Negotiating Guaranteed Hours

[Anonymous]

I'm working 35 hours a week currently on a reasonably set four day schedule. I didn't negotiate guaranteed hours initially but have just opened the conversation with my employers.

Are "guaranteed hours" the total amount of hours per week or the set schedule of hours per week? Can I offer a degree of flexibility without being taken advantage of? (for example - a situation where MB decides to take a personal day and stay home with the babies and then asks that I make up the hours on Saturday).

[Anonymous]

Guaranteed Hours are generally a set schedule of hours (ie if you are scheduled to work Monday 9-5 then you are paid for Monday 9-5 whether you are asked to not work or not) and they are pay or play. However you can negotiate anything if you want. I would caution you about "flexibility" as it is very easy to be taken advantage of by employers.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP, OP - be very, very careful about offering flexibility. You have to be very sure that your employers respect your time and effort or they will ask you weekly to change your life to accommodate their every whim.

[Anonymous]

Guaranteed hours are a benefit to the nanny. The "hours" refers to the amount you will be paid, and how many hours you are dedicating to the family each week. So if you are making yourself available to them Mon-Fri from 9-5 then you will get paid the same every week, even if MB takes Friday off and tells you to stay home. You should not agree to make those up because then they aren't really guaranteed (what if she also doesn't need you this weekend? Withhold your pay until you can make those hours up?) and you are now 'on-call' all weekend to make up your hours.

Stick to the norm and don't offer to be flexible, it's a terrible idea.

[Anonymous]

If they give you flexibility when you need it, I'd be more likely to extend some to them. It should be a two-way street. But please be careful, because it can easily be a slippery slope for nannies.

[Anonymous]

If you want to offer flexibility, do something like giving them the chance to have a date night each month that they choose not to use you for all of your available hours.

Of course you'll want to limit the total hours a "date night" covers and ask for 1 or 2 weeks notice from them about a specific date and time. I might also add a clause about not carrying over any date night hours month to month, and any other contingencies you know might be an issue.

[Anonymous]

It's actually sad that we nannies have to be so careful about offering flexibility or certain occasional favors to our employers for fear (and a rational fear) that we will be taken advantage of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's actually sad that we nannies have to be so careful about offering flexibility or certain occasional favors to our employers for fear (and a rational fear) that we will be taken advantage of.

I don't think this is the norm IRL. My family's nanny, the nanny's employed by several a couple of friends, and a couple of our nanny's nanny-friends all work jobs that guarantee the total weekly hours but not the schedule. Most employer couples with two high paying jobs need the nanny to be flexible because they have to be flexible in their own jobs. So smart nannies know that if they want the high paying jobs, they have to provide some level of flexibility. The keys to making this work are (1) have a default schedule that applies unless special arrangement are made, (2) limit the hours during which nanny must be available (for example, she might agree to work forty-five or fifty hours a week scheduled between 7 am and 7 pm Monday through Friday, (3) communicate with each other as soon as possible about anticipated changes to the default schedule, (4) the employer should work around the nanny's needs too, so she can schedule early evening social plans once in a while and know that she'll be out the door on time to get there.

[Anonymous]

Your guaranteed hours are the hours you reserve for the family each week, so 8a-6p Mon-Thur maybe. That is what the term means and you can successfully negotiate that without having to offer flexibility.

I also work 35 hours a week and have an arrangement where the last five hours each week are worked twice a month on Fri mornings and twice a month as a date night or weekend job WITH THE AGREEMENT that the schedule is set one month in advance to allow me to make my own weekend plans for weeks I'm not offering flexibility. (In months with three Fridays, the third is worked as a Fri as well.) This has worked very well for both of us as I like having some Fridays free for errands and some weekends free for trips or special plans.

[Anonymous]

You can negotiate for this OP but if you already took the job without it then you need to be prepared to potentially give up something in return. For instance they may grant this in lieu of part of your raise at year 1.