Nanny holiday bonus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Don't listen to cheapos.

Most families will give a holiday bonus. It's usually 1 week's pay. Cheap families will tell you there's no minimum. They'll give you a $20 gift card that was given to them before.

Cheap.


I'm an MB who employs a nanny. I hired the nanny through neighbor referrals, during which I learned what at least 6 families in my neighborhood (suburban DC) are paying. I'm also in a parenting group where we share rate information. And I have 4 friends/family members who currently employ nannies - most of them for at least 2 years or more now.

In my first year (2 1/2 yrs ago) as a nanny employer I surveyed every other employer I knew about hourly rates, bonuses, benefits, etc... Of the roughly dozen who gave me actual info 2 people said they gave approximately a week's pay as bonus - though one of them clarified that they gave the equivalent of a week's net pay - not gross. 7 people said they gave a cash gift of a few hundred dollars. Three said they gave $100-200 bonus and some nice presents. Several people said they also gave additional time off around the holidays and considered that something of a bonus as well. (Paid time off)

It's impossible to get accurate data of course, given the nature of nanny employment (there is no source that tracks this information, nor is everyone paid in a trackable way). But that is why it's impossible to say what the norm is.

My sample felt solid and consistent to me. One week's pay was the high end, and more of the exception. Everyone gave something far more significant than a $20 gift card.


Agree in our family and friend circles too. $200-400 depending on performance or issues plus a physical gift.

This has been our experience as well. All have had nannies for 2+ years and none have had nannies quit because they expected better gifts, which is what a bonus is. Frankly if a nanny was that shallow, I'd be glad to see her go.

There is no standard or tradition in the nanny industry. That's just nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Don't listen to cheapos.

Most families will give a holiday bonus. It's usually 1 week's pay. Cheap families will tell you there's no minimum. They'll give you a $20 gift card that was given to them before.

Cheap.


I'm an MB who employs a nanny. I hired the nanny through neighbor referrals, during which I learned what at least 6 families in my neighborhood (suburban DC) are paying. I'm also in a parenting group where we share rate information. And I have 4 friends/family members who currently employ nannies - most of them for at least 2 years or more now.

In my first year (2 1/2 yrs ago) as a nanny employer I surveyed every other employer I knew about hourly rates, bonuses, benefits, etc... Of the roughly dozen who gave me actual info 2 people said they gave approximately a week's pay as bonus - though one of them clarified that they gave the equivalent of a week's net pay - not gross. 7 people said they gave a cash gift of a few hundred dollars. Three said they gave $100-200 bonus and some nice presents. Several people said they also gave additional time off around the holidays and considered that something of a bonus as well. (Paid time off)

It's impossible to get accurate data of course, given the nature of nanny employment (there is no source that tracks this information, nor is everyone paid in a trackable way). But that is why it's impossible to say what the norm is.

My sample felt solid and consistent to me. One week's pay was the high end, and more of the exception. Everyone gave something far more significant than a $20 gift card.


Agree in our family and friend circles too. $200-400 depending on performance or issues plus a physical gift.

This has been our experience as well. All have had nannies for 2+ years and none have had nannies quit because they expected better gifts, which is what a bonus is. Frankly if a nanny was that shallow, I'd be glad to see her go.

There is no standard or tradition in the nanny industry. That's just nonsense.

Great! We'll all remember that next time MB posters start going on about standard rates, duties, and benefits. We should all just pull whatever we like out of our assess and ignore reality.

[Anonymous]

There are no standard benefits, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Don't listen to cheapos.

Most families will give a holiday bonus. It's usually 1 week's pay. Cheap families will tell you there's no minimum. They'll give you a $20 gift card that was given to them before.

Cheap.


I'm an MB who employs a nanny. I hired the nanny through neighbor referrals, during which I learned what at least 6 families in my neighborhood (suburban DC) are paying. I'm also in a parenting group where we share rate information. And I have 4 friends/family members who currently employ nannies - most of them for at least 2 years or more now.

In my first year (2 1/2 yrs ago) as a nanny employer I surveyed every other employer I knew about hourly rates, bonuses, benefits, etc... Of the roughly dozen who gave me actual info 2 people said they gave approximately a week's pay as bonus - though one of them clarified that they gave the equivalent of a week's net pay - not gross. 7 people said they gave a cash gift of a few hundred dollars. Three said they gave $100-200 bonus and some nice presents. Several people said they also gave additional time off around the holidays and considered that something of a bonus as well. (Paid time off)

It's impossible to get accurate data of course, given the nature of nanny employment (there is no source that tracks this information, nor is everyone paid in a trackable way). But that is why it's impossible to say what the norm is.

My sample felt solid and consistent to me. One week's pay was the high end, and more of the exception. Everyone gave something far more significant than a $20 gift card.


Agree in our family and friend circles too. $200-400 depending on performance or issues plus a physical gift.

This has been our experience as well. All have had nannies for 2+ years and none have had nannies quit because they expected better gifts, which is what a bonus is. Frankly if a nanny was that shallow, I'd be glad to see her go.

There is no standard or tradition in the nanny industry. That's just nonsense.

I doubt any of your friends would know that a nanny quit due to bonus (or lack thereof). None of my friends have ever quit solely over the bonus, but it has certainly been the final nail in the coffin to get them to start their job search. January always sees an increase in jobs available for a reason

[Anonymous]

We screen for for "dcum attitude" and never hire those nannies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are no standard benefits, either.

But there are standard duties and pay? All of you are full of crap. Of course your friends in your circle do what you do. You all are likely similarly stretched to afford your nanny. Just because you can barely afford it (and neither can your friends) doesnt mean there isn't a standard that has existed for a very long time.

When I was in college and through my early 20's, many of my friends were crappy tippers, mostly because they could barely afford the meal itself. If I had polled them they would have insisted that a standard tip was 10% but totally up to your discretion if you want to give one. Should I go around trying to convince waitstaff of that just because my broke cheap friends say so, despite the reality to the contrary? All that you all have proven here is that you run in circles of cheap middle class posers who will say anything to validate their choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We screen for for "dcum attitude" and never hire those nannies.

I do the same for cheap entitled "DCUM MB attitude". Glad I'll never have the displeasure of your acquaintance.

[Anonymous]

This is my third year following this discussion on DCUM. I have gone from being worried my nanny would quit, to trying to justify a week's salary for someone not that great, to feeling confident about my own bonus and benefit structure.

The nanny world is a weird one; my suggestion to all potential bosses is to treat it like a real job and yourself as a real employer. Your obligation ends at providing safe working conditions and the agreed-upon wage for the agreed-upon duties. To retain employees, benefits and bonuses are good tools to use.

My suggestion to nannies is that if you want the huge bonuses, extra weeks off, unlimited sick days, etc., you limit yourself only to very wealthy families. There seem to be a lot of you who think you deserve all these things, but clearly fewer jobs that offer them than nannies that want them.

You do realize that if all the people who "stretch" to afford a nanny stopped hiring, there were be such a glut of nannies, even the high-paying jobs would pay nothing. It is true of most jobs from lawyer to custodian that there are a few high-paying, great benefits, great companies to work for jobs, and a lot, a lot, of average, decent pay, ok hours, some duties you don't like so much, pays your bills jobs.

[Anonymous]

There are no standard benefits, either.


But there are standard duties and pay? All of you are full of crap. Of course your friends in your circle do what you do. You all are likely similarly stretched to afford your nanny. Just because you can barely afford it (and neither can your friends) doesnt mean there isn't a standard that has existed for a very long time.

When I was in college and through my early 20's, many of my friends were crappy tippers, mostly because they could barely afford the meal itself. If I had polled them they would have insisted that a standard tip was 10% but totally up to your discretion if you want to give one. Should I go around trying to convince waitstaff of that just because my broke cheap friends say so, despite the reality to the contrary? All that you all have proven here is that you run in circles of cheap middle class posers who will say anything to validate their choices.

This is such a red herring constantly brought up by nannies here. Drop it. Just because a NF does not want to be taken advantage of by nannies who think they deserve significant bonuses and raises every year doesn't mean they can't afford the nanny.

There is no "standard" for bonuses. That doesn't even make sense, since bonuses are extras based on a job well done and it is the employer who decides if a job is well done and deserving of a bonus. That's it. You don't like it? Find a new career. Remember, nannying is a job with no credentials, no educational prerequisites, and no prior specialized skills. It is one of the easiest jobs to get into. Proving you are worthy of a sizable bonus on top of a good market rate for a low skill job is going to be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

Come to think about it, maybe that is your interest in trying to convince families there is a "standard".

Your tipping example is nonsense. There is no "reality" to "tipping" nannies who call themselves professional and do not work for tips.

All you have proven here is that you are an entitled nanny who thinks they deserve a large bonus because of an assumption that it is "standard" and not at all because you have earned it. Typical DCUM nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my third year following this discussion on DCUM. I have gone from being worried my nanny would quit, to trying to justify a week's salary for someone not that great, to feeling confident about my own bonus and benefit structure.

The nanny world is a weird one; my suggestion to all potential bosses is to treat it like a real job and yourself as a real employer. Your obligation ends at providing safe working conditions and the agreed-upon wage for the agreed-upon duties. To retain employees, benefits and bonuses are good tools to use.

My suggestion to nannies is that if you want the huge bonuses, extra weeks off, unlimited sick days, etc., you limit yourself only to very wealthy families. There seem to be a lot of you who think you deserve all these things, but clearly fewer jobs that offer them than nannies that want them.

You do realize that if all the people who "stretch" to afford a nanny stopped hiring, there were be such a glut of nannies, even the high-paying jobs would pay nothing. It is true of most jobs from lawyer to custodian that there are a few high-paying, great benefits, great companies to work for jobs, and a lot, a lot, of average, decent pay, ok hours, some duties you don't like so much, pays your bills jobs.

I am a nanny but I really agree with this. My NF can not afford two or three weeks pay as a bonus. I have worked for wealthy families who can afford it but gave even less then a moderate income NF would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no standard benefits, either.

But there are standard duties and pay? All of you are full of crap. Of course your friends in your circle do what you do. You all are likely similarly stretched to afford your nanny. Just because you can barely afford it (and neither can your friends) doesnt mean there isn't a standard that has existed for a very long time.

When I was in college and through my early 20's, many of my friends were crappy tippers, mostly because they could barely afford the meal itself. If I had polled them they would have insisted that a standard tip was 10% but totally up to your discretion if you want to give one. Should I go around trying to convince waitstaff of that just because my broke cheap friends say so, despite the reality to the contrary? All that you all have proven here is that you run in circles of cheap middle class posers who will say anything to validate their choices.

To answer your question, no, there are not standard duties and pay. It is negotiable. I was just stating a fact about the benefits. You are out of line with your assumptions. I am a generous employer and have employed a nanny for ten years. She is very well-compensated, with full benefits including vision and an IRA, and a five figure bonus. These are items that we were able to add on to her pay to incentivize her to remain with us. If such things were standard, we would not have been able to afford a nanny as a young family and she would not have been able to get a job like that due to her relative lack of credentials and experience at the time.

[Anonymous]

^^Correction: 4 figure bonus.

[Anonymous]

Nanny here: I occasionally browse through the posts on DCUM for some light entertainment. I assumed that people come here to offer suggestions and provide their OPINIONS. So there is no need for MB's to call nanny's 'entitled' when they disagree with your opinion or for nanny's to call MB's cheap when the roles are reversed. A bonus is not guaranteed and is really a way of employers saying thanks for taking good care of their kids. If they choose not to do this or to give less than a week's salary, that is their choice. A nanny may use that as an excuse to find another job but that will most likely happen only if the nanny was already unhappy about other aspects of her job.

[Anonymous]

I have always been given a weeks pay, but I never expect it. I expect nothing. It's a bonus/gift not a requirement.

[Anonymous]

I always git a really nice gift from my previous nanny family. Never a full weeks pay (I worked for them a little more than part time), but I never expected that. Usually MB would pick out some fun little things she knew I liked, and also get a generous Visa giftcard for me as well. It was always much appreciated and I never felt slighted.