Anonymous wrote:This is what PTO is for, so why not her take that? If she doesn't have enough PTO to cover, then you can gift her with the extra time to cover the two weeks she plans to be gone. If she needs to be gone longer, allow her to take it unpaid.

There is no need to pay for her airfare, unless, of course, you just want to give her a gift of this.

+1

This is what PTO is for, so why not her take that? If she doesn't have enough PTO to cover, then you can gift her with the extra time to cover the two weeks she plans to be gone. If she needs to be gone longer, allow her to take it unpaid.

There is no need to pay for her airfare, unless, of course, you just want to give her a gift of this.

We gave our nanny who had worked for us for a year one week off with pay when her father died - we told her she should take what she needed, and she chose to come back after a week. If she had taken longer we would probably have continued to pay her, but our lines of communication were open so that didn't really come up. Obviously we couldn't pay her indefinitely since we needed to ay for back-up childcare, but we would have offered the option of unpaid leave or using paid vacation. She did not have to travel abroad so that was not an issue, but I don't think we would have felt we could have paid for that. I think maybe one week compassionate leave with full pay and then one week at a reduced rate might be fair if you feel the situation is a big financial burden for you. If she needs more time then maybe extend the reduced rate or offer vacation /unpaid leave. I know it is hard but you do need to be clear with her what the terms are, it would be awful if she were to think she was on full pay and then came back to find that was not the case. Ultimately, you sound like a nice person so you need to do what you can afford and think is fair.

When my dad died, I was paid normally. However, I (now regrettably) didn't take any full days off. I'm only part time so I went in for a few hours and left early 3 days. Other than that I worked normally. I did have an emergency leading up to that where I needed to leave ASAP and get to the hospital and I was also paid regularly for the day.

You sound like a really great MB. I think helping her out financially is very thoughtful of you. I don't know that you need to assist with the airfare, but if you can afford it, I am sure she will be very appreciative. If you love her like family, tell her how you feel and make sure she knows that she doesn't need to worry about anything right now except being there for her family through this difficult time. Good luck.

hello,
my nanny just found out a family member died unexpectedly.. she will be off to her country for at least two weeks.. i want her to worry nothing of us/my family and focus only on her and her family.
How best can I support her?
What would typical pay be? Since it's the start of the new year, she (nor I) have taken vacation.. I was thinking some pay like a worker's compensation salary adjustment might be fair? I do have to pay for a replacement and while I want to be all i can to her, i have to be realistic to the financial situation..
That said, is it appropriate to also help pay airfare?
She has been with us for two kids and two years.. and we love her like family.

Thank you for your helpful advice and given the sensitivity - though i wish I could expect this all of the time - i'd appreciate only helpful response, not crude and rude ones.

Thank you for those truly interested in helping advice...