Nannies breaking/damaging items in your home

[Anonymous]

How do you feel about nannies accidentally breaking or damaging something while on duty? Such as a broken wine glass when unloading the dishwasher or ruining a piece of clothing in the laundry. Should nanny offer to replace or reimburse for these items? Is this just a part of having someone working in your home?

[Anonymous]

It's part of having someone work in your home and you should not ask nor expect them to replace something like a wine glass. If there is frequent damage, that's another issue. Then you should talk to him/her about why that's happening and correct the actions or let the person go. Short of purposeful destruction you shouldn't expect reimbursement. Of course, if that's the case then you should probably find someone else.

If I was a nanny and the boss asked me to pay for a broken wine glass or something else accidental, I would think very poorly of them and be on the lookout for a new job. Accidents happen.

[Anonymous]

No, those accidents can happen to anyone. N

[Anonymous]

Our nanny has broken many glasses unloading the dishwasher and never said a thing about that. Then one time she managed the equivalent of a red sock in with a bunch of white rags and went and replaced the whole set immediately. It always struck me as odd that she wouldn't say a thing about the glasses (which I might actually care about because we ultimately had to replace the whole set), whereas the rags were...rags. They can be stained and it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

I accidentally stuck a mattress cover in the dryer and it tore. I immediately texted my boss and told her I would replace it that weekend. She said not to worry. I think accidents can happen. As long as its not constant, I would replace myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny has broken many glasses unloading the dishwasher and never said a thing about that. Then one time she managed the equivalent of a red sock in with a bunch of white rags and went and replaced the whole set immediately. It always struck me as odd that she wouldn't say a thing about the glasses (which I might actually care about because we ultimately had to replace the whole set), whereas the rags were...rags. They can be stained and it doesn't matter.

Are you sure the glasses aren't breaking inside the dishwasher? This happens to me a lot and when it does I usûally don't mention it to my employers because I didn't break it the dishwasher did. Now if a glass falls off a counter and it was my fault I do mention it.

[Anonymous]

Seriously? I would never ask our nanny to replace a glass or article of clothing. Or anything else. Stuff happens.

[Anonymous]

MB here. Of course not. If a friend came over and broke something, you wouldn't ask them to pay for it. If someone is careless and constantly damaging stuff, that's one thing but then again you probably don't want that person watching your children. The occasional accident? Totally normal. I break things in my own house all the time. As long as your children are alive and reasonably happy at the end of most days, that should be the priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about nannies accidentally breaking or damaging something while on duty? Such as a broken wine glass when unloading the dishwasher or ruining a piece of clothing in the laundry. Should nanny offer to replace or reimburse for these items? Is this just a part of having someone working in your home?

As long as the nanny is working on the books and legally in your home, any items in your home should be covered by insurance...Am I right?

Even if I a wrong, I think it would be wrong to charge her for an accident. If it was done on purpose, say if she were arguing with you or your child and to be malicious she purposely threw a cell phone or iPad and it hit a wall, then yes...I believe she would be liable and should replace it in full.

But for an accident, I wouldn't expect her to pony up any money for anything because after all when you have someone work inside your home, it is only reasonable that sooner or later something may get broken within a certain amount of time. As long as it isn't a big ticket item like a big screen T.V., I would just take it as part of the job. A broken wine glass is certainly nothing to charge her for.

[Anonymous]

It happens OP. I break stuff too, and so do the kids.

Our nanny has broken many things, and she has replaced some of them - though I've always told her not to worry about.

I'm sad about some of the things that have been broken but accidents happen. She has never, ever allowed any harm to come to my kids and that trumps everything else.

[nannydebsays]

If I damage or break something, I offer to replace it. No employer has ever accepted that offer.

[Anonymous]

nannydebsays wrote:If I damage or break something, I offer to replace it. No employer has ever accepted that offer.

This. I would expect her to offer to replace the item and me to decline the offer. That's what happens if a friend breaks something in my home.

But I live in the Midwest, and we are overly polite here.

[Anonymous]

If you have a nice piece of art hanging on the wall, out of normal reach, and she somehow manages to bang something into it and damage it, then I'd see your point.

But a glass breaking or something going in the wash that shouldn't is just the price you pay to not do everything yourself. People do it differently that you would and glasses break after use. Half the people who've helped us out in the kitchen have put our cast iron skillet in the dishwasher - that kind of thing happens when you have help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you feel about nannies accidentally breaking or damaging something while on duty? Such as a broken wine glass when unloading the dishwasher or ruining a piece of clothing in the laundry. Should nanny offer to replace or reimburse for these items? Is this just a part of having someone working in your home?

How can people cry for a broken wine glasses. Seriously nowadays people are so cheap . For god sake stop crying for things like these.

[Anonymous]

No, of course not. If it is part of her job to unload the dishwasher and do laundry then YOU asked her to do those things. You are ultimately responsible not the employee.