Reply to Nanny Questioning Contract Terms--Two Months After Signing

Forum Index » Employer Issues

Reply to "Nanny Questioning Contract Terms--Two Months After Signing"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are almost two months into our nanny share and after some adjustments, things are going very well. Recently, our nanny began questioning a number of items that are very explicit in the contract that she was provided well in advance of needing to sign (3 weeks).  She is caring for two babies, 45 hours a week ($20/hour for 40 of those hours and $30/hour for the additional five overtime hours), receives 10 vacation days (5 chosen by the families, 5 of her choice), 5 sick days and 10 Federal Holidays; no overtime for these days. Both families did extensive research to ensure that we were providing her a worthwhile package (we are located in Rockville).

However, she is just now telling us that she has an issue with no overtime being paid for the days she is off, and that she is concerned about being able to choose just 5 of the vacation days. With two families, we felt that it was important to coordinate time off to ensure fairness to all parties and we chose Christmas Eve through New Years Day, especially since it gave her two extra days with the two Federal Holidays, and consulted with her before finalizing. Both of these points were very clear in the contract, which leads me to believe she didn't full read the contract, as she was asked multiple times if she had any questions and if everything made sense.

I'm not really sure where to go from here. Thoughts on how to respond?[/quote]

Hi OP,

I'm a nanny with approximately the same experience as yours (plus 3 years teaching experience) and believe you are paying her a sound and competitive rate.

If I were you I would ask her to sit down for a formal meeting with both parents and the nanny present. Bring a photocopy of the signed contract to go over with her and to give to her again. I would explain to her that OT is calculated based on hours worked - PTO time does not count towards the 40-hr cap - and that you believed the contract was very clear about her compensation. I would then tell her that it is very standard for nannies to receive two weeks of vacation, one of their choice and one of their employer's choice, and give her the phone numbers for one or two nanny agencies in your area and tell her if she'd like to call to check with them about standard benefits packages she should. Ask her to take 10 minutes to read the contract again, while you wait, to see if there are any other issues she would like to raise with you at this meeting.

If she is defensive or oppositional during this chat, you and your share partner should discuss how you'll go about finding a new nanny as soon as she leaves.

If she is not thrilled but reluctantly accepts the terms, you should proceed carefully with her employment and keep an eye out for any other red flags, but I wouldn't say fire her immediately.

I'm sorry for your hassle. Professional nannies DO read their contracts thoroughly and do understand issues like OT and holiday/vacation allotment, so I suspect you have accidentally hired someone who's not that professional and will ultimately turn out to be more work for you than help for you... but I hope I'm wrong![/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics