Pissed but I somewhat understand...sick kid

[Anonymous]

Why resort to personal attacks when someone actually points out how a professional relationship works? I am completely in favor of nannies getting PTO and sick leave (and offer generous paid leave to my own nanny). I am having a hard time understanding why nannies who want to be treated as professionals can't act like professionals when it comes to advocating for their own self-interests and negotiating contracts.

[Anonymous]

OP here again: Some of you have said well you should have negotiated this up front and said you wanted sick days. I didn't think to ask when I started this position 2 1/2 years ago. When they have gotten sick I have gone to work and sometimes gotten sick myself. I will go to work vomiting because they still really need me to come in. The mom told me recently that if I get sick from them she still has to pay the drop in daycare or someone else to take care of them so she won't pay me on top of that because she doesn't feel it is fair to have to pay whoever is taking care of them and myself. So far the only other vomiting and diarrhea incidents have been very few and fortunately were mostly over the weekend so I didn't have to deal with to much puke or poop. I understand that they cannot miss work all the time and don't mind watching them when they are sick I just want to be paid for if I have to miss because I get sick from the children. Now that I know their policy I will be looking for a new family to work for. I adore their children so it's really unfortunate that it has come to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why resort to personal attacks when someone actually points out how a professional relationship works? I am completely in favor of nannies getting PTO and sick leave (and offer generous paid leave to my own nanny). I am having a hard time understanding why nannies who want to be treated as professionals can't act like professionals when it comes to advocating for their own self-interests and negotiating contracts.

Are you the same gem saying the the $25-$30/ hr nanny is over-paid?

[Anonymous]

*that the....

[Anonymous]

Actually we are talking about nannies who accept this situation, including OP. I don't disagree that parents should offer paid sick leave but at the end of the day, you have no one but yourself to blame if you TAKE a job that does not offer paid sick leave. If you want it, ASK for it. NEGOTIATE for it. Or find a job that offers it. Not going to work when a kiddo is sick because you don't have it, especially when you never asked for it in the first place, is the best way to get yourself replaced. Nannies want to be treated like professionals so act like them and negotiate the contracts you want. That's how it works in every other professional field.

YES! This is exactly right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Actually we are talking about nannies who accept this situation, including OP. I don't disagree that parents should offer paid sick leave but at the end of the day, you have no one but yourself to blame if you TAKE a job that does not offer paid sick leave. If you want it, ASK for it. NEGOTIATE for it. Or find a job that offers it. Not going to work when a kiddo is sick because you don't have it, especially when you never asked for it in the first place, is the best way to get yourself replaced. Nannies want to be treated like professionals so act like them and negotiate the contracts you want. That's how it works in every other professional field.

YES! This is exactly right.

Sorry guys. Your real world experiences are apparently quite limited, at least as far as the nanny world, is concerned. You simply have no idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why resort to personal attacks when someone actually points out how a professional relationship works? I am completely in favor of nannies getting PTO and sick leave (and offer generous paid leave to my own nanny). I am having a hard time understanding why nannies who want to be treated as professionals can't act like professionals when it comes to advocating for their own self-interests and negotiating contracts.

Are you the same gem saying the the $25-$30/ hr nanny is over-paid?

Not the PP, but

$25-30/hr nanny is WAY over paid.

[Anonymous]

How do you know that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why resort to personal attacks when someone actually points out how a professional relationship works? I am completely in favor of nannies getting PTO and sick leave (and offer generous paid leave to my own nanny). I am having a hard time understanding why nannies who want to be treated as professionals can't act like professionals when it comes to advocating for their own self-interests and negotiating contracts.

Are you the same gem saying the the $25-$30/ hr nanny is over-paid?

No I am not. Are you the same nanny who keeps claiming that parents who work are not "parenting"?

And why so much snark and disdain for posters who point out that people seeking to be treated as professionals have some responsibility to act like professionals?

[Anonymous]

What your profession?

[Anonymous]

Why does it matter?

[Anonymous]

What's to hide?

[Anonymous]

Nothing - just wondering why it matters?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why resort to personal attacks when someone actually points out how a professional relationship works? I am completely in favor of nannies getting PTO and sick leave (and offer generous paid leave to my own nanny). I am having a hard time understanding why nannies who want to be treated as professionals can't act like professionals when it comes to advocating for their own self-interests and negotiating contracts.

Why not direct some of your outrage at the parents/employers who refuse to offer sane working conditions/benefits to their nannies? Most nannies live paycheck to paycheck or very close to it, so they might not always be in a position to demand fair treatment when looking for a new job or renewing a contract. The responsibility lies with the employer to offer what is right and fair; just because you understand WHY some parents want to be selfish doesn't make it acceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: It all boils down to respect for me as an employee. If I got sick days I have no problem dealing with large amounts of vomit and diarrhea. I wouldn't have been complaining nearly as much. I am human and I think I deserve to say geeze this sucks and I wish I got sick days like most normal people get with their jobs. I have no problem with coming in with just about any illness under the sun when I am being paid if I catch their bug.

I'm glad I read the entire thread before responding b/c I had an entirely different response in my head until I came to this post.

OP: It sounds like your real issue is the lack of sick days. That's understandable. It's also something that can be addressed...unlike expecting your doctor MB to cancel her patients to stay home with a sick child. Like some others I would be irritated if my doctor canceled on me for anything less than an emergency (due to the difficulty of getting the appointment in the first place at some offices).

If you have an anniversary coming up with them you could bring it up at annual review time. I think it's very reasonable to ask for some sick days to be added as a benefit. Even if you don't have an anniversary coming up I think you should schedule a time to talk about it. Explain that you are happy to take care of their kids when they are sick but are concerned about the possibility of catching their illness and needing to take unpaid time off to recuperate. Put the ball in their court by asking if they have any thoughts or ideas on how to address this concern. Explain that your concern isn't related to catching a cold or other minor illness, but rather related to being exposed to and catching a stomach virus b/c you don't want to be in a position of having to choose between coming to work when you are vomiting or losing out on a day's pay due to a stomach virus you caught while cleaning up vomit at their house. You're a f/t nanny, and I think it's reasonable to ask for some sick days based on your f/t employment status.

I agree with this. Let them know that while you don't mind staying with sick kids, that you cannot afford it if it means that you might get sick and have to lose a day or more of work which you will not get paid for. I would say that I will be available for days like that as long as they realize that I might get sick myself, and they need to be considerate of that and let me have 1-3 paid sick days if I were to get sick from being there that day. So while they might not normally give you random sick days, they will at least give them to you if needed after you care for their sick child. Otherwise, I would not go in to work for a very sick child either.