Nanny Vacation With Us Contract

[Anonymous]

We are thinking we might do a VRBO this summer for a change of scenery. Help me to create the terms of a contract for nanny coming with us. Assume a house with her own bedroom but shared bath off main hallway.

We would pay all food costs, transportation costs - she can drive her car but we would pay gas and tolls or she can come with us - her choice.

We plan to eat at the house or do take out (unless things dramatically change for the better I don't feel great eating in a restaurant, even distanced and outdoors). We plan to swim in the pool, walk the town, look at the ocean, maybe swim or play on the beach.

Currently thinking we would not ask her to do more than 8 hours of care but the hours would be flexible based on the plan for the day. She would not have any overnight responsibility but we might have her "be on" one night while we have an adult dinner or walk on the beach.

She would have time off and to herself but would always be invited to anything we do.

We obviously need to pay her for all the time she is away from home, but what would be "standard"? Do we double pay her hours (she has 8 guaranteed hours from us, but if we use them "away" do we pay on top of those)

Obviously this is our first time doing this and nanny has never traveled with a family, so want to make sure we do right by nanny. But also can't pay 1,000 a day. So want to know what is fair on all sides.

[Anonymous]

We pay a travel rate for every 24 hours period. Pre-covid it was $350 a day.

[Anonymous]

So 350 a day and then the normal paycheck she would make and that covers it?

[Anonymous]

Are you sure your nanny wants to go away with you? Most nannies do not want to travel with the family and be a live in. If it were me, I would ask to stay in a hotel and just charge my regular hours. Staying with a family on ‘vacation’ is literally the most miserable part of being a nanny. Also, will you be hiring someone to clean? The big reason I don’t travel with families to a vacation home is all the mess I end up having to clean. If we stay in a hotel, the staff clean. If we stay in a vacation home it’s expected that I’m the maid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So 350 a day and then the normal paycheck she would make and that covers it?

$350 a day was her salary (instead of hourly). We agreed to pay her in cash for those travel days, Again, this was over a year ago and she said she intended to raise her travel rate.

[Anonymous]

Where u are going would be a factor for me. If I’m going to enjoy my off time walking around a fun town or doing sightseeing etc I’d be ok with getting my regular pay plus travel time and a small bit extra. If there’s literally nothing for me to do and nowhere to go when I’m off I’d be less hesitant to want to go and would rather just work the whole time and get paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where u are going would be a factor for me. If I’m going to enjoy my off time walking around a fun town or doing sightseeing etc I’d be ok with getting my regular pay plus travel time and a small bit extra. If there’s literally nothing for me to do and nowhere to go when I’m off I’d be less hesitant to want to go and would rather just work the whole time and get paid.

i think this is something OP needs to consider as well. OP said she doesn't feel great about eating in a restaurant--OP, how do you feel about your nanny eating in a restaurant during her "off time?" Or other activities that might be indoors/close quarters?

[Anonymous]

Start with does she want to go? I did this once with a family in my early 20's and it was miserable as I was always on, the housekeeper as they never cleaned up and only got a few hours to myself.

[Anonymous]

I would assume, nanny gets paid at her regular rate and any additional hours is paid at time and a half. So, if nanny’s normal hours are 8-5 but you need her 7-6 then those 2 additional hours are paid 1.5x her regular rate. Nanny should have her own bedroom + bath and all her food and travel cost are covered by the employer. However, I know some nannies who charge a travel fee of $100-200 per day. You’ll need to ask nanny what she thinks is fair and what you can afford.

Like pp above stated, you would need to address nannies off time: if she wanted to go to a restaurant- how do you feel about that? How does nanny feel about not being able to attend activities? If it’s nowhere for her to go/do then you may need to make it worth her while, but just make sure it’s clear what your expectations are in terms of hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start with does she want to go? I did this once with a family in my early 20's and it was miserable as I was always on, the housekeeper as they never cleaned up and only got a few hours to myself.

+1. Traveling can be a special kind of hell with a bad couple.

[Anonymous]

How long are you planning on being away?
Does the nanny have family/pets here?
What else is there to do in that area?
Would you be comfortable if nanny eats indoors?
You mention wanting the nanny's 8 hours to be flexible - when will her hours be decided? Day by day? Morning of? Week before?

[Anonymous]

Make sure you sit down and talk with nanny.

Make sure to update her contract.

Rethink the bathroom- especially if you’re going for a longer time. She won’t have totally privacy or time off by sharing a bathroom.

Yes you pay all food and anything transportation wise

Ask her if she’s ok to change her hrs - still 8 hrs but different times in the day.

Here is what we pay our nanny and we travel 3-6 times a year

$200/day travel fee plus regular 40 hrs plus overtime (and any holiday pay if we hit a holiday)
Transportation
Food
Laundry service if no laundry available
Free days to explore

[Anonymous]

I agree....ask your Nanny first + foremost if she would enjoy traveling w/your family.
Like another poster stated >>> not all Nannies would be okay traveling w/their Nanny families.

If your Nanny is up for it, great!!

I think it is good that you are giving her the option of driving her own vehicle as well as covering all of her mileage fees on top of that.
Allowing her to bring her own car also will make it easier for her to travel the town you will be vacationing at.

I think your Nanny should have her own, private bathroom if there is any way possible.
That way she can use it anytime she needs to & she doesn’t have to share that space.

Nanny also has all of her food covered as well as any activities that she is required to take the children.
If she opts to do things on her time off then she can pay out of pocket or your family can give her a monetary stipend.

I would offer her her regular hours along w/some “extra” babysitting at OT.

A travel fee would also be included - maybe $100 per day.
This is ultimately what you can pay and what your Nanny is okay w/accepting.

Also keep in mind that if Nanny will be staying in the same house as you, that it is entirely up to you to give her complete privacy on her time off.
While the kids will ask to knock on her door, everyone should respect the Nanny’s privacy when not actively working.

Hope everything works out for you all!

[Anonymous]

Live-in here. While I’m always up to travel with my nf, most others aren’t (live-in and live-out). Here’s my recommendations:

1. Ask if she wants to go. If she doesn’t, you can reasonably ask her to take her vacation time then. For the rest of the time, you’d have to weigh needing a new nanny in the fall against paying for her to stay home. You could reasonably ask her to do any child-related tasks (purging closets, sanitizing toys, purging and donating toys, etc) while you’re gone if you pay, and she’s likely agree to handle mail and doing a grocery pickup when you get back.

2. Rethink your schedule. You have blocks of time that you want to have her available, then you pay whether she works or not. Instead, I’d suggest talking to her and working out a set schedule that includes your night out. That schedule shouldn’t vary week to week. She should be able to make her own plans to go listen to a concert in the park (for her car, if necessary) and know whether her schedule will accommodate it or not.

3. She needs to bring her car, and you need to pay the federal mileage rate plus tolls. It’s a special kind of hell to have one kid car and one adult car with kids and three adults.

4. If you plan to do takeout and she’s home, you text her the menu and ask what she wants, even if she’s not in duty. If you’re cooking at home, she can eat what you eat, cook for herself, or pay for her own food. If she chooses to be out of the house when take out is ordered, you could ask if she wants some, but she should already be planning her own meal. Ask her for a list of foods and a general idea of quantities that you should keep stocked for her weekly. If you eat it and/or it’s a reasonable cost, don’t quibble (ie. if you do smoked salmon on a bagel twice a week, and she wants it 4 times per week, no grouching over the added cost; if you don’t spring for smoked salmon more than once every few months, then asking her to choose lower classes at items is fine).

5. Give her the master bedroom with the en-suite. You share with your children. Alternatively, find a house with a MIL suite or basement that can be all hers.

6. If she’s not an outdoorsy type, she’s going to be bored out of her mind and away from everyone she knows. Make sure that she has your subscription information for all streaming services. You won’t want her with you all the time, and she’ll want some time to herself too. Make sure that she has a tablet, computer and/or television in her room/area.

7. You need to discuss what time you, kids and she each go to bed and get up. Nothing is worse than thinking you’ll get to sleep in and then hearing hanging on the wall next to your head... at 5 am. You also need to discuss who locks the door, when and whether there are enough keys for each adult (or whether an electronic door would wake up other adults).

8. Talk to her about the rate. Most nannies would be fine with $300-400/day, if they’re open to traveling in the first place. That covers both her regular salary and the travel inconveniences.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is helpful. A few points to clarify in case this changes anything.

1. Of course we would ask her and see if she wanted to. That is a given. And if course we could pay her even if she does not want to go.

2. We are going for a week - Saturday to Saturday. We would totally have her the entire time but would only ask her to come Mon - Thursday or Monday to Friday. I think my OP made it sound like we were going for the whole summer. This is just a week trip and is only about 2 hours away

3. We are going with my siblings (who have no kids) and so the idea of having the nanny who could take care of bedtime while adults do a late swim or do breakfast while adults go into town to get coffee and walk on the beach. I have not been away from my kids ever (something for a different post) so this is a hybrid / combo of trying to get an adult vacation but still getting to be with my kids.

4. Flexibility in hours meaning that she normally works 8:30 - 4:30 but we would love her to do an evening or two. I want to spend time with my kids but having an extra set of hands in the pool and ocean is really helpful with three little ones, so we would love nanny to help with that. She would never have overnight responsibility because we would be home. There would be no "overtime" because we would plan the time so that she "only" works 8 hours any day and most days a lot less. She would be invited on any adventure or side trip we did but could say no and enjoy alone time.

5. Kids would be with us so we would make sure nanny could join or not for in the house things (movies, games, hanging out) and kids won't bother her. We would of course include her on food order, groceries (we do that now) and make sure she has things she likes. She is 100% welcome to eat with us, eat alone in the house, or go out.

6. She is not coming to be the maid / housekeeper. There is 0 expectation that she would ever clean up after adults and would only do kid clean up if she was solo with them (like she does now). I would hope she would clean up any mess or dishes she made herself but she has no responsibility to clean up any group dishes. We would do all laundry. (Who are these people who are expecting a nanny to clean up after them on vacation? Is that really a thing?)

Does any of this change what people have said?

It seems like her normal paycheck plus 300 a day to cover travel inconvenience.and being away from home is a reasonable offer. Do I have that right?

Thanks again and keep the advice coming