I am a nanny & a month ago I requested off tomorrow. I was told by nanny family I could take off & use one of my vacation days. Which I have 5 for the year. I did. I get off Thanksgiving & black Friday as vacation days. Then today I find out DB is off tomorrow & MB is also taking off tomorrow. But I am still expected to use a vacation day. Even though both parents are off. I also told that DB is off week Dec.24th-Jan.2nd & MB more then likely is taking off. But they only plan on giving me off 25th & 1st & if I want off more once again I have to use vacation days. It does not make sense to me if the off why I would be needed?! I have never worked for a family that has not given me off week of Christmas. Dose most nannies work when parents are off during holidays? Sm I being unreasonable to be annoyed? |
OP hear sorry for spelling mistakes! Doing this on my phone! |
Just because I have the day off from work doesn't mean I'm free to sit around doing art with my kids. I may need to buy them gifts, go to doctor appointments, get things at home done without them underfoot, etc.
You are paid to be there. It's really none of your business what the parents are doing. |
Just because they are off, doesn’t mean you automatically get to have it off. You requested the day after Thanksgiving and they approved it, shouldn’t matter if they were going to stay home. |
Most people get Thanksgiving as a holiday, they are making use a vacation day for it? |
As a nanny, I RARELY got all those days off paid. As a teacher, I get them. As a nanny FOR a teacher, I did not get them. I understand wanting them off as a nanny and feeling like you need a break. Unfortunately, it is not standard practice. With a different family they may offer it to you.
With my best nanny family, I had guaranteed hours. I was off and paid for that time between Christmas and New Years because they had off work and they actually wanted to spend time with their kids (including cooking, wrapping, running errands, etc.) Many parents want a break from their kids. That's fine, I get it, kids are tiring. But they had three kids (including one special needs child) and they both had demanding jobs, and they never once asked for help on a weekend because they felt it was important to spend time with their own children. They were by far the fairest and best employers I've ever had. |
OP here. I have been a nanny a for fifteen years & have always been given off the week of Christmas paid. I guess I was just really lucky with my past families. |
MB here. I don't have to go into the office the week after Christmas but I will absolutely be working. Maybe not 10 hour days, but probably a solid six. |
Just double checking: Thursday and Friday are holidays or vacation days? And you added Wednesday as a vacation day? No reason to feel underappreciated if you are getting the holidays and vacation in your contract. We give Christmas and New Year's Day as holidays, and the inbetween days as vacation days for our nanny (counts against her 3 weeks of vacation). |
We did similar. We gave TG/Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Nanny's choice of either Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve. Sometimes our nanny lucks out and we go on vacation during this time. Other times, she's had to use her vacation days to extend her time off. |
What you are recieving is standard. If you want more time off than what is in your contract then you’ll need to renegotiate at your annual review. You lucked out in the past, but you aren’t owed any more time than what you initially negotiated. |
Of course families want you to take vacation days on days they already have off, otherwise they have to find backup care. They want you to burn your days like that. So “oh they have off anyway” is a silly logic. |
You should get federal holidays, like they do. They are probably taking leave in less they own the company, so should you. You should not get off just because they do. They don't get off just because their boss is off. Your logic makes no sense. |
+1 your logic makes no sense. There have been other threads/ posits about this where nannies feel Entitled to have off if the employers are off? That is just crazy and makes no sense , like another pp said it’s none of your business. If it’s not a vacation day in your contract then yes you take a vacation day. |
Honestly, OP, your vacation days and time off have absolutely nothing to do with your employers time off. Get that though completely out of your head. I often work when my employers are home/not working.
You negotiated five vacation days and that is what you are getting. Next time or at your annual review, request paid national holidays off and more vacation time. |