Nanny sick ALL the time - WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You hired her and I assume failed to question her about her past sickness frequency so yes I agree with you, it would be a pretty horrible thing to do to let her go over things she can't control. You are stuck with her so suck it up.

What!?! You are not entitled to retain a job simply because you were hired. Who told you that? Does your mommy still it your meat for you?

Because, were women and we need to stick together. If she is doing her job right otherwise, the you can't fire her for being sick, it's illegal. Would you fire her for having too many pregnancies? Do what's right.

Looks like we have a Hillary voter here! Well, we both have vaginas so we have to stick together. I will never put you or anyone else above my nuclear family and you are in deep denial if you think that's the way the world works!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

Right, because the only people who get the flu, or a stomach virus or bronchitis or a sinus infection, or a raging case of diarrhea are the ones with a poor work ethic. Dumb ass. Some people know when to stay home and rest so they 1) don't spread the illness around and 2) can get better or keep what they have from getting worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

Taking 1 or a few sick days per year doesn't mean that you don't have a good work ethic. It just means you or your child were sick. If it's within the allowable amount for the contract and the nanny is being proactive about staying healthy and getting well quickly when ill, nbd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

Taking 1 or a few sick days per year doesn't mean that you don't have a good work ethic. It just means you or your child were sick. If it's within the allowable amount for the contract and the nanny is being proactive about staying healthy and getting well quickly when ill, nbd.

When it happens right at the beginning of employment, it's a problem. A single lengthy flu or something, I'd take a wait-and-see attitude and see how her attendance was over the next few months. A few separate illnesses using up all sick leave within the first month or two? Sorry, it may be a run of bad luck, or you may be sickly, which isn't your fault, but I can't cover it, or you may be flakey. Whatever the reason, you're not reliable. Intentions really don't matter in this case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You hired her and I assume failed to question her about her past sickness frequency so yes I agree with you, it would be a pretty horrible thing to do to let her go over things she can't control. You are stuck with her so suck it up.

What!?! You are not entitled to retain a job simply because you were hired. Who told you that? Does your mommy still it your meat for you?

Because, were women and we need to stick together. If she is doing her job right otherwise, the you can't fire her for being sick, it's illegal. Would you fire her for having too many pregnancies? Do what's right.

OP said: "And if she's not sick, there's some other reason she's not here."

Given that she's 1. using tons of sick leave, 2. calling off for other reasons and 3. can't bother to doublecheck vacation dates and then expected the family to cover her vacation last minute, yes, OP is quite within her rights to fire for cause. If the unemployment office has any questions (and if she files and says she was fired for using sick leave, they will), all OP will have to do is provide whatever proof in the form of texts, emails, notes or letters that prove that the nanny was taking other days last minute when she wasn't sick and show proof of what happened with the vacation. If she were using contracted sick leave early in the year, but hadn't gone over the contracted amount and was fired solely for being sick too much, OP would have issues, but that's not the case.

Oh and yeah, no, we don't need to stick together when someone isn't upholding their portion of an agreement. I'm not going to put up with an MB who is consistently late by over an hour and doesn't pay me for that time, nor am I going to put up with an MB who doesn't want to pay me for 1+ days per week because she no longer needs me, but she isn't telling me that I have the day off until I'm ready to start work for the day. It goes both ways.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

MB here - we had a new nanny who unexpectedly had to take off some additional time for a car accident that happened shortly after she started. It wasn't serious in the sense that no one went to the hospital but she did need some follow up Dr. and chiropractic care. It did give me pause because it was inconvenient and we weren't sure about how legitimate it was (longer story there for another post) but I respected the fact that she tried to work around our schedule and minimize disruption. It sounds like your nanny is either flaky or just has really bad luck. Either way find someone who can come to work - that's the point of a nanny. We all go to work with minor illnesses and the vacation thing would be totally unacceptable to me. That alone is a fireable issue. Can you imagine if you did that at your workplace?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

Taking 1 or a few sick days per year doesn't mean that you don't have a good work ethic. It just means you or your child were sick. If it's within the allowable amount for the contract and the nanny is being proactive about staying healthy and getting well quickly when ill, nbd.

When it happens right at the beginning of employment, it's a problem. A single lengthy flu or something, I'd take a wait-and-see attitude and see how her attendance was over the next few months. A few separate illnesses using up all sick leave within the first month or two? Sorry, it may be a run of bad luck, or you may be sickly, which isn't your fault, but I can't cover it, or you may be flakey. Whatever the reason, you're not reliable. Intentions really don't matter in this case.

Nanny here, I've posted several times (16.10 and 20.13, to start). I quite agree that a lot of sick/PTO used in the beginning of a new position is a red flag, but it's not a firing offense. I think it's reasonable to require a doctor's note before the employer pays any consecutive sick days beyond the first or second, as obviously the nanny would be severely ill. If the nanny is fired for being sick too much too early, she can definitely fight for unemployment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

Taking 1 or a few sick days per year doesn't mean that you don't have a good work ethic. It just means you or your child were sick. If it's within the allowable amount for the contract and the nanny is being proactive about staying healthy and getting well quickly when ill, nbd.

When it happens right at the beginning of employment, it's a problem. A single lengthy flu or something, I'd take a wait-and-see attitude and see how her attendance was over the next few months. A few separate illnesses using up all sick leave within the first month or two? Sorry, it may be a run of bad luck, or you may be sickly, which isn't your fault, but I can't cover it, or you may be flakey. Whatever the reason, you're not reliable. Intentions really don't matter in this case.

Nanny here, I've posted several times (16.10 and 20.13, to start). I quite agree that a lot of sick/PTO used in the beginning of a new position is a red flag, but it's not a firing offense. I think it's reasonable to require a doctor's note before the employer pays any consecutive sick days beyond the first or second, as obviously the nanny would be severely ill. If the nanny is fired for being sick too much too early, she can definitely fight for unemployment.

That's not true. You have no right to days off for illness beyond those mandated by government, and not every place mandates any. It's like maternity leave. No employer is legally required to treat missed days of work differently for an illness vs. other excuse. You can make a moral argument here, but not a legal one, and unemployment only cares about the legal one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for 15 years. I've taken 3 sick days in that time. I've also never mixed up vacation days because I double and Tripple check the dates with emails. I would find someone else.

These responses are the worst. Three days in 15 years? Bully for you but that is not a reasonable expectation of an employee, not even close.

You either have a good work ethic or you don't

Taking 1 or a few sick days per year doesn't mean that you don't have a good work ethic. It just means you or your child were sick. If it's within the allowable amount for the contract and the nanny is being proactive about staying healthy and getting well quickly when ill, nbd.

When it happens right at the beginning of employment, it's a problem. A single lengthy flu or something, I'd take a wait-and-see attitude and see how her attendance was over the next few months. A few separate illnesses using up all sick leave within the first month or two? Sorry, it may be a run of bad luck, or you may be sickly, which isn't your fault, but I can't cover it, or you may be flakey. Whatever the reason, you're not reliable. Intentions really don't matter in this case.

Nanny here, I've posted several times (16.10 and 20.13, to start). I quite agree that a lot of sick/PTO used in the beginning of a new position is a red flag, but it's not a firing offense. I think it's reasonable to require a doctor's note before the employer pays any consecutive sick days beyond the first or second, as obviously the nanny would be severely ill. If the nanny is fired for being sick too much too early, she can definitely fight for unemployment.

That's not true. You have no right to days off for illness beyond those mandated by government, and not every place mandates any. It's like maternity leave. No employer is legally required to treat missed days of work differently for an illness vs. other excuse. You can make a moral argument here, but not a legal one, and unemployment only cares about the legal one.

My presumption is that there is a contract which states sick leave/PTO. As long as it's in the contract, no, it's not a firing offense.

[Anonymous]

OP, in the future I'd recommend giving a nanny applicant a soft job offer contingency on providing a doctor's verification that she is physically capable of caring for children. I don't know that this would have caught a chronic condition that makes her sick so often, but it might have. We had a nanny once who ended up having back problems that never came up in our interview process. Previously, I felt like I was insulting an applicant by asking for the doctors' note. I learned I was just doing my due diligence as a parent, just like calling references and running a background check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, in the future I'd recommend giving a nanny applicant a soft job offer contingency on providing a doctor's verification that she is physically capable of caring for children. I don't know that this would have caught a chronic condition that makes her sick so often, but it might have. We had a nanny once who ended up having back problems that never came up in our interview process. Previously, I felt like I was insulting an applicant by asking for the doctors' note. I learned I was just doing my due diligence as a parent, just like calling references and running a background check.

What if she doesn't have a dr?

I haven't been to a dr since I was a child. Obviously I'm healthy.

[Anonymous]

Pay for her to go to a doctor. I've thought previous candidates were obviously healthy as well, when it turned out they were not.