Anonymous
01/11/2013 09:34
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So I guess my question now is for MBs- Would you agree to guaranteed hours for a PT nanny if they agreed that any time they needed off it would be unpaid? Is there anything else a PT nanny could do to make this arrangement more tolerable?
PP here, and as you can see from what I wrote above, this is what I always do. I get paid if I am able to work (even if THEY don't need me), but if *I* can't work, then I take the day off without pay. It let's them know that I will be coming in to work unless I really can't, as I want to get paid and I won't be using sick days just to get a day off when not really needed.
It would depend on how often you anticipate this happening, and how much notice you can provide. For a very part-time position, the two most important things a family look for are 1) can you keep the kids safe? and 2) reliability. All the other "great nanny" stuff like creativity and light housekeeping is less important because you just aren't there that much. On the other hand, it is hard to find reliable, consistent babysitting for 10-or-less hours per week, so parents may just take what they can get.
Anonymous
01/11/2013 03:10
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
Anonymous wrote:So I guess my question now is for MBs- Would you agree to guaranteed hours for a PT nanny if they agreed that any time they needed off it would be unpaid? Is there anything else a PT nanny could do to make this arrangement more tolerable?
PP here, and as you can see from what I wrote above, this is what I always do. I get paid if I am able to work (even if THEY don't need me), but if *I* can't work, then I take the day off without pay. It let's them know that I will be coming in to work unless I really can't, as I want to get paid and I won't be using sick days just to get a day off when not really needed.
Anonymous
01/11/2013 03:06
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
NisforNanny wrote:I did this for my first couple of years as a nanny and it worked well at the time. A friend of mine was nannying for a family who had a friend who was looking for someone PT and I decided to go with a recommended family and fill in the rest of my time with a second family since I really clicked with the first family. It was a great experience as I really enjoyed working with both families, but that being said, my more recent job searches have focused on FT positions. Even when I was working for two families who were friends, I always had any schedule changes/requests be done through me and while the families always knew "the other mother's" name, I did not give them each other's contact info. Pros and cons may vary for you, but here were mine:
PRO:
- parents spend more time with their kid(s) and are more active in their life/lives (I find these parents tend to be easier to talk to about their children and admit that this is also part value judgment by me - I've worked for parents with more and less direct involvement in the live(s) of their child(ren) and while I am not saying there is a right or wrong, I am saying that I prefer to work with more involved parents.)
- parents tend to have more flexibility in scheduling
- more variety with days/activities, particularly if ages of children are different
- less of a routine
CONS
- vacation time can be difficult to coordinate
- nanny must be on top of schedule and set down boundaries early, as nanny's non-work obligations can easily come third/fourth/fifth
- if working for more than one family in a day, there is an additional commute, possibly with "dead" time to make sure not late for second family
- less likely to be offered benefits, guaranteed or position to be paid legally (obviously need to ask as not impossible, my experience has been that those are more common traits of FT positions)
- less of a routine
OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
- do not work for more than one family in a day, as MB1/DB1 running late will make you late for MB2/DB2 (or you will spend a lot of time waiting to go into work)
- try to coordinate agreements, so you have similar amounts of PTO
- I think it's okay to have different rates with the different families as their situations are different. I would not discuss the specifics of this between families if it happens. I would discuss sick kid/PTO expectations.
- figure out your evening/weekend policy (I always did first come, first serve for non-scheduled hours.)
- If possible, try to get families to commit to a full days (or as long of days as you want to work) on a set schedule. Decide early on if you are interested in coordinating "trading" of time between families. (I recommend doing so only minimally and with notice. Make it clear that each family has absolute priority on their time.)
Not sure that first Pro would be the same for all families. Disagree with less of a routine. It can be a regular routine, but enough of a variety between positions that you might not get as bored throughout the week (or as easily) if you have a few different families on different days. Again, vacation time doesn't necessarily have to be hard to coordinate. Nor do my other personal obligations take a backseat to many other things. I work my hours and that is it. If they want extra time, they can ask for it but there is no assumption that I will be available for anything outside my normal hours, I also do first asked and first confirmed gets it. I always ask for guaranteed hours since each position might have so few each week, to make it worthwhile for me to take that job, I need to know I can count on that pay. Parents understand this. I don't just get guaranteed hours to work, I get the pay as well. If they don't use me, I get paid still. I *will* offer to help out with light housekeeping or doing a date night instead to make up for those hours, but it has to be my final say as to whether I can do it a specific night etc. I get paid well since it is PT work, and I can usually get away with having employers cover my share of the taxes as a benefit since I don't get any paid vacation or sick days (If I can work I get paid, if I choose to not work that day, then I don't). I usually earn $20 with them paying their and my share of the taxes (this doesn't include income tax of course).
The key is to never think of this as a sharing the nanny thing. It is TWO separate jobs (or more). Not one with different families. Act like they are different jobs, no need for the families to talk to each other or anything. Do whatever schedules and pay you want with each. If you have school in the morning and then something from noon-3 and then 4-7pm, think of each job as more "school" or whatever. If job a asks you to stay late, or job b asks you to come early, you say you CANNOT because you have another regular commitment that doesn't allow this. No need to even bring it up as another job, where the family might ask if you can call them and be late or whatever they think they want you to try and do. It is unmovable. Schedule set in stone. If you act like that, no problems will arise. Let them know you are free from 8-11pm evenings or weekends x-x times and those are your ONLY extra available hours.
Anonymous
01/10/2013 23:50
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
NisforNanny wrote:I did this for my first couple of years as a nanny and it worked well at the time. A friend of mine was nannying for a family who had a friend who was looking for someone PT and I decided to go with a recommended family and fill in the rest of my time with a second family since I really clicked with the first family. It was a great experience as I really enjoyed working with both families, but that being said, my more recent job searches have focused on FT positions. Even when I was working for two families who were friends, I always had any schedule changes/requests be done through me and while the families always knew "the other mother's" name, I did not give them each other's contact info. Pros and cons may vary for you, but here were mine:
PRO:
- parents spend more time with their kid(s) and are more active in their life/lives (I find these parents tend to be easier to talk to about their children and admit that this is also part value judgment by me - I've worked for parents with more and less direct involvement in the live(s) of their child(ren) and while I am not saying there is a right or wrong, I am saying that I prefer to work with more involved parents.)
- parents tend to have more flexibility in scheduling
- more variety with days/activities, particularly if ages of children are different
- less of a routine
CONS
- vacation time can be difficult to coordinate
- nanny must be on top of schedule and set down boundaries early, as nanny's non-work obligations can easily come third/fourth/fifth
- if working for more than one family in a day, there is an additional commute, possibly with "dead" time to make sure not late for second family
- less likely to be offered benefits, guaranteed or position to be paid legally (obviously need to ask as not impossible, my experience has been that those are more common traits of FT positions)
- less of a routine
OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
- do not work for more than one family in a day, as MB1/DB1 running late will make you late for MB2/DB2 (or you will spend a lot of time waiting to go into work)
- try to coordinate agreements, so you have similar amounts of PTO
- I think it's okay to have different rates with the different families as their situations are different. I would not discuss the specifics of this between families if it happens. I would discuss sick kid/PTO expectations.
- figure out your evening/weekend policy (I always did first come, first serve for non-scheduled hours.)
- If possible, try to get families to commit to a full days (or as long of days as you want to work) on a set schedule. Decide early on if you are interested in coordinating "trading" of time between families. (I recommend doing so only minimally and with notice. Make it clear that each family has absolute priority on their time.)
This is a great list, thanks! Some clarifications on my situation- I'm looking to work about 20 hours/wk, very few jobs seem to need that within my available schedule, most of the jobs I'm being offered seem to want around 5-10 hours. At that small commitment I don't expect a lot of benefits with regard to vacation and PTO, and to be honest I'm okay with this because if I need flexibility during finals or if I wind up needing to quit after 6 months because my class schedule can no longer accommodate them, I feel less guilty about it, because they have not invested much in me past my regular rate.
I think what this is really coming down to for me is that I need to be adamant about guaranteed hours. I got burned at my last position during Hurricane Sandy (I go to school and work in Long Island) when the family didn't need me for two weeks and didn't pay me. I've always gotten guaranteed hours for the family I work for in the summer (FT hours) but have let it slide for the PT families I take on during the semester because I so frequently need flexibility because of school commitments.
So I guess my question now is for MBs- Would you agree to guaranteed hours for a PT nanny if they agreed that any time they needed off it would be unpaid? Is there anything else a PT nanny could do to make this arrangement more tolerable?
NisforNanny
01/10/2013 23:14
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
I did this for my first couple of years as a nanny and it worked well at the time. A friend of mine was nannying for a family who had a friend who was looking for someone PT and I decided to go with a recommended family and fill in the rest of my time with a second family since I really clicked with the first family. It was a great experience as I really enjoyed working with both families, but that being said, my more recent job searches have focused on FT positions. Even when I was working for two families who were friends, I always had any schedule changes/requests be done through me and while the families always knew "the other mother's" name, I did not give them each other's contact info. Pros and cons may vary for you, but here were mine:
PRO:
- parents spend more time with their kid(s) and are more active in their life/lives (I find these parents tend to be easier to talk to about their children and admit that this is also part value judgment by me - I've worked for parents with more and less direct involvement in the live(s) of their child(ren) and while I am not saying there is a right or wrong, I am saying that I prefer to work with more involved parents.)
- parents tend to have more flexibility in scheduling
- more variety with days/activities, particularly if ages of children are different
- less of a routine
CONS
- vacation time can be difficult to coordinate
- nanny must be on top of schedule and set down boundaries early, as nanny's non-work obligations can easily come third/fourth/fifth
- if working for more than one family in a day, there is an additional commute, possibly with "dead" time to make sure not late for second family
- less likely to be offered benefits, guaranteed or position to be paid legally (obviously need to ask as not impossible, my experience has been that those are more common traits of FT positions)
- less of a routine
OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
- do not work for more than one family in a day, as MB1/DB1 running late will make you late for MB2/DB2 (or you will spend a lot of time waiting to go into work)
- try to coordinate agreements, so you have similar amounts of PTO
- I think it's okay to have different rates with the different families as their situations are different. I would not discuss the specifics of this between families if it happens. I would discuss sick kid/PTO expectations.
- figure out your evening/weekend policy (I always did first come, first serve for non-scheduled hours.)
- If possible, try to get families to commit to a full days (or as long of days as you want to work) on a set schedule. Decide early on if you are interested in coordinating "trading" of time between families. (I recommend doing so only minimally and with notice. Make it clear that each family has absolute priority on their time.)
PRO:
- parents spend more time with their kid(s) and are more active in their life/lives (I find these parents tend to be easier to talk to about their children and admit that this is also part value judgment by me - I've worked for parents with more and less direct involvement in the live(s) of their child(ren) and while I am not saying there is a right or wrong, I am saying that I prefer to work with more involved parents.)
- parents tend to have more flexibility in scheduling
- more variety with days/activities, particularly if ages of children are different
- less of a routine
CONS
- vacation time can be difficult to coordinate
- nanny must be on top of schedule and set down boundaries early, as nanny's non-work obligations can easily come third/fourth/fifth
- if working for more than one family in a day, there is an additional commute, possibly with "dead" time to make sure not late for second family
- less likely to be offered benefits, guaranteed or position to be paid legally (obviously need to ask as not impossible, my experience has been that those are more common traits of FT positions)
- less of a routine
OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
- do not work for more than one family in a day, as MB1/DB1 running late will make you late for MB2/DB2 (or you will spend a lot of time waiting to go into work)
- try to coordinate agreements, so you have similar amounts of PTO
- I think it's okay to have different rates with the different families as their situations are different. I would not discuss the specifics of this between families if it happens. I would discuss sick kid/PTO expectations.
- figure out your evening/weekend policy (I always did first come, first serve for non-scheduled hours.)
- If possible, try to get families to commit to a full days (or as long of days as you want to work) on a set schedule. Decide early on if you are interested in coordinating "trading" of time between families. (I recommend doing so only minimally and with notice. Make it clear that each family has absolute priority on their time.)
Anonymous
01/10/2013 19:31
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
Anonymous wrote:I did it but I didn't like it, maybe it will work for you, for me it was a very bad idea.
OP here, mind elaborating on why it didn't work for you?
Anonymous
01/10/2013 18:00
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
This is what I do. It is not a nanny split, since the families do not discuss with one another what my job entails for them. I handle all scheduling and arrangements. I have offered to both a lower rate then I would usually charge for part-time work, in exchange for their flexibility when I need to assist another family. The largest challenge for me, has been traveling or vacation time for the two families. Fortunately, they both have some level of flexibility. Family A has children in preschool with optional aftercare. Family B is a stay-at-home mom who needs me When she runs errands or takes one child or the other to appointments. I think that if neither family is flexible, it will severely cut down on your flexibility. Likewise, if only one family is flexible, I would consider giving them a much lower rate and telling them up front that the lower rate will be in exchange for their flexibility. Otherwise, the more flexible family will likely grow to resent the situation.
Anonymous
01/10/2013 17:35
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
I did it but I didn't like it, maybe it will work for you, for me it was a very bad idea.
Anonymous
01/10/2013 16:52
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
I have done this. I currently work for 3 families and I am in talks with a 4th that I will be adding to the mix as well. Most want flexibility, but understand that if they can't give you x number of hours that you need, that you have to get them somewhere. I have found great families that understand this and have all worked with me if needed to have a schedule for myself that works for all of them as well. I do have a "main" family, and so if they ask for extra hours beyond my normal schedule they understand if my main family needs me for that time, that they would be put first. Otherwise, I generally take extra hours in order that they are asked for.
I don't do much work with 2 families on the same day, it is mostly family 1 gets Wed/Thu, family 2 gets Mon/Tue, family 3 does get later hours on Wed (so this is worked out between both that neither go outside of their hours), and new family 4 will be doing Fri and possibly Mon in the future.
If you had to do mornings with one and then afternoons with the other, then I would just make sure that they understand that you can't be available outside x hours, but if you were going to school and had classes then, you wouldn't be able to do extra work for the other family either. Most people that do PT don't have a wide open schedule where they can just pick up extra hours anyways. There is a reason they are working PT and not FT. The parents usually understand this (it is other work or school etc) and it can be hard to find someone they want for PT anyways, so the chance to find someone that can get another PT job that meshes well with theirs is usually great for them. More chance that the nanny they want will take their position and stay with them long term.
I don't do much work with 2 families on the same day, it is mostly family 1 gets Wed/Thu, family 2 gets Mon/Tue, family 3 does get later hours on Wed (so this is worked out between both that neither go outside of their hours), and new family 4 will be doing Fri and possibly Mon in the future.
If you had to do mornings with one and then afternoons with the other, then I would just make sure that they understand that you can't be available outside x hours, but if you were going to school and had classes then, you wouldn't be able to do extra work for the other family either. Most people that do PT don't have a wide open schedule where they can just pick up extra hours anyways. There is a reason they are working PT and not FT. The parents usually understand this (it is other work or school etc) and it can be hard to find someone they want for PT anyways, so the chance to find someone that can get another PT job that meshes well with theirs is usually great for them. More chance that the nanny they want will take their position and stay with them long term.
Anonymous
01/10/2013 16:37
Subject: Considering combining two PT jobs
I'm a college student who works PT as a nanny. I'm in the process of looking for a new job now, but I'm having trouble finding positions that meet the total number of hours I'd like to be working. However, I do have a couple of interested families where the schedules align that I could work for more than one of them. Has any one ever done this before? Did you discuss it with the families? One of my concerns is that many of the families want flexibility, but my taking a second PT job would obviously limit my flexibility (though probably wouldn't eat it up entirely, I'd still have extra non-working, non-class time that I could offer to the families if they wanted). Should I offer the option of guaranteed hours vs my taking a second job? Or just take a second job and apologize whenever I can't accommodate schedule changes?