Nanny 101?

[Anonymous]

Forgive me for such a general question but I am new to this and have no idea where to start. I have used a daycare the first year of my daughter's life, and are now expecting #2 and thinking about switching over to a nanny. A couple of questions:
-How much is reasonable to pay for two young kids?
-Is 40 hours a week the usual amount of hours? Will they occasionally work a bit later in evenings, or is that too much?
-Do we have to pay for health insurance? or do some nannies have benefits from their husband's job?
-What happens if the kids get a cold, will the nanny still watch them or do the parents need to stay home (as with daycare)?
-How much vacation or paid time off is typically expected? What about sick days (if the nanny or a family member of hers is sick?)
-Will the nanny take the kids to an occasional music class, or anything like that? Do I need to provide a car, or will they use theirs?
-Do I need to have lunches packed/prepared or is it enough to just have food in the house?
-What else is usually part of nanny's duties?

Thanks for an insight you can share!

[Anonymous]

Please do a few searches here and you'll find all your answers.

[Anonymous]

-How much is reasonable to pay for two young kids?
~A good range is $15-$20/hour depending on the experience and qualifications of the nanny.

-Is 40 hours a week the usual amount of hours? Will they occasionally work a bit later in evenings, or is that too much?
~A lot of nannies actually work over 40 hours a week, some up to 50 or 60. Yes they can work later in the evenings but make sure the hours are determined ahead of time, so you know nanny will be available.

-Do we have to pay for health insurance? or do some nannies have benefits from their husband's job?
~You don't have to do anything. Some families offer health insurance, some don't. Not all nannies are married. I am a single nanny and have always bought individual health insurance and paid for it myself. Now that is required by the new healthcare law.

-What happens if the kids get a cold, will the nanny still watch them or do the parents need to stay home (as with daycare)?
~Yes nanny will stay with the kids when they are sick. I would ask and expect the parents to stay home if the kids are really sick - very contagious, high fever, vomiting.

-How much vacation or paid time off is typically expected? What about sick days (if the nanny or a family member of hers is sick?)
~For a full time nanny, the typical benefits include 2 weeks paid vacation, 1 week paid sick, paid federal holidays. You should also be paying legally, on the books.

-Will the nanny take the kids to an occasional music class, or anything like that? Do I need to provide a car, or will they use theirs?
~Of course, the nanny will want to take the kids out to activities and classes. They want to get out of the house everyday. Some families provide cars, some don't. Lots of nannies drive their own car for work. Just provide car seats and mileage reimbursement, and make sure she has sufficient insurance coverage.

-Do I need to have lunches packed/prepared or is it enough to just have food in the house?
~The nanny can prepare meals for the kids. It would be very nice if you offer food to her for her lunch as well.

-What else is usually part of nanny's duties?
~Light housekeeping pertaining to the children, children's laundry, children's meals, driving to school/activities, taking kids on fun outings (library, playground), bathing them, and of course their health and safety.

[Anonymous]

Hi! I hope I help with your questions! Typically a rate hourly is around $15. Since you are offering a full time position at 40 hours a week, you can go with a weekly rate. This is based on what you can afford, and what is average in your area. In my area, a live out nanny full time can expect to make anywhere from $300-500 a week. You will want to offer an overtime rate for anything over 40 hours. I have never been offered health insurance but you will have a happy employee if you did. If your child is contagious you can leave it up to the nanny to decide what she is willing to expose herself to. Typically with just minor illnesses expect nanny to be there. For vacation, I get two weeks and 3 sick days paid. I can go over but it becomes unpaid at that point. You can do different and go by what you have at your work. I drive to all activities. I use my car and get paid $.56 per mile and other times use family car with them paying for gas with a charge card. Provide just food in your house, it is my job to prepare meals for the child and if asked also sometimes prep meals for the parents too. As for extra job duties, I help with laundry for child, dishes, and cleanup of anything involving child. It is no problem for me while child is napping to help out with light chores but anything more, I begin to feel like a house slave. I have been asked to clean toilets, wash dogs, vacuum,etc and that was horrible. It sounds like you are very nice and will be fair with your new employee. To protect yourself, I'd go legal route with taxes and documented worker. With your hours offered, taxed, insurance possibly offered and paid vacation, I think you will have no trouble finding a great fit for your family! I'm tempted to send you my resume even! Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi! I hope I help with your questions! Typically a rate hourly is around $15. Since you are offering a full time position at 40 hours a week, you can go with a weekly rate. This is based on what you can afford, and what is average in your area. In my area, a live out nanny full time can expect to make anywhere from $300-500 a week. You will want to offer an overtime rate for anything over 40 hours. I have never been offered health insurance but you will have a happy employee if you did. If your child is contagious you can leave it up to the nanny to decide what she is willing to expose herself to. Typically with just minor illnesses expect nanny to be there. For vacation, I get two weeks and 3 sick days paid. I can go over but it becomes unpaid at that point. You can do different and go by what you have at your work. I drive to all activities. I use my car and get paid $.56 per mile and other times use family car with them paying for gas with a charge card. Provide just food in your house, it is my job to prepare meals for the child and if asked also sometimes prep meals for the parents too. As for extra job duties, I help with laundry for child, dishes, and cleanup of anything involving child. It is no problem for me while child is napping to help out with light chores but anything more, I begin to feel like a house slave. I have been asked to clean toilets, wash dogs, vacuum,etc and that was horrible. It sounds like you are very nice and will be fair with your new employee. To protect yourself, I'd go legal route with taxes and documented worker. With your hours offered, taxed, insurance possibly offered and paid vacation, I think you will have no trouble finding a great fit for your family! I'm tempted to send you my resume even! Good luck to you!

Okay this is all wrong. You can not go with a weekly rate, a nanny is an hourly employee. Also the rate is not based on what you can afford!! It's based on what the nanny charges, and the rates where you live. You state a good rate is $15/hour which is $600/week for 40 hours - not the $300-$500 you suggested. And you have to pay overtime for over 40 hours, it's the law. I really wish nannies would learn all of these basics, because you make all of us look bad.

[Anonymous]

Okay first of all, that is my response that you are trying to prove wrong even though you are just repeating everything I said. As someone who is actually a nanny and has been for 12 years, you absolutely can pay a weekly rate for a nanny for 40 hours. And for full time it is typically less than hourly because you are offering more hours. At $600 a week, you would be making $2400 a month which is incredibly high and that's where the OP figuring out what she can actually afford vs daycare comes from. I can also see where you clearly missed the part where I typed if she goes over 40 hours, it becomes overtime. So sick of people like you not actually reading posts before commenting. Let the big girls talk now.

[Anonymous]

$325-$450 live-in; $8-12/hour live-out -- for a nanny who is 18-20 years old or has less than two years verifiable child care experience. Remember, cost will vary widely depending upon your location.
$450-$600 live-in; $10-15/hour live-out -- for a nanny who is 21 years or older, has two or more years verifiable child care experience, or has no prior experience but has a college education.
$450-800 live-in; $10-20/hour live-out (higher in major metro markets) -- for a nanny with two + years of experience and/or a college degree in a child-related field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay first of all, that is my response that you are trying to prove wrong even though you are just repeating everything I said. As someone who is actually a nanny and has been for 12 years, you absolutely can pay a weekly rate for a nanny for 40 hours. And for full time it is typically less than hourly because you are offering more hours. At $600 a week, you would be making $2400 a month which is incredibly high and that's where the OP figuring out what she can actually afford vs daycare comes from. I can also see where you clearly missed the part where I typed if she goes over 40 hours, it becomes overtime. So sick of people like you not actually reading posts before commenting. Let the big girls talk now.

WRONG. Your post actually is pretty jacked up. I'm not PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay first of all, that is my response that you are trying to prove wrong even though you are just repeating everything I said. As someone who is actually a nanny and has been for 12 years, you absolutely can pay a weekly rate for a nanny for 40 hours. And for full time it is typically less than hourly because you are offering more hours. At $600 a week, you would be making $2400 a month which is incredibly high and that's where the OP figuring out what she can actually afford vs daycare comes from. I can also see where you clearly missed the part where I typed if she goes over 40 hours, it becomes overtime. So sick of people like you not actually reading posts before commenting. Let the big girls talk now.

Sorry sweetie but you've got a lot to learn. I am a nanny as well, and can't believe you've been one for 12 years and don't know your rights. Please read this:

"Nannies and other 'domestic service employees' are classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as non-exempt workers. The term non-exempt employee refers to a worker who IS subject to the terms of the FLSA regarding such issues as overtime compensation and minimum wage coverage, contemporaneous time tracking recordkeeping, as well as how frequently the worker must be paid. In simple terms, the household employee is required to be paid an hourly wage and is entitled to overtime pay per the provisions of the FLSA. When your household employee receives a "salary" that covers a work week of more than 40 hours, your employment agreement must explicitly state the regular and overtime rates of pay. See our exclusive Hourly Rate Calculator for help. It is important to note that the FLSA specifically calls out domestic employment (housekeepers, maids, nannies, etc.) in the statue as non-exempt employees, covered by the rules and protections of the FLSA. This is not a grey area, subject to individual interpretation."

Source: http://www.4nannytaxes.com/index.cfm/resources/nannyhousekeeper-faq-list/exempt-nonexempt-employment/

[Anonymous]

Divide the weekly salary by the number of hours worked. Result is HOURLY PAY RATE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:-How much is reasonable to pay for two young kids?
~A good range is $15-$20/hour depending on the experience and qualifications of the nanny.

-Is 40 hours a week the usual amount of hours? Will they occasionally work a bit later in evenings, or is that too much?
~A lot of nannies actually work over 40 hours a week, some up to 50 or 60. Yes they can work later in the evenings but make sure the hours are determined ahead of time, so you know nanny will be available.

-Do we have to pay for health insurance? or do some nannies have benefits from their husband's job?
~You don't have to do anything. Some families offer health insurance, some don't. Not all nannies are married. I am a single nanny and have always bought individual health insurance and paid for it myself. Now that is required by the new healthcare law.

-What happens if the kids get a cold, will the nanny still watch them or do the parents need to stay home (as with daycare)?
~Yes nanny will stay with the kids when they are sick. I would ask and expect the parents to stay home if the kids are really sick - very contagious, high fever, vomiting.

-How much vacation or paid time off is typically expected? What about sick days (if the nanny or a family member of hers is sick?)
~For a full time nanny, the typical benefits include 2 weeks paid vacation, 1 week paid sick, paid federal holidays. You should also be paying legally, on the books.

-Will the nanny take the kids to an occasional music class, or anything like that? Do I need to provide a car, or will they use theirs?
~Of course, the nanny will want to take the kids out to activities and classes. They want to get out of the house everyday. Some families provide cars, some don't. Lots of nannies drive their own car for work. Just provide car seats and mileage reimbursement, and make sure she has sufficient insurance coverage.

-Do I need to have lunches packed/prepared or is it enough to just have food in the house?
~The nanny can prepare meals for the kids. It would be very nice if you offer food to her for her lunch as well.

-What else is usually part of nanny's duties?
~Light housekeeping pertaining to the children, children's laundry, children's meals, driving to school/activities, taking kids on fun outings (library, playground), bathing them, and of course their health and safety.

This PP hit the nail on the head. I 100% agree with everything he/she wrote.
I will only add: Remember to consider overtime pay for anything past 40 hours. It is legally required. Guaranteed hours are also the norm in the DC area. This means that the nanny gets a full 52 weeks of pay every year, even if you don't use her the entire time. Example: One week your mom comes to visit and the nanny is only needed for 3 days that week instead of her usual 5 -- you'd still pay her for the full week.

Food: if there is something special you're saving for dinner that night, I'd mention it to the nanny.
I always bring my lunch, but it's good to know I can have an apple or a soda at work if I want it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-How much is reasonable to pay for two young kids?
~A good range is $15-$20/hour depending on the experience and qualifications of the nanny.

-Is 40 hours a week the usual amount of hours? Will they occasionally work a bit later in evenings, or is that too much?
~A lot of nannies actually work over 40 hours a week, some up to 50 or 60. Yes they can work later in the evenings but make sure the hours are determined ahead of time, so you know nanny will be available.

-Do we have to pay for health insurance? or do some nannies have benefits from their husband's job?
~You don't have to do anything. Some families offer health insurance, some don't. Not all nannies are married. I am a single nanny and have always bought individual health insurance and paid for it myself. Now that is required by the new healthcare law.

-What happens if the kids get a cold, will the nanny still watch them or do the parents need to stay home (as with daycare)?
~Yes nanny will stay with the kids when they are sick. I would ask and expect the parents to stay home if the kids are really sick - very contagious, high fever, vomiting.

-How much vacation or paid time off is typically expected? What about sick days (if the nanny or a family member of hers is sick?)
~For a full time nanny, the typical benefits include 2 weeks paid vacation, 1 week paid sick, paid federal holidays. You should also be paying legally, on the books.

-Will the nanny take the kids to an occasional music class, or anything like that? Do I need to provide a car, or will they use theirs?
~Of course, the nanny will want to take the kids out to activities and classes. They want to get out of the house everyday. Some families provide cars, some don't. Lots of nannies drive their own car for work. Just provide car seats and mileage reimbursement, and make sure she has sufficient insurance coverage.

-Do I need to have lunches packed/prepared or is it enough to just have food in the house?
~The nanny can prepare meals for the kids. It would be very nice if you offer food to her for her lunch as well.

-What else is usually part of nanny's duties?
~Light housekeeping pertaining to the children, children's laundry, children's meals, driving to school/activities, taking kids on fun outings (library, playground), bathing them, and of course their health and safety.

This PP hit the nail on the head. I 100% agree with everything he/she wrote.
I will only add: Remember to consider overtime pay for anything past 40 hours. It is legally required. Guaranteed hours are also the norm in the DC area. This means that the nanny gets a full 52 weeks of pay every year, even if you don't use her the entire time. Example: One week your mom comes to visit and the nanny is only needed for 3 days that week instead of her usual 5 -- you'd still pay her for the full week.

Food: if there is something special you're saving for dinner that night, I'd mention it to the nanny.
I always bring my lunch, but it's good to know I can have an apple or a soda at work if I want it.

Thank you - I am the posted you quoted. I agree with the points you added.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$325-$450 live-in; $8-12/hour live-out -- for a nanny who is 18-20 years old or has less than two years verifiable child care experience. Remember, cost will vary widely depending upon your location.
$450-$600 live-in; $10-15/hour live-out -- for a nanny who is 21 years or older, has two or more years verifiable child care experience, or has no prior experience but has a college education.
$450-800 live-in; $10-20/hour live-out (higher in major metro markets) -- for a nanny with two + years of experience and/or a college degree in a child-related field.

You HAVE to do an hourly rate for live-ins, just as for live-outs.

[Anonymous]

Hmm I posted those rates off of 4nannytax.com too. If they are the experts were quoting, then they have weekly rates as well.

[Anonymous]

OP here. thanks to everyone for your input, this is very helpful.