How to Properly Let Nanny Go 1 Year from Now

[Anonymous]

We have had a nanny caring for our twins for the past year and a half. We plan to send our twins to preschool in 1-year (Sept 2015), when the girls turn 3. This has nothing to do with our nanny. We always planned for our kids to go to preschool, but I don't think this was ever discussed specifically when we hired her. We said we would need a nanny for a few years. Our only official contract was for the 1st year.

Questions:

1. When do we tell our nanny of our plans to send the girls to preschool?

2. Is a severance required or expected when you let a nanny go with plenty of advanced notice (about 8 weeks)? We want to give our nanny plenty of time to find another job and even help her find another family, if she would like that. We are not under a contract at this time. We would absolutely plan to give her an end-of-year bonus, even though she would be let go about 5 months prior to meeting her 3-year mark with us.

Any advice would be appreciated! We want to handle this situation properly.

[Anonymous]

There will be a lot you can do to help her closer to the end date. This far out, I suggest posting on your local list serve for moms to be as they may need help while on maternity leave and then she could take over as a nanny when mom returns to work. Of course that would require you to tell her far in advance of your plans.

Because you don't have a contract, You can call it a bonus or severance, what really matters is that the amount reflect the quality and length of her time with you.

As a nanny, of course I would want as much advance notice as possible. Finding another position is one issue but nannies also make major life decisions based on their employment status, such as whether to purchase a home. Imagine if you just signed a mortgage and then learned that you would be let go? It happens every day but you are in a position to lessen that risk so it would be good of you to tell her ASAP. If she is happy with her job she will see it through to the end.

[Anonymous]

I'd probably kick the idea of preschool out there now just so she kind of knows, and then more about it late spring.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the previous poster, tell her early on it takes time to post resumes, go on interviews etc. It took me two months to find something, even with that I have a month off before my new job kicks in. I often see parents posting for their nannies a week or two before their child heads to school. Of course you should give her severance you pulled out, not her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd probably kick the idea of preschool out there now just so she kind of knows, and then more about it late spring.

Agree with this. If she's been with you for nearly 3 years, she may have some work to do to get job search ready, like updating her resume and any certifications, gaining some current references with some extra babysitting, learning some new skills to make her more marketable and not have to take a pay cut, and so on. If I were your nanny, I would appreciate as much time as possible to get ready for this transition, and that is what it is. She isn't being fired, this is the natural cycle of nanny jobs and she is likely prepared to hear this news.

[Anonymous]

I would tell her around April . That gives her 5 months notice. No need to cause anxiety now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would tell her around April . That gives her 5 months notice. No need to cause anxiety now.

April at the earliest, lest she find another FT job and quit on you before school starts. This has happened to MANY parents I know. I totally understand from the nanny's perspective, but it stinks as a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would tell her around April . That gives her 5 months notice. No need to cause anxiety now.

April at the earliest, lest she find another FT job and quit on you before school starts. This has happened to MANY parents I know. I totally understand from the nanny's perspective, but it stinks as a parent.

There are ways to prevent this (severance/bonus for staying until the end, letting her go at a time when others are hiring, letting her know that you will be flexible with her need to interview, and so on) but yes this is a risk you take when you initiate the separation. That still doesn't absolve you of your responsibility to be considerate. The truth of the matter is that it takes a nanny much longer to find a job than a parent to find a nanny. If your job is any good, you can have a new nanny in 2 weeks easily. Post job, get flooded with responses, conduct phone interviews, in person interviews on Saturday, call references next day, decision by Monday, nanny starts next week. For a nanny, it is not nearly so simple.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you so much for your responses everyone! I really appreciate it.

I hadn't even thought of the possibility of offering a particular bonus if she stays with us until the end, so that is an interesting idea we'll consider.

[Anonymous]

I was in the same position two years ago, both kids were going to preschool from September. This was always in the plans though, so I had known in advance (like, two years in advance) that I'd only work until September. Around April-May the parents and I had a sit down and hashed out all the details, and they said that they understand that I would need to start looking for a new job and they would do their best to help, but they would appreciate it if I stayed until September. They offered a two weeks salary bonus if I did. I think MB said something about tiding me over until the next job or something.

Then when I did stay until they no longer needed me, they gave me a month's salary bonus and a lovely gift of something that I once mentioned I wanted. It was so incredibly unexpected, because while I knew they appreciated my work and we had a cordial relationship, I didn't peg them as generous bonus and thoughtful gifts type of people.

But anyway, I'd let her know a few months in advance, because I was in a job once where in, like, middle of August MB went 'oh btw, Billy is going to start preschool in September, we won't need you'. And I had just gone on an expensive holiday! If I had known I would be unemployed for some time, I definitely would've done a better job saving a bit.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

You sound like a great boss! In case you didn't know, August is a huge hiring month for nannies. I would just keep that in mind because she might have a much better chance of finding a new position in August, not September. That being said, a bonus for staying til the end would be wonderful as she will need time to interview and find a new job.

Also if she is full time with you all, remember transitions can be hard and sad. She has spent a long time loving and caring for your kids. Just be mindful that the end of a job is a very sad time for many nannies. Goodluck with the process!

[Anonymous]

Also, I wouldn't use the term "letting her go" as that is synonymous with firing. If you are happy with her work and want to be a good reference, she isn't being let go, the job is just ending.

[Anonymous]

Be nice prepare your nanny for it, put ads when time comes so she finds a new job, do proper you parents dont want a nanny to walk out on you as a surprise so do the same talk with her and she will understand