Reply to Nanny asking for advice from those who employ nannies re: PTO

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[quote=Anonymous]In my contract I have guaranteed hours and two weeks paid vacation of my choice. It also says in my contract that the parents can give me one week off unpaid per year if they give me 8 weeks advance notice.

[Optional background info: I have been a nanny for many years and have never agreed to take one week unpaid before, but in recent years I've really valued having extra time off, and financially I can survive one week without pay, so I agreed to it. Initially they wanted to give me two weeks unpaid per year, but during contract negotiations I asked them to change it to one week per year which they agreed to.]

Ever since I started with them, last September, MB has been saying that they will be spending two weeks out of town in the summer, and has, multiple times, strongly suggested that I should take my vacation during that time. I've been giving non-committal responses like "I haven't planned anything yet but when I do I'll try to keep that in mind" etc.

My husband works in healthcare and he and I have both been working nonstop since last February. I had hoped that we might both get some extra time off over the holidays, as we both typically do, but he ended up having to cover for coworkers and working extra shifts, and my nanny family had me work every single day other than the days I have off in my contract (Xmas eve, Xmas day, New year's day), so by January we were both feeling very burnt out.

We decided to plan a relaxing trip to an Airbnb cabin just out of town for a week in early April. I gave my nanny family the dates and MB said that it was no problem, as her parents, who are both vaccinated, retired, and live just a few hours away, and love to watch their grandchild, had already said they would be more than happy to fill in for me that week. So, they do have a very good option for childcare to cover for my two vacation weeks.

Still, MB continues to suggest that I should take my remaining week of vacation during their two week trip this summer. She finally gave me the dates of their trip last week, and they don't work for my husband and I; he has two coworkers who are going to be out on maternity leave at that time and he's already been told by his boss that he can't take any extra time off during the 4 weeks that their maternity leaves overlap.

Having said that, we don't plan to travel until I am able to get the vaccine, and in my state I won't be eligible for at least a few more months. So I'm not even sure that I will need or want to take a different week off between now and when our contract renews in September.

So, here is the bottom line: MB is pressuring me to use my remaining vacation week during their 2 week trip, which doesn't really work for me. I don't want her to think that I am being unreasonable or unwilling to be flexible, but I am positive that even if I agree to take my vacation at that time, they will still make me take the second week of their trip unpaid.

Here is what I plan to propose:

I would agree to taking my vacation during that time if they agree to pay me for the full time and not to make me take an unpaid week off this year.

If they prefer not to pay me for one week of the trip, then I will simply take my paid vacation at a different time.

Does this sound like a reasonable proposal? Any advice for how to proceed? I would appreciate hearing feedback from a nanny employers perspective. Thank you. [/quote]

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