Nanny vacation requests

[Anonymous]

The Federal, state, and municipal governments give the Ever every year and most businesses in the area follow suit.l

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never worked anywhere that did not give 1/2 day on Christmas Eve and New Years eve.

Then you need to broaden your horizons or talk to more people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're already cheating your nanny by giving her the week of Christmas as one of her vacation weeks, considering that most employers give at least Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. You do realize that, don't you?

Cheating her by giving her a week of Christmas ????? Have you lost your mind ? You ladies need to start working at McDonald's and get some perspective as far as paid time goes. Jeez!!!

Stop being obtuse. Christmas eve and Christmas day, New Years Yearzday are paid holidays. If she has. To take one week of vacation during Christmas week then she should only have to take 3 days of vacation.

Not for me. I call these pseudo-holidays - the eve's of both Christmas and New Years, the Friday after Thanksgiving. People just expect to get them paid & off-duty, but they are not officially holidays.

That is an appropriate name. Many people do not have them off.

Nanny here. I never expect to get Christmas Eve, New Years' Eve or Black Friday off; I certainly never did while working in other sectors prior to nannying! They aren't holidays and many people don't get them off.

[Anonymous]

be fair one week you pick and one week she picks also 2 weeks a year is not enough!!! there should be a law of at least 3 or 4 weeks a year 2 weeks and work 50 weeks i Europe its like one month taking care of children can be very stressfull!!!!

[Anonymous]

You need to let her pick the other week but if a limited number (no more than 4) weeks of the year are off limits say that up front. In my office I have certain weeks where vacation is just not allowed due to work demands. That does not mean I don't get to pick my vacation - just that I cannot pick those weeks.

[Anonymous]

Most people do the arrangement where the family picks one week and the nanny picks the other week. But if you agreed up front that you would work together to find a mutually agreeable week nanny is not in a position to dig in her heels. NF offered some flexibility and nanny should as well.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'm not understanding this at all. If you want the nanny to be flexible and work with you on a mutually agreeable week, why aren't you willing to give her the same consideration with the other week?

This is exactly why most contracts are written for one week NF's choice, one week nanny's choice (ratio continues with 4 and 6 weeks, and yes, 6 weeks is possible).

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny. I get the weeks my bosses travel off(paid) plus 2 weeks of my choice. I always try to coincide with their time off too, it's just easier that way. However there have been times in the past 4 years where I needed time off when they had to work. Usually grandma comes to stay or MB takes a few days and DB takes a few days. We all work together to make everyone's life balanced. In total I get about 4-6 weeks off a year. I could not imagine only getting 2 weeks in a whole year. If I were your nanny I would insist on my week just to get some extra time off.

[D-ATX]

Anonymous wrote:This way we feel that we are not using our vacation to cover for our nannies vacation. Otherwise, we would not be able to have our own time off.

I don't understand this statement. I would assume your "own time off" would mean spending quality time with your kids sans nanny. If you're hoping for date-nights sans kiddos, then maybe consider getting a separate date-night babysitter. You usually pay them less, and you're allowing the nanny to have her evenings/weekends/etc. to herself. Being a nanny is very rewarding, but its very demanding, so treat her the way you would want your employer to treat you (even if you're employer is an ass).

I think it's fair for the nanny to be able to choose her week whether it works for you or not. I say bite the bullet on this one. Then, when the new year comes around, sit down with your nanny and talk about this. I agree that if there are some dates where you know you absolutely can't have her absent, then that would be the time to call it out. I think that if you decide to black out some dates, you need to be very specific, and be reasonable. I'd advise you not to black out more that 2 weeks.

However, that means that the nanny might counter with a date that she absolutely has to take off. For example, I would absolutely need the week of Thanksgiving off every year. My brother is in the military and they don't give their soldiers a lot of flexibility. This also means that he is rarely in the same state as me. So, come hell or high water, Thanksgiving (the weekend before, the week of, and the weekend after) is the one time of year where I will devote everything to seeing him (or his wife and nephew if he is deployed). It's nonnegotiable. I agree that only having 2 weeks off a year is not enough, but each arrangement is unique. So if 2 weeks is all you can afford, at least let her have as much freedom as you possibly can to choose her week.

Until you renegotiate the contract, I say let go of any resentment you feel - it's on you that you weren't more specific. Start making notes of things that don't work for you, and encourage your nanny to do the same. That way, when you revisit this, both of you can address your concerns thoroughly, maturely, and respectfully. This won't be the last time y'all have a conflict of interest, and to keep the relationship intact, you need to be able to talk about these things openly.

[Anonymous]

No, the nanny agreed that they would pick mutually agreeable weeks and now she is not abiding by that. It may be preferable for her to choose one week and the NF chose the other, that is what we do, but, in any job, you are obliged to honor the terms of your contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in need of some advice and would love to know how other people deal with vacations and Nannies. We offer two weeks vacation paid. One week during Christmas and New Years and the other week we ask in our contract for the nanny to work with us and find a vacation week that works for both parties. This way we feel that we are not using our vacation to cover for our nannies vacation. Otherwise, we would not be able to have our own time off. Our first nanny never asked for any time time off and just took the paid time that we took off as her vacation. Our new nanny has asked for a week off in August. I said that should work out for us because we also want to go to the beach. How about the first week in Augus? Her response was no I need the last week off. I said that we could be somewhat flexible and take the second week off instead, but we are not able to take off the last week because of work commitments. She was very firm that only that last week would work for her. I was a little surprised, but maybe it's because we have never had this issue. How do other handle this type of situation, pay the nanny the week the family goes away and the week she wants in August? i guess I am at a loss because I wasn't expecting this conflict? But maybe it's normal....

Nanny let you pick your week. She picks HER week.

You should be asking, "How should we show our nanny our appreciation for giving us so much notice, so we can plan accordingly?"

Selfish people like you don't deserve a decent nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in need of some advice and would love to know how other people deal with vacations and Nannies. We offer two weeks vacation paid. One week during Christmas and New Years and the other week we ask in our contract for the nanny to work with us and find a vacation week that works for both parties. This way we feel that we are not using our vacation to cover for our nannies vacation. Otherwise, we would not be able to have our own time off. Our first nanny never asked for any time time off and just took the paid time that we took off as her vacation. Our new nanny has asked for a week off in August. I said that should work out for us because we also want to go to the beach. How about the first week in Augus? Her response was no I need the last week off. I said that we could be somewhat flexible and take the second week off instead, but we are not able to take off the last week because of work commitments. She was very firm that only that last week would work for her. I was a little surprised, but maybe it's because we have never had this issue. How do other handle this type of situation, pay the nanny the week the family goes away and the week she wants in August? i guess I am at a loss because I wasn't expecting this conflict? But maybe it's normal....

Nanny let you pick your week. She picks HER week.

You should be asking, "How should we show our nanny our appreciation for giving us so much notice, so we can plan accordingly?"

Selfish people like you don't deserve a decent nanny.

yes, this is a common arrangement and a fair arrangement in my opinion (it is what we do with our nanny). But that is not what OP's nanny agreed to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in need of some advice and would love to know how other people deal with vacations and Nannies. We offer two weeks vacation paid. One week during Christmas and New Years and the other week we ask in our contract for the nanny to work with us and find a vacation week that works for both parties. This way we feel that we are not using our vacation to cover for our nannies vacation. Otherwise, we would not be able to have our own time off. Our first nanny never asked for any time time off and just took the paid time that we took off as her vacation. Our new nanny has asked for a week off in August. I said that should work out for us because we also want to go to the beach. How about the first week in Augus? Her response was no I need the last week off. I said that we could be somewhat flexible and take the second week off instead, but we are not able to take off the last week because of work commitments. She was very firm that only that last week would work for her. I was a little surprised, but maybe it's because we have never had this issue. How do other handle this type of situation, pay the nanny the week the family goes away and the week she wants in August? i guess I am at a loss because I wasn't expecting this conflict? But maybe it's normal....

Nanny let you pick your week. She picks HER week.

You should be asking, "How should we show our nanny our appreciation for giving us so much notice, so we can plan accordingly?"

Selfish people like you don't deserve a decent nanny.

yes, this is a common arrangement and a fair arrangement in my opinion (it is what we do with our nanny). But that is not what OP's nanny agreed to.

OP said they ask the nanny to work with them. Nanny tried, family tried, does that mean that the nanny shouldn't be able to then have the week she wants? No, not per their contract.

[Anonymous]

Another nanny getting taken advantage of. Gross.

[Anonymous]

You tried to find a week that would work for you both. You can't. Now nanny can take her vacation week of her choosing and you get yours at the holidays.