Reply to Why does our nanny want to be paid for two kids when she's only caring for one?

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[quote=Anonymous]I have some things for you to consider OP.

First, nanny has known you were expecting another child, and you say she was also aware that your oldest would be put into full time preschool. However, most nannies (nearly all) get some sort of raise when there is a new baby, for the reasons illustrated in this thread (more laundry, extra duties, etc). It sounds like your nanny's duties will not be increased. But, she has probably been expecting a new baby raise. She likely feels blindsided that she is not getting a raise, when all of her nanny friends have received raises for a new baby. Clearly, you have gone pretty far out of your way to ensure that she won't have any duties related to your oldest any more, so that you wouldn't have to pay her more. But, that is not the norm, and that is not what she was expecting. I'm not saying it's okay for her to have assumed anything, but every nanny I've ever known has received a raise when a new baby arrived, so I don't think it's so terrible if she did. Also, you say her most recent raise was just four months ago. At that point, she likely knew you were expecting and she may have not negotiated as hard for a big raise, assuming that she'd get another one when baby arrived. Again, she shouldn't have assumed, but maybe in hindsight this sort of thing stings even more.

Second, the fact that you've gone so far out of your way to make sure her duties won't increase so she can't justify a raise makes me wonder how much you nickel and dime your nanny. You mentioned that your child's preschool is only closed on federal holidays. Does your nanny get all federal holidays off with pay? Or does she get them off without pay? You mention that your oldest has been in part time preschool. Did your nanny get to keep the same hours when your son started preschool, or did you cut her hours (and thus her pay)? There is a lot of give and take between nannies and nanny families; if she feels well taken care of she may react differently than if she already feels taken advantage of.

Another thing to consider is how much she is actually being paid. You say she's been with you three years and received raises every year, so it sounds like two raises then. If she started at $12/hr and is now at $14/hr, I can see why she feels underpaid. Especially if you don't offer guaranteed hours. Even if you started her at $15/hr and then bumped her up to $16 and now $17/hr, depending on your exact location, her experience, etc, that is still somewhat on the low side for a household with two kids. I was a nanny for 7 years before I realized how much I was being underpaid. I assumed the rates parents told me they were offering was an accurate estimate of how much a nanny should be paid, and based my rates on the averages I saw on care.com and sittercity. I already had five years of nanny experience, when I started working with a certain family with one infant at $12/hr. I was nearing my three year anniversary with them; I had never asked for a raise (and they hadn't offered), I didn't have guaranteed hours or any PTO, my Christmas bonus every year was $25. That was when I started seeking out other nannies in the area and asking about compensation. It turned out that none of the other nannies in that neighborhood made less than $15/hr, and they all received raises every year, and most had guaranteed hours. I went to my nanny family and asked for a raise, they basically laughed and told me they'd fire me if I asked again. I found a new job with better perks and better pay and quit (with three weeks notice) one month later. That was four years ago now and I never made less than $15/hr again, and always use a contract with annual reviews, etc.

Sorry that tangent was so long, but the point is that even if she was happy with her starting pay when you hired her, she may since have spoken to other nannies and found out that it isn't that great of a rate. Without knowing all the specifics (her qualifications, your location, etc) it's hard to know what she should be paid, but you might consider that perhaps, even with the raises, and even if she was happy with the pay at first, she might still feel underpaid.

My last bit of advice is this: You keep reiterating that it would have to be a someone-just-died-OMG-emergency before nanny would be expected to care for your oldest. And that may be true. However, I think you should consider setting a specific pay rate for such an emergency. That way the nanny knows that IF (yes, a big if), IF she ever did need to care for both kids, she would be comepensated for it. For example, if she currently makes $18/hr for one maybe bump her pay to $22/hr for both, or if she currently makes $20/hr maybe bump it up to $25/hr if she watches both. I suggest making it a big bump in pay so that you don't feel too tempted to have nanny do it often, and also so that she understands that she won't normally ever be watching both kids, but if she does, there is a system in place so she will be compensated fairly.

Good luck.[/quote]

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