Live in nanny and going on vacation without a kid RSS feed

Anonymous
OP is here - i didn't say our package is fantastic and we are average middle class family and unfortunately our basement is not finished, however, it has a bathroom and a separate entrance. I wonder if i should offer this to her isntead of a shared floor.
I asked for advice but got judged so easily. I got what I came here for, so thank you all
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:OP is here - i didn't say our package is fantastic and we are average middle class family and unfortunately our basement is not finished, however, it has a bathroom and a separate entrance. I wonder if i should offer this to her isntead of a shared floor.
I asked for advice but got judged so easily. I got what I came here for, so thank you all


Well, OP, your point was essentially that because you are "already giving her a nice pay package" that you don't think you should have to pay extra for nights. That was a direct quote. So essentially, you think your compensation package is so good that she should be happy to work an entire week with no time off for no additional pay. We say we disagree on two counts - (1), your package isn't so great that this kind of flexibility would be expected, and (2), even if your package was so much higher than normal, you can't expect someone to work for free when you haven't been clear that was the deal.

No one's judging - they're just answering your question. No one is even judging you for your living space. It's completely fine to offer a live-in a space in the same area of the rest of the family. But it's quite obviously more attractive to a live-in to have a private space with a private entrance, if available. If you don't have that, it's completely fine. We're not judging. We're just saying that living space is part of the package - and a separate space would be more in line with a package that was so good you could expect tons of flexibility.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I'm 11:06 and 12:18. I wasn't considering it from the nanny's perspective and I can see how a basic package wouldn't be all that attractive to a nanny, but wow - if live-in nannies are paid $11/hour plus board, all food, utilities, car use, paid car insurance, gas, gym membership and cell bill, where do I sign up? I cannot imagine why anyone would have a live-in nanny and offer all that. What would be the incentive of basically paying just a few thousand less a year on what is costing almost $40k for a live-in?



For people who have unconventional or long work schedules a quality live in is a perfect situation. You are not paying her rent because thats part of your mortgage, allowing her use of the your second car, adding her to your phone plan, car insurance and getting a cheap gym membership isn't going to break your bank. That's less than $300 extra a month (assuming she doesn't have a horrible driving record). So the cost savings is significant. Who wants to live with their employers if there isn't some type of advantage? The employer does save a significant amount and the room and board balances out the lower income. Basically the nanny should be taking home the same amount she would after paying all her bills if she were a live out.

There are plenty of agencies that can find a nanny with great references and education a position like the one i mentioned. Some even come with more vacation than whats standard.
Anonymous
Is English your second language??

You keep writing "Op is here" that's just odd
nannydebsays

Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:OP is here - it's a full time job with a salary and not an hourly rate. If I have to stay late in the office, i am not getting paid extra. It gets reflected on my bonus or some nice perk like dinner in the office or cab ride home. What is bonus for? it's for situations like this - when employee goes beyond his direct responsibilities. Sounds fine, i pay for nights, but no bonus shall be expected or at least not in the amounts we planned. There was nothing extra and beyond.
As for the leaving conditions, I am sure a darker basement is better, than a nice room in the corner with a separate bathroom. we should have thought of that. I am sure should would love walk up the stairs 2 floors all the time, especially at night.


OP, I am going to guess that either this is your very first nanny, OR that you have cycled through about 4 nannies a year, and can't quite grasp why that has happened.

A live-in nanny is an HOURLY employee. That means she is paid for every hour she works for you. She cannot be "salaried. You can offer her (and many many employers do) guaranteed hours, i.e., pay for 52 weeks a year regardless if she works every single day and every single hour. So your $600 for X hours a week does NOT cover overnights, unless you have that written into your original work agreement, in which case, you are likely paying her an illegal wage of $5/hour for 24/5 care.

So, to decide that you'll take her bonus away because YOU are choosing to go away for a week and leave her in charge of your kid 24/7 and she is asking to be paid for all her working time...as I said above, you sound either clueless in the extreme or simply nasty.

You should pay her her hourly wage for all hours she will work while you are gone...that means, if she earns $10/hour working 60 hours a week, you figure out how many additional hours she will be working, subtract 8 hours a day for sleeping hours, and pay her accordingly.

So, if she works 168 hours (24/7), subtract 56 hours (8 x 7) for sleeping time, and pay her her standard hourly rate for 112 hours. At $10/hour, that is $1120 for the week. At $15/hour that is $1680 for the week.

And if you can't afford to pay her those amounts, take your kid with you on your vacation and give nanny the week off.
Anonymous
OP, your decision to reduce the bonus and pay your nanny for the overnights sounds good.
Anonymous
nannydebsays wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP is here - it's a full time job with a salary and not an hourly rate. If I have to stay late in the office, i am not getting paid extra. It gets reflected on my bonus or some nice perk like dinner in the office or cab ride home. What is bonus for? it's for situations like this - when employee goes beyond his direct responsibilities. Sounds fine, i pay for nights, but no bonus shall be expected or at least not in the amounts we planned. There was nothing extra and beyond.
As for the leaving conditions, I am sure a darker basement is better, than a nice room in the corner with a separate bathroom. we should have thought of that. I am sure should would love walk up the stairs 2 floors all the time, especially at night.


OP, I am going to guess that either this is your very first nanny, OR that you have cycled through about 4 nannies a year, and can't quite grasp why that has happened.

A live-in nanny is an HOURLY employee. That means she is paid for every hour she works for you. She cannot be "salaried. You can offer her (and many many employers do) guaranteed hours, i.e., pay for 52 weeks a year regardless if she works every single day and every single hour. So your $600 for X hours a week does NOT cover overnights, unless you have that written into your original work agreement, in which case, you are likely paying her an illegal wage of $5/hour for 24/5 care.

So, to decide that you'll take her bonus away because YOU are choosing to go away for a week and leave her in charge of your kid 24/7 and she is asking to be paid for all her working time...as I said above, you sound either clueless in the extreme or simply nasty.

You should pay her her hourly wage for all hours she will work while you are gone...that means, if she earns $10/hour working 60 hours a week, you figure out how many additional hours she will be working, subtract 8 hours a day for sleeping hours, and pay her accordingly.

So, if she works 168 hours (24/7), subtract 56 hours (8 x 7) for sleeping time, and pay her her standard hourly rate for 112 hours. At $10/hour, that is $1120 for the week. At $15/hour that is $1680 for the week.

And if you can't afford to pay her those amounts, take your kid with you on your vacation and give nanny the week off.


OP - I am just simply nasty.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Is English your second language??

You keep writing "Op is here" that's just odd

What difference does it make? and actually it's my third language. I hope you feel better knowing that.
Anonymous
Welcome to DCUM, OP.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Welcome to DCUM, OP.

Thx!
Anonymous
so reduce her xmas bonus to 3 wks and you can afford to pay for the overnights now. Personally if I can sleep in my own bed I don't charge for overnights, but if I have to sleep in someone else's bed or worse on some crappy guest bed or couch, then I do.
Anonymous
People are giving you advice OP and because it is not the answers you are looking for you are getting all snippy with people.

Just because you have a live in doesn't mean you get 24/7 care when ever you wish and not pay for it.
I have to agree with a previous poster - you either are on your first nanny (with this being her first nanny job as well) or you can't keep a nanny for a long period of time.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:People are giving you advice OP and because it is not the answers you are looking for you are getting all snippy with people.

Just because you have a live in doesn't mean you get 24/7 care when ever you wish and not pay for it.
I have to agree with a previous poster - you either are on your first nanny (with this being her first nanny job as well) or you can't keep a nanny for a long period of time.


+1

Sorry it isn't what you want to hear, but even live in nannies are hourly employees (unlike your salaried position) and she deserves to be paid for any extra hours she works outside her regular schedule.

Also consider that she'll have 24-hr care of your son while you are away - is tis really the person you want to nickel and dime this way? Typical overnight rates are $50-100/night depending on whether the child sleeps through the night or not.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You need to pay her, at a minimum every day from when your child wakes, until they go to bed. For a live-in employee, I believe you can legally deduct 8 hours of sleeping time IF she will get to sleep. If you are leaving a baby or toddler that may need her in the night, you'll need to pay for night time as well. You sound like a generous employer, so I'm surprised that you think its okay to not pay her for the extra evening hours. The rest of her benefits (meals, leave, bonus) have nothing to do with your obligation to pay her for the extra hours she will work.

OP is here- because I think we are already giving her a nice pay package (and I am sure some of the people here jump at me bcs i said that), I don't think we should pay extra for nights. Alos, he might or might not need her during the night. She takes care of every third night if he wakes up, but that is so really so she hardly does anything at night anyway, besides may be being awaken for a few minutes if he cries without getting of the bed. Only if he cries 10-15 minutes and it's not clear from the monitor, that he is ok, she should go and check on him. Ok, I got that extra benefits don't count. I guess we get used to good things too fast thank you


I have a great job with very generous employers but I'm still not going to agree to care for a child 24/7 for a week without being paid for those hours. I cannot believe you think this is acceptable. Would you want to spend a week straight with no break at your job for an extra $100?
Anonymous
I am a nanny...I have my degree and have 11 years of full time nanny experience...I'm in the minority here but I would probably just keep the kids the week and chalk it up to "it all coming out in the wash"....I try to go above and beyond and my NFs have done the same for me....My NF got a puppy an she was nuts...more work than the kids. Even though it was a lot of work, I never complained or asked for more money. I thought "how can I support this family more"....guess what. When I needed a new car last year my NF bought it for me in cash. It's mine...I don't even drive the kids in it.and it's brand new....I have never had a new car in my life.
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