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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I think that is the big issue, and I suppose it can differ from share to share. In my experience, aside from splitting the hourly rate and sharing the same general space, my share families have little to do with each other on a daily basis. I filled out two seperate w4s, and recieve two seperate w2s for tax purposes, in which I have to file as someone that has 2 jobs, each at an hourly rate of $10.00. I recieve two paychecks (and wouldn't dream of holding the other family responsible for a missed or late check), set the schedule with each family (which are not always identical), discuss any issues, changing needs of their family and child, plan and shop for meals, etc. all independently of the other family. I also recieve two separate evaluations, and 2 annual bonuses, which have not always been the same. I also perform different duties for each family, depending on who is hosting (one family pays me extra to cook dinner during their host week). The only thing my employers do jointly was to hire me, and approve my vacation time (which is entirely mine to use as I please).

It truly is like having two jobs simultaneously, each with their own expectations, tasks, hours, and pay. Its more work for me, trying to juggle everyone's needs and desires, different schedules, and tasks, but I really do my best to give them as close to a normal nanny experience as they would if they weren't sharing. As far as I can see, in experience and by law, a share is otherwise two jobs. I maintain that it is illogical that it would suddenly be treated as one for the purpose of minimum wage. [/quote]

I agree that in many ways it is [i]somewhat[/i] like having 2 jobs and clearly it is much more work than nannying for a single family but I don't think it's really [i]double[/i] the work.  Most people on DCUM seem to agree that a nanny in a share should make significantly more than the same nanny would for 1 of the families but not double.  The law also doesn't really say it counts as 1 job, just that they are linked and what happens with 1 family is affected by the other.

Moreover, when it comes to minimum wage I don't really see how for most people that is relevant.  The point of minimum wage is to establish a standard "minimum" that someone could subsist on.  I know I don't speak for all employers but I don't consider a nanny position anything close to a minimum wage position and thus pay our nanny WELL over minimum wage.  It would never occur to me to take minimum wage into account when agreeing to a rate with her because she deserves much more than that.  When I interviewed nannies I chose the one I liked the most, asked her how much she was looking for and since it fit into our budget and it seemed fair I agreed to it.  She gets a yearly raise of course but if minimum wage increases it's not going to change what I pay her since even with the increase she still makes significantly more than that.

In terms of a nanny share, as I previously stated, the minimum wage law was established to ensure that even the lowest paid people still make enough to subsist on.  It has nothing to do with what should be a fair salary for any given position.  The consensus on DCUM seems to be a fair rate for a share is somewhere between $18-$22/hr.  I know some people pay less and some more but I'm just using an average here as an example.  If minimum wage goes up to $11.50 and a nanny in a share has to be paid at least double minimum wage then the lowest possible share rate is $23/hr.  Obviously it's not that much more than the current average but why should the nanny's salary go up solely because it's been decided that the current minimum wage isn't enough to live on when the nanny is already making much more than that?

Granted, I know that there are crappy families out there who think they can pay a nanny minimum wage but then they most likely get what they pay for (a crappy nanny).  For those of us that try to treat our nannies fairly I don't think minimum wage has any relevance to what we pay them.[/quote]

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