Nanny share question
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Anonymous
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I have a general nanny share question....we are going to start a nanny share with another couple early next year and a post on one of my distro lists sparked this question.
If we offer our nanny, say, $18 an hour to start (with a stipend for health insurance and do all the legit paperwork), is it normal to offer the nanny a rate at "per child"? As in "$18 for one child, $10 when it's only one?" I'm curious because it seems like the contract should guarantee a basic income (say, $18 an hour for 40 hours a week) not $18 when it's two kids and $10 for one for the week....example: one parent has every Friday off, so the nanny gets $18 an hour for 4 days and $10 an hour for one day. Hopefully this scenario makes sense. Is this normal, or someone being cheap? When we begin our nanny share, I'll be taking one day a week off for the first month to ease the transition - is it normal to pay for that day anyway, even if I'm home....? I have no problem paying for the day (and honestly might use it for a few hours to get some rest/run errands then have my baby the rest of the day), but I didn't know if it was normal to have two rates. |
Anonymous
| No nanny is working for $10/ hr, maybe a 12 year old would. |
Anonymous
| You need to ask the nanny her minimum rates to answer your question, OP. |
Anonymous
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It is common either way - both for a nanny to expect her base rate for all hours and for a nanny to accept a lower rate when there is only one child.
However, you're looking at much too low of a drop. Any nanny worth her salt who was working for $18/hr in your share wouldn't accept less than $15/hr for one child. That's a fairly standard, single-child rate. |
Anonymous
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This is what we did when one family needed 45 hours per week and one family needed 40.
Nanny base rate: $18/hr Family A (45 hrs) - $9/hr for first 40, $18/hr for 5 Family B (40 hrs) - $9/hr for 40 hours If family B ever needed overtime, the rate changed and each family paid $13.50, which gave the nanny $27/hr total. |
Anonymous
| Where are you, OP, and what kind of background does the nanny have? |
Anonymous
Paying $10/hour is not normal, no. If anything, you might reduce the rate for one child down to $15-$16/hour, however, many nanny candidates may be looking for a position that guarantees the weekly pay (i.e., $18/hour x 40 hours). |
Anonymous
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OP here - thanks.
We don't have a nanny yet - not looking yet because our need isn't until late jan/early feb. I just saw someone posting this on a listserve and I thought it seemed a bit off. I figured I'd be paying my share for hours I didn't use, which is fine, when I'm transitioning back. Both families are, I think, better off paying the agreed to hourly rate for their child if there are a few hours here or there they don't use. We're in DC. Will look for a nanny in a bit when it's less likely we'll find one and they'll not want the job because it doesn't start until February 
But the responses answer my question - the person on the listserve was being cheap! |
Anonymous
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OP - My view based on 5 years of sharing...
1. You should guarantee hours so that unless she works OT it's the same amt each week that she gets (more if she works OT) even if one family decides not to use her for a day here or there - that would cove ryour "friday a month" question by saying you pay anyway. 2. Just set the hours for the week and the weekly rate then decide between the families how to divy it up. You are essentially offering a 2 child job to someone. (It is similar to a case when there are 2 kids in a family but 1 goes to preschool occassionally. It's generally still the same rate.) If 1 family needs a bit more time than the other than split the weekly rate 45/55 or something like that. Parsing out hours based on when a kid shows up or not suggests that not giving guaranteed hours is appropriate since nanny would sometimes only have 1 kid. Better to ensure all parties view it as a job where she cares for 2 kids and the employers decide how to split the cost of their employee. |
Anonymous
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OP here - this is what we were going to do, I think. We're meeting in a couple weeks to discuss specifics before we both give birth and then look for a nanny.
I think we'll need 45 hours a week - they mentioned parents taking over once in a while to avoid paying the nanny more (as in "we get home at 4:30, we'll watch the kids until you're back if you do it in the morning" type of thing) but that's not something I'm interested in. It's not worth the relatively small expense to deal with ensuring that's fair. |
nannydebsays
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OP, if your potential share partners are already trying to cut expenses by letting nanny go early, you may want to talk extensively with them about the concept of guaranteed hours, how vacations will be handled, and other issues that wouold have financial implications for the nanny you and your share partners hire.
You rally need to be on the same page as the other family in almost every way to have a share work long-term, and if there are already pay issues cropping up, you may have a problem. I hope you can work everything out and then find a terrific nanny! |
Anonymous
Blech. They sound like potentially awful employers OP. no nanny wants to be nickeled and dimed that way, and trust me, even if you are a wonderful employer your nanny will drop you all if the other family sucks. If an employer came home early, told me to go, then cut my pay, I'd be out of there on the first thing smoking. |
Anonymous
| It is one thing to say that if other family is not there by agreed upon end if work day that family A watches kids while nanny goes home on time. That is great. But randomly getting back early 1 day and cutting nanny go early in order to avoid paying her for the extra hour means you are not guaranteeing hours. Maybe with you own nanny guaranteeing hours is debatable but in a share it is vital. |
Anonymous
I think it was more an issue of making our work hours and nanny hours compatable. we're meeting to discuss, which is good. But the problem with nanny vs day care is that you have to pick a schedule and assume the parent's employer is OK with it. Mine never lets me change hours, so it could be an issue....we'll see! I've asked for flexibility but it's never been given to me before. I have no reason to see it starting now lol |