Sick days!!!

[Anonymous]

Our wonderful nanny has been with us 2 years and we love her but recently she's been calling/texting in sick a lot - at least twice a month since November plus a couple days in Sept/October. We have been fairly flexible - she only has 3 sick days per our contract and 3 weeks paid leave - as I know it's not good to work sick. But I'm missing a lot of work. She also complains every time out DD gets a slight cold that she's sick. I get that caring for really sick children is not good but we are talking slight cold, no fever!!! This is usually the trigger for a sick text. Are others strict about the contracted sick days?! I know saying more would be unpaid would just be fruitless and cause needless friction.

[Anonymous]

What's her hourly rate, OP?

[Anonymous]

If she's used up her sick days, she needs to use vacation to cover anything else, or take them unpaid.

[Anonymous]

In any job I have been at, time off becomes unpaid if you take more time than you are given. She sounds burned out

[Anonymous]

I personally think she is trying to make a point.

She doesn't want to work around a sick child and since you are not on the same page with her, she is basically acting like each time she is exposed to your DD, it makes her fall ill as well.

Not a lovely way to communicate in my opinion. Also a tad bit immature as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally think she is trying to make a point.

She doesn't want to work around a sick child and since you are not on the same page with her, she is basically acting like each time she is exposed to your DD, it makes her fall ill as well.

Not a lovely way to communicate in my opinion. Also a tad bit immature as well.

As a MB, I could not continue to hire someone who won't work with a child with a cold. I think you have to have a talk with her, but before you do, you need to decide what you can accommodate. If she says, "I do not work with sick children," and includes the sniffles in that, is that something you can manage?

[Anonymous]

Thanks all, I plan to talk to her. Also, for one child she is paid $22/hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's her hourly rate, OP?

Huh? What that matters?

[Anonymous]

You are overpaying OP

[Anonymous]

Isn't like the whole damn point of a nanny to not have to worry if your kid is sick?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't like the whole damn point of a nanny to not have to worry if your kid is sick?

No it's not the whole damn point. The point is to find the best care for your child. If you expect a nanny to care for your sick child, you have to also expect that sometimes she will get sick doing so. What you do in response to that fact of nature is up to you. Some folks give nanny a hard time for calling out and some wont pay. Those are the ones whose nannies won't work with their sick kid. If shes gonna get crap either way, why take on the hassle of a sick kid?

[Anonymous]

Yeah. A 7 year old coughed in my face repeatedly last week, after having spent a week off school sick. By Monday I was confined to the couch and here I remain, aside from that trip to urgent care. I'll give them notice as soon as I can speak again; if you haven't taught your first grader to cover his mouth when he's sick, you're hopeless.

If DD is a baby or toddler then yeah, massive exposure to germs is a work hazard. But I also don't think you should assume she isn't genuinely ill; this winter has been brutal for a lot of people. Figure out what seems fair re sick pay, unpaid leave using up vacation days, and talk it over with her. Hopefully spring is here shortly and we can all go back to functioning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our wonderful nanny has been with us 2 years and we love her but recently she's been calling/texting in sick a lot - at least twice a month since November plus a couple days in Sept/October. We have been fairly flexible - she only has 3 sick days per our contract and 3 weeks paid leave - as I know it's not good to work sick. But I'm missing a lot of work. She also complains every time out DD gets a slight cold that she's sick. I get that caring for really sick children is not good but we are talking slight cold, no fever!!! This is usually the trigger for a sick text. Are others strict about the contracted sick days?! I know saying more would be unpaid would just be fruitless and cause needless friction.

How often is your child sick? Maybe look into that.