How would you handle this COVID situation with nanny?
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Anonymous
| Nanny recently took off 2 weeks for COVID, and everyone in her family had it except two people. She recovered and came back to work for one week, and now our whole family has COVID (mild cases). Everyone in both families is vaccinated. She does not want to return to work until we are all testing negative citing concerns about infecting her remaining family members. She has used up all her annual, COVID, and sick leave for the year (we have given her 18 days/year plus all major holidays and have paid her for 10 additional days off including snow days, days we had grandparents visiting, days the kids were more seriously sick with vomiting or diarrhea, etc). Is it reasonable of her to expect us to pay her fully for the next 1-2 weeks until we test negative? She has not offered to do anything to help our family during this time, eg errands, groceries, etc. and has no leave left. Taking this much time off of our jobs is causing a tremendous amount of strain but I’m trying to be understanding. |
Anonymous
| I would add that we are also paying her for the time our family will be on vacation this summer. |
Anonymous
| I am very generous with covid sick policy, it's inconvenient for all of us, but we need to extend grace. With BA5, reinfection is possible. I would carve out any tasks that she can take care of in terms of errands, groceries, etc. Is she willing to play with your kids in a yard outdoors with masks on for an hour or two? Think of any tasks that she can do remotely that you can offload during this time. |
Anonymous
| Errands groceries etc is not her responsibility. Either pay for the time or find yourself looking for another nanny. Your family has covid I wouldn’t want to work for you either and I’m definitely not helping with any “chores” that’s not the nanny’s responsibility |
Anonymous
You sound like a real delight. You do realize that every working adult’s responsibility to their employer is to make their lives easier, right? Being so contentious is not helpful for you or anyone. |
Anonymous
It's a lose-lose situation. Some nannies are milking the COVID situation, and it could go on for years. We've had one use up all her leave and then look for another job while we were paying her not to work while she was out with COVID. If you otherwise like her work, I guess you suck it up, and maybe rewrite her contract next year. If she is not a good nanny, use the time to find someone else. But of course, the new nanny will be entitled to leave too... that's the lose-lose part. |
Anonymous
No my job is to care for your child not run errands to make your life easier. If you want an “easier” life I’m happy to up my rate if not it’s strictly childcare only. I’m not a doormat! |
Anonymous
If you are this contentious and conflict seeking with your boss, it’s unsurprising to me that you’re trolling the employer forum and picking fights with potential employers. Here’s the thing - if you’re a good employee, you do your job and more. That’s how you advance - that’s how you get paid more - that’s how you get promoted. You don’t see your job as doing the bare minimum to get by and picking fights with your boss and saying you’re being treated like a doormat. Try to be solutions oriented and useful instead of angry and conflict seeking and you might be amazed at how far you can go professionally. |
Anonymous
| Nanny here- I think that’s pretty unreasonable not to offer to do anything. My nanny family is pretty unsafe, so unsurprisingly they’ve had covid 3x. I’ve gone to work throughout all their infections BUT refused to go inside or drive the kids (aged 6 and 8). I have been outside with them masked and entertained the kids on FaceTime. I shopped for groceries and cooked meals at home max dropped them off. I think my boss was annoyed I wouldn’t go in the house, but it’s not my problem they’re unsafe and keep getting covid. I’ve done my job masked and outside. The kids didn’t always want to be outside, so they spent time n their own inside while I just kind of sat around outside on my own, but I was there to tell them to shower, make a snack, teach them how to do their own laundry on FaceTime etc. I don’t understand these nannies who just refuse to help at all when a family has covid. They’re probably the nannies who get let go when kids go to school. If you want to get paid those 10 days, you need to at least offer to do groceries, errands, and make drop off meals/lunches. |
Anonymous
No. This is called “job creep” and it’s unacceptable. You hired a nanny. If you need a housekeeper or a household manager, hire one. |
Anonymous
So you do your boss’s grocery shopping then, I take it? I mean, because it’s all about “making their life easier” and all. 
Buffoon. |
Anonymous
| You are sick. You pay her and she stays home till negative tests. |
Anonymous
No, but I realize that “other duties as assigned” is a part of every job and that being useful and helpful is far more likely to earn me the raises I seek than complaining and drawing hard lines in the sand about what I do and don’t do. Trying being pleasant and useful and team oriented instead of oppositional with your bosses and seeing yourself as a victim who is being exploited by them. Nannying is a very cush gig, and nonone just gets to sit on their butt and ask to be paid for doing 2 weeks of no work when they refuse to come in. A service oriented mentality has served me with numerous promotions and I’ve gone from being people’s nanny to literally making 10x my old salary and now being in a position to employ a nanny. I didn’t get there by being indignant and angry and trying to draw hard lines in the sand about what I was and was not being paid to do. See what needs to be done, and do it. More often than not you get rewarded for that. |
Anonymous
Good for you! Most smart nanny’s have in their contract guaranteed hours. My nanny family and charges were out with covid for 3 weeks. I was paid for those 3 weeks and wasn’t asked/ nor expected to help- in fact they wanted me to stay far away as possible so I wouldn’t get infected! I was paid the 3 weeks so they could retain my services once feeling better. It’s no different than daycare you pay to save your slot or don’t and someone else takes your slot and you’re out of childcare. |
Anonymous
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OP a significant amount of the examples you cite are typical guaranteed hours.
-Your family goes on vacation -Your kids are exceptionally sick with vomiting/diahrrea -Grandparents want the kids -Snow days -You have another preplanned vacation coming up Plus- it is not her responibility to take on other tasks when she is out for covid (whether that is you or her with covid). It sounds like you either have some built up resentment from regular parenting life issues or you do not understand personal and professional boundaries for domestic employees. |