Tips for things to think about when having nanny pick up kid at school

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I would love to hear some advice from both nannies and employers. I am looking ahead to next school year, and we're thinking about hiring a nanny who will pick up our son at his preschool, which is a half hour from our home. We've never had a nanny drive our kids anywhere, so I'd love to know what issues I should be thinking about.

Some questions I have at the outset are:
Should we offer to pay gas / mileage? How does this work?
The nanny would be part-time, afternoons only, and the first real job duty would be picking up our son. To that end, should she report to work (our home) first to start the clock, so to speak?
Is the normal expectation that nannies drive their own car and the family provides the car seat, or that the family provides the nanny the car to drive (which would necessarily involve the nanny starting the shift at our home).

I am sure there are logistics I am not thinking about, and I would really appreciate your advice and feedback!

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

If nanny is using her own car you pay gas/mileage according to the standard rate. You also pay her for the half hour of travel time.

[Anonymous]

It's hard to find a nanny that only wants to work a half day like that. Be prepared to pay a high hourly rate.

Also think about: What is the expectation for days there is no pre-school--snow day, teacher work day, etc? Would you expect the nanny to work a full day then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to find a nanny that only wants to work a half day like that. Be prepared to pay a high hourly rate.

Also think about: What is the expectation for days there is no pre-school--snow day, teacher work day, etc? Would you expect the nanny to work a full day then?

Great points, and no, she would only work half-days regardless. I think we'll start looking early to give plenty of time to find someone, and will pay accordingly. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You pay nanny mileage if she is using her own car, or you can provide a car instead. You always provide the seats. If nanny goes to pickup your car, then when she gets there, the clock starts. If she uses her own car, I'd start the clock based on distance to the school and getting there a bit before kids get out.

If, for example, the school is 30 minutes drive from her house but only 15 to your house, then it would be 15 minutes added to the clock of paid time. If the school is closer than your house, then no time added. When I did school pickup, my worked hours always included 15 minutes before the kids got out so that I was there and ready for them. Generally you'd show up early so you could park and not be late, so parents always found it fair to pay me for that buffer of time as I'd be more inclined to leave the house earlier.

Be aware that many nannies that do after school only work will be college students. You might need to find 2 nannies to provide coverage for the whole week depending on their availability. Or you might be able to find a nanny that has another morning only position.

Because PT is harder to fill and there is a national nanny shortage going on, your best bet to find candidates and keep them on would be to offer guaranteed hours (pay them for their schedule every week even if you don't need them) and provide some basic benefits like a few days of sick leave and pay for federal holidays off, and offer paid vacation for at least Christmas week. If a nanny does multiple PT jobs to fill a FT schedule for themselves, they will probably require this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You pay nanny mileage if she is using her own car, or you can provide a car instead. You always provide the seats. If nanny goes to pickup your car, then when she gets there, the clock starts. If she uses her own car, I'd start the clock based on distance to the school and getting there a bit before kids get out.

If, for example, the school is 30 minutes drive from her house but only 15 to your house, then it would be 15 minutes added to the clock of paid time. If the school is closer than your house, then no time added. When I did school pickup, my worked hours always included 15 minutes before the kids got out so that I was there and ready for them. Generally you'd show up early so you could park and not be late, so parents always found it fair to pay me for that buffer of time as I'd be more inclined to leave the house earlier.

Be aware that many nannies that do after school only work will be college students. You might need to find 2 nannies to provide coverage for the whole week depending on their availability. Or you might be able to find a nanny that has another morning only position.

Because PT is harder to fill and there is a national nanny shortage going on, your best bet to find candidates and keep them on would be to offer guaranteed hours (pay them for their schedule every week even if you don't need them) and provide some basic benefits like a few days of sick leave and pay for federal holidays off, and offer paid vacation for at least Christmas week. If a nanny does multiple PT jobs to fill a FT schedule for themselves, they will probably require this.

This is SO helpful, thank you!

[Anonymous]

This is an extremely rare need in a haystack situation to secure a candidate that will commit to this schedule long term. You are likely going to attract college students with changing schedules each semester or former au pairs looking to stay in the states and secure a job.

Be prepared to offer a higher hourly rate and benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an extremely rare need in a haystack situation to secure a candidate that will commit to this schedule long term. You are likely going to attract college students with changing schedules each semester or former au pairs looking to stay in the states and secure a job.

Be prepared to offer a higher hourly rate and benefits.

+1. We went through three in one year and only one was dependable to actually be at school on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an extremely rare need in a haystack situation to secure a candidate that will commit to this schedule long term. You are likely going to attract college students with changing schedules each semester or former au pairs looking to stay in the states and secure a job.

Be prepared to offer a higher hourly rate and benefits.

An AP or live-in nanny may be something to consider, if you want a dependable person long term (ie. one school year).

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. Its helpful to manage expectations. We would be thrilled with one or two college students to do the job, I did this when I was in college. Fingers crossed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

I would love to hear some advice from both nannies and employers. I am looking ahead to next school year, and we're thinking about hiring a nanny who will pick up our son at his preschool, which is a half hour from our home. We've never had a nanny drive our kids anywhere, so I'd love to know what issues I should be thinking about.

Some questions I have at the outset are:
Should we offer to pay gas / mileage? How does this work? Yes, you should definitely offer to pay whatever the standard mileage rate is at the time. For example I think now it is .53cents per mile. I assume gas is included here.
The nanny would be part-time, afternoons only, and the first real job duty would be picking up our son. To that end, should she report to work (our home) first to start the clock, so to speak? I would start the Nanny’s time at the given hour she needs to be at the preschool.
Is the normal expectation that nannies drive their own car and the family provides the car seat, or that the family provides the nanny the car to drive (which would necessarily involve the nanny starting the shift at our home). Either way is acceptable.

I am sure there are logistics I am not thinking about, and I would really appreciate your advice and feedback!

Oh, make sure your Nanny provides you w/a recent DMV printout.
An excellent driving record is a necessity here.

And your Nanny receives her hourly rate while driving too.

Wishing you the best in your search!

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Just a heads up that you may be entering a world of pain. We have been using part time after school nannys since school started in Sept. I didn’t want to sign up for aftercare - it seemed like too long of a day to wear a mask. It’s early Feb and we are now on person #4. We have paid $25/hour cash to $30/hour on the books, 20h/week including travel time from nanny’s home to the school and in some cases simply paid for hours we didn’t need. Paid holidays and paid time off. We’ve still had massive turnover. One semi retired person who didn’t think the job was worth the COVID risk. College student schedule change. One person didn’t work out for various reasons. I got a lot of candidates who didn’t drive. I have been on aftercare’s waitlist since Nov. I will definitely sign up for aftercare next year.