend, etc. - that they can count on and trust with their kids. But in this situation, you guarantee the base hours of the job, and tell nanny that on occasion she may need to stay late in case of a work emergency. Provide as much notice for staying late as possible. And be flexible - if nanny has an appointment or something she can't change/miss - maybe let her take the kids with her and you meet her there - or have your spouse get home early - neighbor take the kids for one hour - etc. But I think in most cases the nanny would be okay with staying a bit late.

[Anonymous]

Agree with first pp. If someone is regularly home late then the guarantee should be revisited. But if this is once every few months then it is not necessary to pay all the time for those hours.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you need to guarantee the hour, but I don't think its fair to also expect that availability if you don't. I think it'd be fine to ask if she can stay late on the rare occasion that you need it, and if she can great for all involved, but you should also have a backup plan in case she has plans. She should be free to make plans with time you are not paying her for on a regular basis. Basically I'm saying that it should be a 2 way street. Its fine to not guarantee it, but understand that she doesn't have to guarantee it either.

[Anonymous]

You're looking for a very part time nanny (2 days). You will probably find someone willing to take on this flexibility -- if it's as rare as you say, it really isn't a big deal for most normal people. Everyone gets stuck late at work every once in awhile.

However, in general, with 2 days a week, you're going to have more candidates who either a) don't really need the job (just want to earn extra cash) and so are less interested in being even potentially on call, b) really want a full time job, and so may be booking lots of evening sitting to make up the difference, or c) really want a full time job and will leave if they find one (possibly not as a nanny, too). So, your "pot" may be a lot smaller to start with.

I had a wonderful part time nanny who was a student the other days of the week. Hopefully you can find someone like that.

[Anonymous]

OP states she is looking for a full time nanny

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP states she is looking for a full time nanny

Yes that's correct. I only work 2 days but need additional help on other days and after having several part-time nannies (several because we have moved) we decided to find someone full time. I do have family very close by who could help in an emergency if the nanny absolutely couldn't stay. As I said though, in 2 months I've never been home after 5, I'm usually home by 4:30 but will guarantee until 5. As I said also this is not my first nanny (although the others were not in DC) and as a physician the nannies have always known my schedule was somewhat unpredictable. No one has ever had a problem with it but that's why I am always clear about it in interviews. If I am going to be late I always let the nanny know as soon as possible. We also offer pay commensurate with the nannies flexibility. Unfortunately, because DH is also a physician his schedule isn't any more predictable than mine and he works farther from home.

[Anonymous]

OP - I think it's totally reasonable to guarantee hours until 5 PM with the expectation of some flexibility. We have this arrangement with our nanny and were up front about it during the hiring process and did not have anyone balk at it. DH and I both have demanding and unpredictable jobs and although one of us can be home on time 95% of the time, every now and again someone will get stuck or pulled into an emergency meeting and end up being late (or hit traffic, etc.). Our nanny knows this and has no problem with it. We also have days where we know we'll both be late in advance and let her know and she has never had an issue. If she has a day where she absolutely has to leave on time, she lets us know in the morning so we can figure something else out (we have family in town to step in in a pinch) and if we know we are running late we text her as soon as possible. We pay her overtime if she stays late, and we try to have the flexibility go both ways (ie: coming home a little early or going in a little late if she has a doctor's appointment or important plans or something, without counting it as PTO). Honestly, not one single nanny we interviewed IRL had an issue with this and our nanny has never raised an issue (far from it - I think she likes the occasional and unexpected overtime) so I don't think you are being unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

OP I agree that guaranteeing 40 and being upfront that you may need 50 is perfectly fine. My physician friends usually have nannies because daycare hours don't line up with their schedules. There are many nannies who are a great fit for this arrangement. It sounds like the one you interviewed isn't a good fit with a physician's schedule.

The other 2 things to consider is being clear about snow days and extra vacation. There are nannies in this area who expect snow days for any situation not just safety. You should be upfront that you need to go in so if bad weather is predicted you could offer to pick her up or have her spend the night. You could also search for someone who has less of a commute to your house. Some nannies hope that you will take several weeks off and she'll get a huge amount of extra vacation. If your schedule only allows for the vacation in your offer, its could to make a point about that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do not have to guarantee every hour that she works. Just say that the job is for 40-50 hours per week, with 40 guaranteed hours. Most days end at 5 pm, but the nanny should be available until 6pm, and will be paid for all hours worked.

It's definitely wise to spell out the requirements up front, not just say that "some flexibility is required" but the purpose of guaranteed hours is to make sure the nanny has a livable salary every week, not to lock down a schedule.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP: If you have not settled this yet, I offer this;

I hired and contracted a nanny but found getting home by 5:30 to be very, very stressful and sometimes impossible. So I altered her contract to 6pm and am now less stressed. When I get home early, I change clothes, clean up a bit, prep dinner, ect. sometimes I even run an errand after work.

Here's my logic: Not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things and happy nanny = happy family and finally, this is my favorite: flexible/free time for me!