Possible to find nanny a temporary job while I'm on maternity leave?
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Anonymous
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I'm a MB currently in a nanny share that will be ending when both (currently pregnant) MBs have their second children. One family has found daycare spots for their toddler and the new baby, and our very much-loved nanny will be staying on with our family. The other family's transition to daycare and official end date of the share was to be in mid February, but the daycare had a spot open up in November. I said (when asked) that it was totally fine for them to leave the share earlier than planned -- I wouldn't want them to lose their spot. But now here is my dilemma:
When I have my baby in November my DS will be in preschool from 8 am to noon. I will be on maternity leave from November through January. If the share had ended in February as planned, we would simply to continue to pay our share, and then assume the other half of nanny's salary when she is responsible for both our toddler and the new baby. But now it looks like we will be responsible for her full salary (two kids) starting in November, when she will only be responsible for one toddler for half a day (for three months). Money's just a bit tight right now and that three month buffer would have been great. Of course I will just suck it up because we don't want to lose our nanny, and it's not her fault that plans changed. Please don't misunderstand, in no way do I think she should get paid less -- I know she needs to survive and a decrease in salary is not an option, despite the temporary change in responsibilities. My question is: do you think it's possible to find a short-term, temporary gig for her in the mornings that could help offset that cost for a few months? If it had happened in the summer, it probably would be pretty easy, but November through January just seems like a weird time for anyone to need temporary nanny help for just a few hours a day. I'm thinking we'll just essentially give her mornings off during my leave, and think of it as a bonus (albeit a big one). |
Anonymous
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Start looking for that temp. replacement family. You never know until you find them.
Congratulations on your new baby! |
Anonymous
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Lots of options here if you can't find her a temporary job.
You could also use her in the morning to take care of the new baby, child-related housekeeping tasks, cooking for the family, and/or errands like grocery shopping while you catch up on sleep, assuming you'll be getting up with the baby all night. She may also be willing to change her hours so that she starts when the preschool day ends but works later while you prepare dinner or take care of other household needs. You could also propose shifting all or some of the weekday hours you won't need her to Saturdays, e.g. she gets 10 hours per week off with pay as an incentive and she makes up the other 10 hours by working Saturdays, perhaps with the newborn so you can have some time with the toddler. |
Anonymous
| It's hard to find your nanny a temp job and besides she is not a slave and should have some input where she works! If you want to keep her, you will need to pay her. |
Anonymous
| Oh yeah just make the many work 10 hrs on Saturdays!! Right!! Let's see how long the nanny works for you under that plan. Unbelievable. I'm sure the nanny has a life and doesn't want to work Saturdays! |
nannydebsays
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If the issue is solely the money, then you need to talk to your nanny and explain that it would be very helpful if she were willing to look for temporary work while you are on leave, and that any temp work she finds is something you will work YOUR needs around.
IOW, if your nanny is willing to find a temp job, but that job is from 10 - 2 each day, you accept that, and schedule her hours with you around that work. And don't expect nanny to willingly work weekends, BTW. If the issue is money AND your belief that you won't really need her help while you are on leave, you may want to consider if your picture of your needs is completely realistic. Many times after the birth of a second child, MB's have nanny work FT through their maternity leave simply to help them while they learn to balance the needs of 2 children. |
Anonymous
Amen! You are cheap, inconsiderate, thougtless and a horse's ass.for even suggesting this. I hope she sees this, finds anotjet job and leaves yo. |
Anonymous
Are you two serious??? OP sounds completely reasonable and not what you're portraying her as, geez. |
Anonymous
MB here. My nanny routinely asks to work on Saturdays for extra compensation, but hates to work late or come in before 8:30 during the week. What works for you isn't necessarily what works for other nannies. The key for this OP is to explain her needs to the nanny and work something out together that reasonably addresses nanny's needs and the family's needs. It is not realistic for the nanny to expect to get paid for four hours a day, every day, for several months, without actually working those hours. Some parents might reluctantly agree to it, but most will require some sort of flexibility in terms of alternative hours or alternative duties. In fact, I've seen ads on my neighborhood listserv from families looking to find temporary work for their nannies in exactly this situation. |
Anonymous
+1 The entitlement is laugable |
Anonymous
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Wow, interesting mix of replies, here. This is the OP. For what it's worth, the very first person I talked to about this (besides DH) was our nanny. She and I have a great relationship and good communication -- something that is apparently pretty rare in these parts! It's why I know that she is willing to do something part-time and temporary if we can find it. It's not like I am selling her down the river or something. She isn't great on the computer, so if something is going to be found we need to look together. I've also reassured her that if we didn't find something else, she has nothing to worry about; I'm not going to cut her salary just because our situation changed, even though it will be hard for us for awhile.
As always on DCUM, people choose to read between the lines and generally it is not in a compassionate or favorable way to the anonymous person on the other end. But I do appreciate those who suggest that this could in fact be a feasible option for everyone involved. I'll look into it further, just probably not on these boards. |
Anonymous
| Right OP, love how you added the info about talking to your nanny after you got blasted. |
Anonymous
| Some people on here just want to criticize/argue the/with the OP when it's really not warranted. I will absolutely call out a parent I feel is wrong, but this one and the comments? Just, no. |
Anonymous
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I'd keep her on for the mornings; the daycare for the toddler might not be as good of a fit as it seems. I'd opt for saving money by keeping the toddler out of Daycare. When we started my DS in daycare, we were back and forth to the doctor's office for all of the random illnesses (influenza, strep throat, fevers) transmitted through the daycare. As well, your body and sanity may need that rest time while you are on maternity leave.
There may be a way to offset the 4 hours with additional duties |