Nanny going on vacation

[Anonymous]

We are thinking of inviting our nanny on vacation with us. This would be the schedule. Is this appropriate/acceptable? Anything I should add or clarify? Suggestions for payment? We have 4 kids. 9, 8, and 2 yo twins.

Arrive on Sunday- no shift

Monday- 9pm-2am(we’d most likely be home before 2 though). Kids would be in bed the entire time.

Tuesday- 11am-6pm. She would only have the twins. We are taking the older 2 out for some activities that aren’t toddler friendly.

Wednesday- no shift

Thurs- 11am-4pm. We want to drink alcohol on the beach. We would be present the entire time but the nanny is there for obvious safety reasons. The only time we wouldn’t be around is if she took the kids inside to nap or cool down or if we decided to do the same.

Fri- 9pm-2am, again, probably won’t be out that late. We’re doing game night at one of our friend’s rentals. Kids will be in bed.

Sat- 7pm- 10pm. Dh and i just want to have dinner alone.

We leave on Tuesday. No shifts from Sunday to Tuesday.

Breakfast and dinner would be provided. Lunch would be offered if we made it at the rental and paid for if she joined us in eating out. Any time she would be with us outside of the shift times, would be non working hours. The kids would be made aware that she’s not in caretaker mode and should be treated as a guest/friend of the family. We would pay for any activities she participated in with us, working or not. If she chose to do something else by herself, we wouldn’t pay for that.


She would have the option to drive herself(4 1/2 hour drive) or ride with us. If she drove herself, she could leave on Sunday if she wanted(and still get paid the same) or stay if chose to do so. If she rides with us she’s stuck the entire trip. We would reimburse her for gas and lunch along the way if she drove herself

I’m a little up in the air about pay.

We will pay her her normal weekly salary for sure. We are thinking of billing the shift hours (25 total) as time and a half hourly. We are a little lost on what to offer for the rest of the time. I feel like we should compensate for the idle time she’s just there, not working, but not being able to go home either. Do you think the weekly salary plus OT would cover that or should we also offer an extra bonus for the time she is there? Technically, she would be getting 2 weeks worth of a salary considering we’ll be there 10 days then returning to work when we get back.

Any advice for how payment should work?

[Anonymous]

Most nannies charge an overnight fee of $75-$150. This would be your "away time" extra.

[Anonymous]

I suggest letting her drive up there on her own and reimbursing for gas and Mileage. Why should she be there form Sunday-Tuesday when she’s not working? Makes no sense.

So she’ll be working 25 hours and you’re going to pay those 25 hours at time and a half?

Or you could offer her a flat daily rate of $400 a day or something like that.

[Anonymous]

Personally I would want to drive down Monday during the day and leave the following Sun if this was me. Then I would have a couple of days to regroup before starting work for you again on Wednesday. I would also have my own car for off time to do things I want to do.
I think an extra $500 flat rate on top of normal salary would be fine. ( I would be ok with this)

[Anonymous]

As for what she charges per night for the away fee, you should nust ask her because it varies widely from one nanny to another and many nannies charge different families differently depending on number of kids, layout of the house and personalities involved.

[Anonymous]

$50/hr., 24 hours/day. Only a fool would agree to your plans

[Anonymous]

Are you going somewhere where she will have a lot to do in her off time, or is it mostly just beach? (ie is it a location she'd like to go to but typically wouldn't visit?)

Consider where she will be sleeping. The nights she's 'on call' til 2am, will she be able to sleep or will she need to stay awake?

Honestly, I've traveled with families before and your schedule would definitely work for me. Can you email her your suggestions so she isn't put on the spot in terms of answering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest letting her drive up there on her own and reimbursing for gas and Mileage. Why should she be there form Sunday-Tuesday when she’s not working? Makes no sense.

So she’ll be working 25 hours and you’re going to pay those 25 hours at time and a half?

Or you could offer her a flat daily rate of $400 a day or something like that.

Ideally, she’ll drive herself. I just don’t want her to feel obligated to provide her own transportation.

Yes, that would be correct. Not included in that would be her normal salary which she would also be getting(we pay her weekly, not hourly).

A day rate sounds reasonable too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest letting her drive up there on her own and reimbursing for gas and Mileage. Why should she be there form Sunday-Tuesday when she’s not working? Makes no sense.

So she’ll be working 25 hours and you’re going to pay those 25 hours at time and a half?

Or you could offer her a flat daily rate of $400 a day or something like that.

Ideally, she’ll drive herself. I just don’t want her to feel obligated to provide her own transportation.

Yes, that would be correct. Not included in that would be her normal salary which she would also be getting(we pay her weekly, not hourly).

A day rate sounds reasonable too.

Nannies are hourly employees. Federal law.

[Anonymous]

Is she sharing a room with the kids? If she's not free to leave and go home she's on duty 24hrs. None of this25 hour nonsense! If you don't want to pay your nanny appropriately then look after you own kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest letting her drive up there on her own and reimbursing for gas and Mileage. Why should she be there form Sunday-Tuesday when she’s not working? Makes no sense.

So she’ll be working 25 hours and you’re going to pay those 25 hours at time and a half?

Or you could offer her a flat daily rate of $400 a day or something like that.

Ideally, she’ll drive herself. I just don’t want her to feel obligated to provide her own transportation.

Yes, that would be correct. Not included in that would be her normal salary which she would also be getting(we pay her weekly, not hourly).

A day rate sounds reasonable too.

Nannies are hourly employees. Federal law.

Yes but we pay her for non working hours. She was promised 40 hours a week in our contract but we don’t always need her for the entire 40. We don’t dock her promised pay just because we came home early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she sharing a room with the kids? If she's not free to leave and go home she's on duty 24hrs. None of this25 hour nonsense! If you don't want to pay your nanny appropriately then look after you own kids.

No, she would not share a room with anyone. Private bathroom as well.

What do you consider appropriately? We do not plan to ONLY pay for 25 hours of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of inviting our nanny on vacation with us. This would be the schedule. Is this appropriate/acceptable? Anything I should add or clarify? Suggestions for payment? We have 4 kids. 9, 8, and 2 yo twins.

Arrive on Sunday- no shift

Monday- 9pm-2am(we’d most likely be home before 2 though). Kids would be in bed the entire time.

Tuesday- 11am-6pm. She would only have the twins. We are taking the older 2 out for some activities that aren’t toddler friendly.

Wednesday- no shift

Thurs- 11am-4pm. We want to drink alcohol on the beach. We would be present the entire time but the nanny is there for obvious safety reasons. The only time we wouldn’t be around is if she took the kids inside to nap or cool down or if we decided to do the same.

Fri- 9pm-2am, again, probably won’t be out that late. We’re doing game night at one of our friend’s rentals. Kids will be in bed.

Sat- 7pm- 10pm. Dh and i just want to have dinner alone.

We leave on Tuesday. No shifts from Sunday to Tuesday.

Breakfast and dinner would be provided. Lunch would be offered if we made it at the rental and paid for if she joined us in eating out. Any time she would be with us outside of the shift times, would be non working hours. The kids would be made aware that she’s not in caretaker mode and should be treated as a guest/friend of the family. We would pay for any activities she participated in with us, working or not. If she chose to do something else by herself, we wouldn’t pay for that.


She would have the option to drive herself(4 1/2 hour drive) or ride with us. If she drove herself, she could leave on Sunday if she wanted(and still get paid the same) or stay if chose to do so. If she rides with us she’s stuck the entire trip. We would reimburse her for gas and lunch along the way if she drove herself

I’m a little up in the air about pay.

We will pay her her normal weekly salary for sure. We are thinking of billing the shift hours (25 total) as time and a half hourly. We are a little lost on what to offer for the rest of the time. I feel like we should compensate for the idle time she’s just there, not working, but not being able to go home either. Do you think the weekly salary plus OT would cover that or should we also offer an extra bonus for the time she is there? Technically, she would be getting 2 weeks worth of a salary considering we’ll be there 10 days then returning to work when we get back.

Any advice for how payment should work?

I would consider this 100% a work trip for her and in a way you are splitting hairs on a schedule (7-10pm, 9-2am). Even if the kids are asleep, she is responsible and on call. If I were you I would keep that in mind when determining her pay. You are not really inviting her on a vacation as much as you are asking her to work, which is fine. What would you do if she turned your invitation down?

[Anonymous]

Ask her for her day rate. Being away from home, regardless of if you are actively working, is a burden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask her for her day rate. Being away from home, regardless of if you are actively working, is a burden.

It's not a vacation for her, as your title implies.