What is in your contract rules BUT, we revised our contract twice now for snow day policy to try to line it up better w/ what my work expects of me (DH's office is virtually always open and mine used to always follow feds but no more) and taking road conditions more into account. The latter was a result of me being out of town during the last MAJOR snow storm when stuff was closed for eons since it took forever to clear DC, but suburbs were cleared in about a day or so - ours, DH's office's and nanny's - but we were bound for that year by the contract. You can bet we revised it ASAP though at the year anniversary since it was simply not realistic.

OP - you may be technically in the right but unless road conditions were bad Monday AM (by us they were not), then I would not push the issue.

I'm not really sure how PPs are arguing the "spirit" of the contract. Why even put anything in the contract about following the school closings if they are going to expect nanny to come in when schools are closed? I think this sets a bad precedent OP. in your contract a standard was set and its one everyone agreed on. If your employers made you come in this time, despite the contract and you agree, what then is the standard and who makes the call? If you trust your employers to make the call based upon your safety and not their convenience then sure, don't fight it and preserve the good will. However if they are the type to have you come in no matter what the roads look like, giving in this time sets the precedent that its their call.

Anonymous wrote:Snow days really should be about safety. If the roads are safe, and the parents have to work, and this is just about getting a bonus paid day off, I'd say the professional thing to us come in. Just like if there happened to be a very snowy day when school was on break, I'd think the parents would be unreasonable to either insist you come in or not get paid just because that doesn't fall under a school closing for snow.

Some times it makes sense to follow the spirit of the contract. This should work out best for all if both sides do it fairly.

+1

OP, it is your prerogative to enforce the word instead of the spirit of the contract if you so choose, but you will be destroying any goodwill you have in your employment relationship.

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, our nanny works when the schools are closed unless my work closes or public transportation is down. She has never even asked about not coming in, so apparently, it isn't a big deal for her. If she said she didn't feel safe traveling in and wanted to take PTO for a snow day, I'd be fine with that.


Your nanny is irrelevant. It's in OP's contract so OP isn't required to work.

Oops, my bad. I misread the OP's question and thought she was asking in general about nannies and snow days. You are right, PP, what is in the contract in what OP should do!

Thanks, PP, for your almost polite response to my post.

For the record, the parents did not have to work yesterday.

Snow days really should be about safety. If the roads are safe, and the parents have to work, and this is just about getting a bonus paid day off, I'd say the professional thing to us come in. Just like if there happened to be a very snowy day when school was on break, I'd think the parents would be unreasonable to either insist you come in or not get paid just because that doesn't fall under a school closing for snow.

Some times it makes sense to follow the spirit of the contract. This should work out best for all if both sides do it fairly.

OP, you are obviously in the right, but if you make a big deal out of this, I would bet when it comes time to renew your contract, she's going to get really nit-picky about everything and say something like, "I want to make sure we always do exactly what is in the contract." I suspect you aren't going to like the changes, either.

If you're ready to quit, argue about this. Otherwise, figure this snow-day rule is going to change in your next contract, and think about what you'll ask for in return.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, our nanny works when the schools are closed unless my work closes or public transportation is down. She has never even asked about not coming in, so apparently, it isn't a big deal for her. If she said she didn't feel safe traveling in and wanted to take PTO for a snow day, I'd be fine with that.

Your nanny is irrelevant. It's in OP's contract so OP isn't required to work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's in her contract to not work when schools are closed, then she should not work - regardless if the employer thinks the roads are fine.

This. Nothing else really matters. If this is the agreement, to renege on it at the employers convenience is wrong, and for me is grounds to start looking for a new job.

+1

Come on. I'm a snow phone and I went into work without problems.

Anonymous wrote:If it's in her contract to not work when schools are closed, then she should not work - regardless if the employer thinks the roads are fine.

This. Nothing else really matters. If this is the agreement, to renege on it at the employers convenience is wrong, and for me is grounds to start looking for a new job.

If it's in her contract to not work when schools are closed, then she should not work - regardless if the employer thinks the roads are fine.

Yes, our nanny works when the schools are closed unless my work closes or public transportation is down. She has never even asked about not coming in, so apparently, it isn't a big deal for her. If she said she didn't feel safe traveling in and wanted to take PTO for a snow day, I'd be fine with that.

Is it at all risky for her to come in? There's your answer. If yes, she should stay home.

Should nanny be expected to work if schools are closed? When hired she was told that the family followed all schools closings, schools are closed today but she is still expected to come in because the roads "seem" fine. Advice?