If your kids get your nanny sick, do you count it towards her sick days?

[Anonymous]

My son (2.5) got a stomach bug on a Thursday, right after my nanny left for the week (she works M-W and half of Thurs.). My daughter (8m) got it the Sunday after. I kept my nanny informed and my kids seemed fine after 12 hours. On Monday both my husband and I got the bug. Our nanny then caught it and got sick Tuesday night and missed work Wednesday and Thursday. Do I take away from her sick days or should I excuse them because she got sick from our family? I think getting sick from your charges is an occupational hazard when you're a nanny but I'm wondering what others do. For what it's worth, the bug was mild for the four of us, but my nanny texted me that she was throwing up a lot. I haven't seen here since before she got sick but it seems she got it much worse than we did.

[Anonymous]

I think you should pay her without using sick leave. Your family infected her. Its not fun being sick and she got it worse than you. I'd also do something nice as an apology.

[Anonymous]

Of course I deduct them from her sick days. Figuring out whose fault it is that someone got sick isn't really a game I want to play.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Why should I get her something nice as an apology? I will certainly tell her (as I have already) that it is unfortunate she got sick, but I don't think I need to get her something because of it. She is supposed to work when the kids are sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course I deduct them from her sick days. Figuring out whose fault it is that someone got sick isn't really a game I want to play.

OP here. I think this is a good point. I'm concerned about the precedent this sets. She could claim in the future that the kids got her sick and expect to be paid for missing more work. Right now I have no reason to believe she'd do that, but you never know.

In terms of "fault," I was also thinking it could be the nanny's fault that my son got sick in the first place, like not washing his hands after a trip to the park or something. Again, not like I suspect something, but it's a possibility so playing the fault game is probably a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

You sound like a terrible employer, I would never
want to work for someone like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Why should I get her something nice as an apology? I will certainly tell her (as I have already) that it is unfortunate she got sick, but I don't think I need to get her something because of it. She is supposed to work when the kids are sick.

Yes, it is her job to work but this was something highly contagious. You should have not had her come in with a child that contagious and scrubbed the house down before she returned. If you all were sick first, your family did something to get sick, not her. Blaming her makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

You are correct OP that getting sick IS an occupational hazard of working as a Nanny.

So for that point alone, I think you should offer her more sick days annually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course I deduct them from her sick days. Figuring out whose fault it is that someone got sick isn't really a game I want to play.

OP here. I think this is a good point. I'm concerned about the precedent this sets. She could claim in the future that the kids got her sick and expect to be paid for missing more work. Right now I have no reason to believe she'd do that, but you never know.

In terms of "fault," I was also thinking it could be the nanny's fault that my son got sick in the first place, like not washing his hands after a trip to the park or something. Again, not like I suspect something, but it's a possibility so playing the fault game is probably a bad idea.

OP,
If you actually faulted your Nanny to have gotten your child ill just by not washing your child's hands after an outing, then you surely are not a good employer AT ALL.

This is just outrageous to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course I deduct them from her sick days. Figuring out whose fault it is that someone got sick isn't really a game I want to play.

OP here. I think this is a good point. I'm concerned about the precedent this sets. She could claim in the future that the kids got her sick and expect to be paid for missing more work. Right now I have no reason to believe she'd do that, but you never know.

In terms of "fault," I was also thinking it could be the nanny's fault that my son got sick in the first place, like not washing his hands after a trip to the park or something. Again, not like I suspect something, but it's a possibility so playing the fault game is probably a bad idea.

Or a child coughed or sneezed on your son. Or your son touched something in the grocery store. Or the germs were airborne during an activity with other toddlers and preschoolers. Young children get sick frequently, it's how their immune systems develop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course I deduct them from her sick days. Figuring out whose fault it is that someone got sick isn't really a game I want to play.

You are not a decent employer.

[Anonymous]

I would pay her for the days and make a note of which days she missed and why. If she gets sick down the road and needs to take 2 sick days, but is technically out of sick days, then I would pay her anyway (taking into consideration that she missed 2 days due to catching a stomach bug from my family).

I am not someone who goes exactly by the book for sick days though. I offer 5 per year, but paid our last nanny more than 5, even though she never got sick because of us. We appreciated her and think that the standard of 2 weeks vacation and 5 sick days is pretty paltry, so try to give more when we can.

[Anonymous]

For something like a stomach bug we don't count it as a sick day. For a cold, we do (but nanny has never called in just for a cold)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course I deduct them from her sick days. Figuring out whose fault it is that someone got sick isn't really a game I want to play.

You are not a decent employer.

I guess. I can just see this causing resentment and disagreements unless your nanny is super honest. And if she is super honest, then you probably aren't really keeping track of sick days at all.

[Anonymous]

As an adult, she should have a much better immune system than your children, unless her immune system is compromised for some reason. When my kids get sick, I don't get sick.