If you have not hired yet would you give us
your email. The dialogue is getting longer.

Why do parents on this board try to perpetuate this nonsense that nannies aren't smart enough to know that if she would normally be paid $15/hour for a particular job, there is no reason for that to change because someone needs overtime. When I interview, I do qoute a weekly rate but there is a certain hourly rate that I will not go below. Why would any good nanny with decent math skills accept a job with you for 60 hrs/wk "at a lower hourly rate to offset your OT pay" that pays me similarly to a job working 40 hrs/wk?

If your weekly rate matches the family's budget, why would you care about the distribution?

If you live in DC, you know that most nanny FT nanny positions are 50hrs/week. Fixing the rate to accommodate the OT to keep childcare within a budget is very common and there isn't anything unfair about it if you have guaranteed hours in your contract.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents on this board try to perpetuate this nonsense that nannies aren't smart enough to know that if she would normally be paid $15/hour for a particular job, there is no reason for that to change because someone needs overtime. When I interview, I do qoute a weekly rate but there is a certain hourly rate that I will not go below. Why would any good nanny with decent math skills accept a job with you for 60 hrs/wk "at a lower hourly rate to offset your OT pay" that pays me similarly to a job working 40 hrs/wk?

Op here. You are right that no nanny who expects to be paid $20/hr as her base rate would take a job with me that pays $17/hr just because she is working more hours, but honestly I couldn't afford that nanny anyway. I need to find someone who would find working for a family that would treat them well and appreciate them immensely but can't pay the top rates that some people in this area can afford. In truth, I was taken care of by a wonderful warm woman who treated me as her own and took me to do all sorts of activities but had only a high school education. So I am more open than some in terms of education of our nanny, etc. as long as they are a good person who can be engaged with my kids. With health insurance and pay, we're still offering a package $55K, which I think is not unreasonable. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been giving advice.

My post was not directed at you OP, but at the PPs who suggested that you could hire a nanny for 60 hours for minimally more than you would for 40 hours.

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents on this board try to perpetuate this nonsense that nannies aren't smart enough to know that if she would normally be paid $15/hour for a particular job, there is no reason for that to change because someone needs overtime. When I interview, I do qoute a weekly rate but there is a certain hourly rate that I will not go below. Why would any good nanny with decent math skills accept a job with you for 60 hrs/wk "at a lower hourly rate to offset your OT pay" that pays me similarly to a job working 40 hrs/wk?

Op here. You are right that no nanny who expects to be paid $20/hr as her base rate would take a job with me that pays $17/hr just because she is working more hours, but honestly I couldn't afford that nanny anyway. I need to find someone who would find working for a family that would treat them well and appreciate them immensely but can't pay the top rates that some people in this area can afford. In truth, I was taken care of by a wonderful warm woman who treated me as her own and took me to do all sorts of activities but had only a high school education. So I am more open than some in terms of education of our nanny, etc. as long as they are a good person who can be engaged with my kids. With health insurance and pay, we're still offering a package $55K, which I think is not unreasonable. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been giving advice.

Why do parents on this board try to perpetuate this nonsense that nannies aren't smart enough to know that if she would normally be paid $15/hour for a particular job, there is no reason for that to change because someone needs overtime. When I interview, I do qoute a weekly rate but there is a certain hourly rate that I will not go below. Why would any good nanny with decent math skills accept a job with you for 60 hrs/wk "at a lower hourly rate to offset your OT pay" that pays me similarly to a job working 40 hrs/wk?

Agree that hrly rates discussed here are usually avg's. When we interviewed, candidates all spoke about a weekly rate, not in hourly terms.

Agree with 16:32 and also that you should try to find either a live-in or someone with a very short commute since otherwise she will have NO life during the week.

The "right" rate also depends on where you are located. NWDC vs. Gaithersburg would be really different rates.

Yep, usually the hourly rate quoted is the average, not the base rate. From everything I have read, 15-18 is the range for a one child nanny in dc. However, with more hours you might be able to be on the lower end of that. We found that nannies think in terms of their weekly "salary" rather than their hourly base rate + overtime. So decide on the weekly amount you want to offer, and work backwards from there to calculate the base + ot rates. This means that you will be effectively guaranteeing her a number of hours per week, so in her mind it is the same thing as a salary.

And I agree with the pp who said to find a nanny close by. Our nanny is great, but I worry about her getting burned out with her long commute.

OP the rates that you hear on this board are very inflated by nannies. Even with the inflation, the rates here are average not base rates. Not one single nanny ever reported her base rate to us, only her average rate. The more hours you offer the lower the average rate. You can find amazing live out nannies for $700 a week/50 hours. You should find live out great candidates for $750-$800. There really is no reason to be paying $900 a week unless you want to throw money away.

For 60 hours, you may want to consider a live in nanny or a live out nanny who doesn't live far from you. If you are offering higher pay, you will get an avalanche of nannies vying for the job. The reality is that there are many more $500-$600 jobs out there than $700 jobs. You don't want someone with an hour commute each way on top of 12 hours who tells you she isn't burnt out because she wants the money. You'll end up with an unenergetic nanny running her own errands, napping and not doing a great job because she is tired but still wants the job and the money.

For a live in you are in the $600 -$660 pay range.

MB here - I agree w/ the nanny at 16:32. Figure out the weekly salary and then back that out to the base hourly rate for 40 hrs, plus 20hrs overtime. If $14 is base rate and $17 is the average you'd like to think about they both work out to just around $1k/week. I think you could find a nanny who would take that job, though it is a lot of hours. Maybe you can think about other elements that make the long hours a little more manageable - how old is your child? What kinds of household work do you hope to have done (or not)? Are there other perks you can offer (extra vacation time, or weeks when hours might be less but they would still be paid), activities you have the nanny take child to where he/she can get a break for a while (a couple of hours at a preschool for instance), etc... Would you allow a nanny to bring his/her own child?

The total benefits package for the position would be pretty relevant to an experienced nanny I think. (Taxes, bonus, use of a car, healthcare coverage...)

In your situation, OP, you should look at your budget and start on the low end per hour to accommodate the extra OT.

60 hours is a LOOOOOOONG week.

If you have 1 kid, I'd shoot for $15/hr (to start. expect to give raises) plus OT for anything over 40 hours. Plus plenty of PTO, vacation, etc.

If you have more kids, at least 16$

Nanny here.

Yes, figure out what you want to pay weekly and then sort out what that ends up being in terms of hourly pay + OT pay.

Consider, however, that if your situation changes and your nanny is dropped down to 40 hours a week (or even 50) that she'll be losing a huge chunk of her income, so you'd probably want to offer her a raise to offset that (or begin looking for a new nanny who doesn't need as high an income).

OP here. I haven't hired the person yet - just trying to figure out what rate to set as we begin interviewing.

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny will be working a little under 60 hours as I have a new job that has added a long commute. Does the normal $15-18/hr people seem to quote on this board hold true with this many overtime hours at a time and a half, or do people put the base a little lower so they average at $15-18. I was planning to try and be at about $17/hr for all of the hours, so base closer to $14. Thanks.

I don't think anyone would. accept you lowering their hourly rate so your OT rate is lowered. If you don't wa.t to pay KT , then hire a part timeer for the rxtra 20 hrs. Why should the nanny be screwed because you have such a lo.g commute.

Our nanny will be working a little under 60 hours as I have a new job that has added a long commute. Does the normal $15-18/hr people seem to quote on this board hold true with this many overtime hours at a time and a half, or do people put the base a little lower so they average at $15-18. I was planning to try and be at about $17/hr for all of the hours, so base closer to $14. Thanks.