Questions on Nanny Sharing

[AshleyBMarion]

Hello, I'm doing a nanny share with another family and we are both new to this. As we were discussing needs, some questions came up that we weren't sure how to handle or what a good policy is to ensure both families AND the nanny are happy. Hoping you can help with the below questions:

What's the going hourly rate for a full time nanny share for 2 infants (50 hours week M-F) in Alexandria?

What do you typically offer for vacation, sick and holiday time (paid and unpaid) and how do you split this between families?

Do you get agreement from both families to pay the full weekly rate (50hours X hourly rate) every week as a flat require rate like a salary OR treat the nanny as a "freelancer" in that you keep track of the hours worked and pay only for that... For example, if one or both families come home 2 hours earlier on Friday one week, do you only pay for 48 hours vs. the full 50 hours that week?

How do you handle the situation when on any given day, one family needs care and the other family does not? For example, a snow day or holiday day when one family still needs to go to work and the other doesn't...do you both still pay the day or only the family that needs the care pays for that day?

If one child in the nanny share is sick, and that family still needs to go in to work, how do you handle that? Obviously, you wouldn't want to make the other child sick, but you both still need care.

[Anonymous]

I recommend asking the Old Town Moms for the going rate for nanny shares in the neighborhood. Plenty of families will reply directly to you - I've heard $17-20/hr but that was a couple years ago. 2 weeks vacation, 1 week sick is typical. For coverage, most families sort it out independently rather than trying to hire a joint back-up nanny. You might plan your vacation to coincide with the nanny's while the other family will fly in grandparents.

In terms of hours, you'll probably need to have agreed set hours for the share at the share rate. If one of the families is late for pick up, it's a bit complicated because if you're hosting and the other family is late, then the nanny is sticking around your house with some one else's kid and not on the clock for you. Your kid will probably still want to play with his friend in the play room, not entertain himself in the kitchen while you make dinner. Alternatively, you could agree to let the nanny go on time and then you're stuck babysitting the share's kid. It's probably best that the general plan is that everyone is on time for pick up.

To your other questions, there would be set core hours, ie M-F 8am -6pm. When one family goes on vacation, they still pay. If one family picks up early, they still pay. If one family is running late, that family is 100% responsible for any additional OT owed to the nanny. You could set up complex systems to cover all the possible scenarios but it's complicated and adds an additional layer of rules & systems to an already complex relationship.

[Anonymous]

At least $25/hr. It's an incredible amount of work, more than twins who are used to each other.