I was let go suddenly

[Anonymous]

So my 3 year old daughter unfortunately got sick with bronchitis twice just a few weeks apart recently causing me to miss some work - total 4 days after I've only been at the job for about 3 months. My husband was traveling for work due the end of their fiscal year this month. Very bad timing obviously. I seriously did not see this coming as she's normally very healthy and rarely ever gets sick. She had symptoms such that her daycare couldn't take her. So yesterday, I was called by my employer and fired for unreliability. I feel so bad about having had this happen and it made me feel pretty low getting let go. I totally get why they did it because of course they need a reliable nanny...of course since they otherwise liked me, I do wish I'd had gotten some notice instead of just being let go immediately.

I just am trying to figure out if it's better for me to just do temporary, short term, and on call type jobs where I have more flexibility over my schedule. I've pretty much established my career as a nanny at this point in my life and I do not have the space at my home to host an in home daycare plus I can make more doing nanny work even with paying my daughter's daycare. Any other nannies been in this type of situation that can help shed some light on what to do from here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my 3 year old daughter unfortunately got sick with bronchitis twice just a few weeks apart recently causing me to miss some work - total 4 days after I've only been at the job for about 3 months. My husband was traveling for work due the end of their fiscal year this month. Very bad timing obviously. I seriously did not see this coming as she's normally very healthy and rarely ever gets sick. She had symptoms such that her daycare couldn't take her. So yesterday, I was called by my employer and fired for unreliability. I feel so bad about having had this happen and it made me feel pretty low getting let go. I totally get why they did it because of course they need a reliable nanny...of course since they otherwise liked me, I do wish I'd had gotten some notice instead of just being let go immediately.

I just am trying to figure out if it's better for me to just do temporary, short term, and on call type jobs where I have more flexibility over my schedule. I've pretty much established my career as a nanny at this point in my life and I do not have the space at my home to host an in home daycare plus I can make more doing nanny work even with paying my daughter's daycare. Any other nannies been in this type of situation that can help shed some light on what to do from here?

If your husband travels and you have no backup care yourself, then, yes, you need a more flexible job. You can't be the sole person in a position and have a lot of flexibility unless you work for someone who doesn't really need a nanny, in which case you probably aren't going to much like the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my 3 year old daughter unfortunately got sick with bronchitis twice just a few weeks apart recently causing me to miss some work - total 4 days after I've only been at the job for about 3 months. My husband was traveling for work due the end of their fiscal year this month. Very bad timing obviously. I seriously did not see this coming as she's normally very healthy and rarely ever gets sick. She had symptoms such that her daycare couldn't take her. So yesterday, I was called by my employer and fired for unreliability. I feel so bad about having had this happen and it made me feel pretty low getting let go. I totally get why they did it because of course they need a reliable nanny...of course since they otherwise liked me, I do wish I'd had gotten some notice instead of just being let go immediately.

I just am trying to figure out if it's better for me to just do temporary, short term, and on call type jobs where I have more flexibility over my schedule. I've pretty much established my career as a nanny at this point in my life and I do not have the space at my home to host an in home daycare plus I can make more doing nanny work even with paying my daughter's daycare. Any other nannies been in this type of situation that can help shed some light on what to do from here?

If your husband travels and you have no backup care yourself, then, yes, you need a more flexible job. You can't be the sole person in a position and have a lot of flexibility unless you work for someone who doesn't really need a nanny, in which case you probably aren't going to much like the job.

It's not so much about me having backup care. It's about the fact that she needed to stay home being sick. No one's going to take sick kiddo unless I'm willing to fork over most or all of my earnings for my own nanny.

[Anonymous]

But you might need a more flexible job, then. Where you aren't the only person who can do your job and therefore no one really cares if you take sick leave as long as you've earned it. (Read: low to mid level office job.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my 3 year old daughter unfortunately got sick with bronchitis twice just a few weeks apart recently causing me to miss some work - total 4 days after I've only been at the job for about 3 months. My husband was traveling for work due the end of their fiscal year this month. Very bad timing obviously. I seriously did not see this coming as she's normally very healthy and rarely ever gets sick. She had symptoms such that her daycare couldn't take her. So yesterday, I was called by my employer and fired for unreliability. I feel so bad about having had this happen and it made me feel pretty low getting let go. I totally get why they did it because of course they need a reliable nanny...of course since they otherwise liked me, I do wish I'd had gotten some notice instead of just being let go immediately.

I just am trying to figure out if it's better for me to just do temporary, short term, and on call type jobs where I have more flexibility over my schedule. I've pretty much established my career as a nanny at this point in my life and I do not have the space at my home to host an in home daycare plus I can make more doing nanny work even with paying my daughter's daycare. Any other nannies been in this type of situation that can help shed some light on what to do from here?

If your husband travels and you have no backup care yourself, then, yes, you need a more flexible job. You can't be the sole person in a position and have a lot of flexibility unless you work for someone who doesn't really need a nanny, in which case you probably aren't going to much like the job.

It's not so much about me having backup care. It's about the fact that she needed to stay home being sick. No one's going to take sick kiddo unless I'm willing to fork over most or all of my earnings for my own nanny.

Your back-up should be family, friends, or a sitter who will agree to stay with your sick child... Unless it's serious enough that she needs to go to the pediatrician, you need to work.

Maybe on call would be good, but you would have the same issues with temp or short-term work that you have with the position that just ended. Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Well no family any closer to us than 600 miles away...friends all work normal hours, and near impossible to find a sitter for sick care. These instances required doctor visits too.

I do think I might be able to swing short term and on call through my agency, but something else came to my mind this evening about all this too:

I have decided to file for unemployment in the mean time because they refused me any severance even though our contract states that both parties would agree to give a minimum of 4 weeks notice before terminating employment for any reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well no family any closer to us than 600 miles away...friends all work normal hours, and near impossible to find a sitter for sick care. These instances required doctor visits too.

I do think I might be able to swing short term and on call through my agency, but something else came to my mind this evening about all this too:

I have decided to file for unemployment in the mean time because they refused me any severance even though our contract states that both parties would agree to give a minimum of 4 weeks notice before terminating employment for any reason.

Maybe some attorneys here would offer their opinion about this breach of contract?

[Anonymous]

If I were you, I'd start building my reputation as an on-call sitter or short term, as you've suggested. Or, look into a nanny share where your child is the other share partner. She can lay on someone else's couch as easily as yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well no family any closer to us than 600 miles away...friends all work normal hours, and near impossible to find a sitter for sick care. These instances required doctor visits too.

I do think I might be able to swing short term and on call through my agency, but something else came to my mind this evening about all this too:

I have decided to file for unemployment in the mean time because they refused me any severance even though our contract states that both parties would agree to give a minimum of 4 weeks notice before terminating employment for any reason.

Maybe some attorneys here would offer their opinion about this breach of contract?

Your stupid nanny contracts aren't enforceble.

[Anonymous]

You can always file for unemployment, but if you haven't been in a position long enough, you won't qualify. It differs by state.

Also, I'm curious as to why you say it's not about needing "backup care." What is it, then? When a MB hires a nanny for full days even though her child is in school most of the day, that's so she has backup care for this exact same reason: her child is sick, or has a day off, and someone has to stay home with her.

[Anonymous]

MB here, and I never quite understand these cases. If, as an MB, I am in a bad position at work because m nanny took four days off, then aren't i in acworse position if I suddenly fire her? Why wouldn't you give the notice agreed to?
Unless maybe the person they hired to cover for you was looking for a full time job, and they liked her better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MB here, and I never quite understand these cases. If, as an MB, I am in a bad position at work because m nanny took four days off, then aren't i in acworse position if I suddenly fire her? Why wouldn't you give the notice agreed to?
Unless maybe the person they hired to cover for you was looking for a full time job, and they liked her better.

A couple of reasons:
1) They are fed up, and would rather take the time off at their own discretion, arrange for backup care, and find someone new, than worry about whether she's going to call out at the last minute again. If they aren't sure she's going to be able to come in tomorrow, then what's the point?
2) If she is still under the minimum amount of time employed to qualify for unemployment, if they let her go, they are not on the hook for unemployment.
3) At a certain point, it starts to look like you are tolerating a set of circumstances because you have let it go on so long, and the nanny has a point if months later she is let go for reasons that weren't a problem for a very long time.
4) Someone they interviewed previously is still available, and they want to make a switch before she's employed elsewhere.
5) Sooner is better in terms of the child. Let him/her get attached to someone new now rather than 6 months from now.

[Anonymous]

They probably let you go because you don't have reliable backup care for your young child and the situation could recur. Four days in three months is a lot to have to juggle with a new employee when both parents are working. I think you are right to be looking for temp work.

[Anonymous]

Op sorry for your situation. I'm curious what you do with all the holidays and twd that are on the school calendar now? And I'm shocked that as parents themselves they or you didn't suggest bring her with you and putting her in a room away from your charge so that they could at least get to work and then figure it out later and make a dr appt for that afternoon. I also don't think you'd get unemployment because you weren't with them long enough. I saw the other poster say contracts aren't enforceable but anything is in small claims court at least go after them for your severance.

[Anonymous]

Severeance is usually given when nanny is let go for no cause. Because OP was unreliable her bosses have grounds for cause and don't owe any severance. Yes it would've been nice but it's certainly not required. If OP had other options for her child and was reliable she would still have a job, she wasn't and therefore was fired.