How to ask NF for overnight/inconvenience fee

[Anonymous]

I am traveling with my NF for about 5 weeks. We’re both new to the nanny field and never discussed an overnight/inconvenience fee; also nothing in our contract about travel expectation. But, I’ve noticed that the overnight fee is something quite normal in this industry.

We are about 7+ hours from home, and while they’ve covered meals, lodging, and transportation, and I’ve stayed within my work hours, I still feel like I’m working 24/7. I don’t have to watch the baby overnight, but I am eating dinner with parents (sometimes even grandparents). Being away from my spouse, pets and friends has been mentally and emotionally exhausting so I am not really thinking clearly.

Is this normal? Should I bring it up or just accept it for what it is?

[Anonymous]

You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

[Anonymous]

You set a travel rate for every 24 hour period. Mine was $450 a day. I should note that my usual rate was $28 an hour and I had the child in the hotel room with me.

I hate traveling as nanny and don’t do it anymore but I would charge more now if I had to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am traveling with my NF for about 5 weeks. We’re both new to the nanny field and never discussed an overnight/inconvenience fee; also nothing in our contract about travel expectation. But, I’ve noticed that the overnight fee is something quite normal in this industry.

We are about 7+ hours from home, and while they’ve covered meals, lodging, and transportation, and I’ve stayed within my work hours, I still feel like I’m working 24/7. I don’t have to watch the baby overnight, but I am eating dinner with parents (sometimes even grandparents). Being away from my spouse, pets and friends has been mentally and emotionally exhausting so I am not really thinking clearly.

Is this normal? Should I bring it up or just accept it for what it is?

Add at least $200 a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

[Anonymous]

I agree that this should have been negotiated prior to the trip. However, I also agree that a travel fee is reasonable, and mine varies based on whether kids will be with me or their parents overnight.

[Anonymous]

5 weeks is a long time. I would have said no. I might have gone for a week, 2 weeks max. $100 a:/6 gives you an extra $3,500 at the end of this so that will be nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

If you already know about it, why did you ask? Stop wasting our time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

It's "nannies." Is it you continually posting that wrong spelling all over the board, or can every nanny not figure out a plural noun?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

It's "nannies." Is it you continually posting that wrong spelling all over the board, or can every nanny not figure out a plural noun?

Sigh. I’m not that PP, nor am I a nanny, but autocorrect on my tablet changes “nannies” every time I type it to “Nannie’s.” Your desperate attempt to appear intellectually superior has colossally backfired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

It's "nannies." Is it you continually posting that wrong spelling all over the board, or can every nanny not figure out a plural noun?

Sigh. I’m not that PP, nor am I a nanny, but autocorrect on my tablet changes “nannies” every time I type it to “Nannie’s.” Your desperate attempt to appear intellectually superior has colossally backfired.

Nasty nannies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

The article makes what seems like a bit of a jump from "parents who won't pay the nanny her hourly rate at all because they're taking her on vacation" to "daily inconvenience fee on top of hourly pay for being away from home." I also cannot find support for the claim that they legally must be paid for the time they spend traveling if they have absolutely no duties. Why would this logic of "they are not free to do what they want" not apply to paying for their normal commute time as well? (Genuine question here: if someone can point me to any kind of legal source, I want to know.)

To be clear, I'd definitely pay an extra fee or at least a generous trip bonus if our nanny had to stay in the same house with us and share meals, as there's a loss of privacy that can be very tiresome. However, our preferred solution for stuff like this is to give the nanny more privacy instead, in the form of a separate hotel room or a rental house with a private entrance ADU, as well as a rental car or public transport pass so she can come and go as she pleases. I would hope this offsets most of the inconvenience of travel and gives both her and us more privacy. If our nanny said she wanted an additional daily fee on top of that, I wouldn't say no. But I would take that to be a signal that she REALLY dislikes traveling with us, and aim to avoid having to ask her again to travel in the future. (Best of all would be if she could just tell me she hates traveling for work, but I understand a lot of nannies hesitate to be so blunt for good reason.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

The article makes what seems like a bit of a jump from "parents who won't pay the nanny her hourly rate at all because they're taking her on vacation" to "daily inconvenience fee on top of hourly pay for being away from home." I also cannot find support for the claim that they legally must be paid for the time they spend traveling if they have absolutely no duties. Why would this logic of "they are not free to do what they want" not apply to paying for their normal commute time as well? (Genuine question here: if someone can point me to any kind of legal source, I want to know.)

To be clear, I'd definitely pay an extra fee or at least a generous trip bonus if our nanny had to stay in the same house with us and share meals, as there's a loss of privacy that can be very tiresome. However, our preferred solution for stuff like this is to give the nanny more privacy instead, in the form of a separate hotel room or a rental house with a private entrance ADU, as well as a rental car or public transport pass so she can come and go as she pleases. I would hope this offsets most of the inconvenience of travel and gives both her and us more privacy. If our nanny said she wanted an additional daily fee on top of that, I wouldn't say no. But I would take that to be a signal that she REALLY dislikes traveling with us, and aim to avoid having to ask her again to travel in the future. (Best of all would be if she could just tell me she hates traveling for work, but I understand a lot of nannies hesitate to be so blunt for good reason.)

A daily travel/inconvenience fee is absolutely standard for nannies that travel. This fee varies based on each individual but it covers the fact that we are not at home sleeping in our own bed, leaving our personal life to travel for work, potentially covering the cost of paying for pet boarding or a pet sitter while we are gone, etc. Your vacation is not OUR vacation. A separate hotel room is necessary unless we are in charge of the child(ren) overnight, and in that case, it should be a connecting room. A private room/bath in a rental is ok.

The travel time is paid because again, it's not our vacation but us traveling to work in a different location. It's standard to be paid for this time, just like any extra commute time if working closer to home. By extra commute time, I mean anything beyond what we normally have to get to work at our usual work location. If it's a 30 minute commute and costs me $5, that's on me. If you are staying elsewhere and have me take a train or drive to you and it takes an hour, that's an extra 30 minutes away. That 30 minutes is paid because it's not what I signed up for when taking the job. If I normally have a $1 bus ride, then you'd also cover that extra $4 (or extra mileage costs).

If a nanny is in charge of kids overnight, they get paid even if kids are sleeping with either their full rate or an overnight fee. All costs should be paid for when traveling, a nanny should never be paying out of pocket and you need to pay for the fact that your nanny is giving up full DAYS or even WEEKS to be available to you instead of being at home with her family, friends, pets, and being able to make any plans that they want with them. Even just sleeping in your own bed with your desktop computer being available to use. If you don't want to pay for the PRIVILEGE of having a nanny travel with you, then do it yourself and don't bring a nanny along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
By extra commute time, I mean anything beyond what we normally have to get to work at our usual work location. If it's a 30 minute commute and costs me $5, that's on me. If you are staying elsewhere and have me take a train or drive to you and it takes an hour, that's an extra 30 minutes away. That 30 minutes is paid because it's not what I signed up for when taking the job. If I normally have a $1 bus ride, then you'd also cover that extra $4 (or extra mileage costs).

I meant $1 normally and $5 for the occasional different commute cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't get an "inconvenience" fee. That's not a thing. You DO normally get a travel fee but you needed to negotiate that before traveling - you're SOL WHILE traveling if you didn't put it in place beforehand.

Keep in mind if you're not "on" then you don't need to eat with the parents. Just say "I'm going to do my own thing this evening." And go do it.

Op here, we chatted and agreed upon an inconvenience fee of $100/day, so not really SOL. It is a thing for other DC Nannie’s I have met, some who get $200/day. Check out what this 12+ year experienced nanny had to say about an inconvience fee. [url]https://www.nannycounsel.com/blog/traveling-with-your-nanny-its-your-vacation-not-theirs

The article makes what seems like a bit of a jump from "parents who won't pay the nanny her hourly rate at all because they're taking her on vacation" to "daily inconvenience fee on top of hourly pay for being away from home." I also cannot find support for the claim that they legally must be paid for the time they spend traveling if they have absolutely no duties. Why would this logic of "they are not free to do what they want" not apply to paying for their normal commute time as well? (Genuine question here: if someone can point me to any kind of legal source, I want to know.)

To be clear, I'd definitely pay an extra fee or at least a generous trip bonus if our nanny had to stay in the same house with us and share meals, as there's a loss of privacy that can be very tiresome. However, our preferred solution for stuff like this is to give the nanny more privacy instead, in the form of a separate hotel room or a rental house with a private entrance ADU, as well as a rental car or public transport pass so she can come and go as she pleases. I would hope this offsets most of the inconvenience of travel and gives both her and us more privacy. If our nanny said she wanted an additional daily fee on top of that, I wouldn't say no. But I would take that to be a signal that she REALLY dislikes traveling with us, and aim to avoid having to ask her again to travel in the future. (Best of all would be if she could just tell me she hates traveling for work, but I understand a lot of nannies hesitate to be so blunt for good reason.)

A daily travel/inconvenience fee is absolutely standard for nannies that travel. This fee varies based on each individual but it covers the fact that we are not at home sleeping in our own bed, leaving our personal life to travel for work, potentially covering the cost of paying for pet boarding or a pet sitter while we are gone, etc. Your vacation is not OUR vacation. A separate hotel room is necessary unless we are in charge of the child(ren) overnight, and in that case, it should be a connecting room. A private room/bath in a rental is ok.

The travel time is paid because again, it's not our vacation but us traveling to work in a different location. It's standard to be paid for this time, just like any extra commute time if working closer to home. By extra commute time, I mean anything beyond what we normally have to get to work at our usual work location. If it's a 30 minute commute and costs me $5, that's on me. If you are staying elsewhere and have me take a train or drive to you and it takes an hour, that's an extra 30 minutes away. That 30 minutes is paid because it's not what I signed up for when taking the job. If I normally have a $1 bus ride, then you'd also cover that extra $4 (or extra mileage costs).

If a nanny is in charge of kids overnight, they get paid even if kids are sleeping with either their full rate or an overnight fee. All costs should be paid for when traveling, a nanny should never be paying out of pocket and you need to pay for the fact that your nanny is giving up full DAYS or even WEEKS to be available to you instead of being at home with her family, friends, pets, and being able to make any plans that they want with them. Even just sleeping in your own bed with your desktop computer being available to use. If you don't want to pay for the PRIVILEGE of having a nanny travel with you, then do it yourself and don't bring a nanny along.

Someone with some sense.