Anonymous wrote:I understand your concern, but as a former live in whose bosses simultaneously fired and threw out with 24 hours notice (they had a friend they wanted to give my space to), please try to consider her needs as well. Can you imagine having just moved, and losing your job and home in one fell swoop? I had no where to go when it happened to me. I had to give up most of my belongings and spent the next few months in and out of shelters, and couch surfing before I got myself together. She may be a bad employee, but she doesn't deserve to be homeless.

So sad.. To bad nanny didn't think of that when she continued to be late and/or call out.

OP, toss her and worry about your own family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have 2 issues: 1. she is an employee. If you have cause, you can term immediately. You are not required to give notice in Va. 2. However, she's also a tenant and, as such, has tenant's rights. You are required to serve her a 30 day notice or she can sue you for unlawful eviction.
I'd give her a 30 day and try to avoid her for the month. I might give her a little "bonus" or "severance package" as an incentive to get out ASAP. $1000 should cover her moving expenses and make a small dent in a deposit and first month's rent on a new place.

TBH, this seems a bit overly generous given the poor work performance. I'd offer her two weeks to get out plus one week's pay as an incentive. If she insists on longer you can offer her more money or agree to 30 days but without any compensation.

I would though be interested like the other PPs to know how a live-in can be so late and if you've actually talked to her about what's going on.

Yeah, unfortunately you have to be in compliance with your local laws, or you could be in big trouble if she doesn't have anywhere to go.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. She was not at home when she arrived late. Of course I would have knocked on her door if she was! Both times she was out for whatever reason (running errands?). I did not mention it because I was sort of shocked and didn't know what to say. I get nervous about having confrontations with someone watching my kids, you know? I probably should have addressed it though.

Are you sure there wasn't a misunderstanding about the start time? If she was so nonchalant about it, and you never said anything about it, it would seem she thought she was there on time. If you're going to be an employer, you need to learn to have these conversations. Its awfully passive aggressive to fire someone and throw them out the street without so much as a conversation or a warning.

OP here. She was not at home when she arrived late. Of course I would have knocked on her door if she was! Both times she was out for whatever reason (running errands?). I did not mention it because I was sort of shocked and didn't know what to say. I get nervous about having confrontations with someone watching my kids, you know? I probably should have addressed it though.

Anonymous wrote:You have 2 issues: 1. she is an employee. If you have cause, you can term immediately. You are not required to give notice in Va. 2. However, she's also a tenant and, as such, has tenant's rights. You are required to serve her a 30 day notice or she can sue you for unlawful eviction.
I'd give her a 30 day and try to avoid her for the month. I might give her a little "bonus" or "severance package" as an incentive to get out ASAP. $1000 should cover her moving expenses and make a small dent in a deposit and first month's rent on a new place.

TBH, this seems a bit overly generous given the poor work performance. I'd offer her two weeks to get out plus one week's pay as an incentive. If she insists on longer you can offer her more money or agree to 30 days but without any compensation.

I would though be interested like the other PPs to know how a live-in can be so late and if you've actually talked to her about what's going on.

MB here. I think you need to do right by her, which means giving her ample opportunity to plan to move and some cash flow to accomplish this goal. By accepting a live-in position, she's really put herself at your mercy a bit: don't abuse this position.

Also, are you certain you have a problem that can't be resolved. Consistent lateness does sound like a major problem. However, she did JUST move in. Maybe there is something going on with her that won't persist. Why not sit down with her and tell her that her behavior this week will not work for you long-term, and that you need her to be on time in the future if the job is going to work out. That might fix the problem. If so, no need to put you and her through all the pain of her leaving, you interviewing new nannies, etc.

Anonymous wrote:You have 2 issues: 1. she is an employee. If you have cause, you can term immediately. You are not required to give notice in Va. 2. However, she's also a tenant and, as such, has tenant's rights. You are required to serve her a 30 day notice or she can sue you for unlawful eviction.
I'd give her a 30 day and try to avoid her for the month. I might give her a little "bonus" or "severance package" as an incentive to get out ASAP. $1000 should cover her moving expenses and make a small dent in a deposit and first month's rent on a new place.

Excellent advice.

You have 2 issues: 1. she is an employee. If you have cause, you can term immediately. You are not required to give notice in Va. 2. However, she's also a tenant and, as such, has tenant's rights. You are required to serve her a 30 day notice or she can sue you for unlawful eviction.
I'd give her a 30 day and try to avoid her for the month. I might give her a little "bonus" or "severance package" as an incentive to get out ASAP. $1000 should cover her moving expenses and make a small dent in a deposit and first month's rent on a new place.

Being an hour late I would assume she thought she started at that time. Did you ask her why she was late? Did you knock on her door? I'm thinking eviction laws are in place, however. She does live there. I hope you're able to work it out, whether that means she's fired or shapes up and turns into a good employee. Did she just move in last week and start working right away? That would be tough. Personally I'd want a minimum of a week to unpack and orient myself to the neighborhood and relax before starting a new job and new home. Maybe she has some loose ends she's trying to tie up??

OP's story is a bit far fetched. The live-in nanny is an hour late when you need to dash off to work and you never knocked on her door? What did you tell your boss when you arrived to your job an hour late? Or is it that you work at home, so you're both doing the childcare, more or less?
You need to stepup your creativity here for us.

Where was she living prior to moving into your house? If it's someplace she could easily go back to, I wouldn't hesitate to relieve her without notice. She has only been there a week and has had reliability issues on 3 separate occasions! Unless she already gave you a great reason for all 3 episodes, I can't see a reason to keep her, people are on their best in the first few weeks of a new job. If this is her best, you're in big trouble!

How is she an hour late if she's a live in?

If my live in was that late I would think she was hurt and couldn't come down from her nanny apartment.

MB here. Talk to her first. Is something going on in her life? Not that that is an excuse, but if she's dealing with something that could explain her behavior. I assume you contacted her references and would imagine they would have told you if this behavior was normal for her. Did she move to be your live in nanny?

At least if you talk to her, you can put her on notice and she knows she either has to shape up or start looking for another living situation.

I understand your concern, but as a former live in whose bosses simultaneously fired and threw out with 24 hours notice (they had a friend they wanted to give my space to), please try to consider her needs as well. Can you imagine having just moved, and losing your job and home in one fell swoop? I had no where to go when it happened to me. I had to give up most of my belongings and spent the next few months in and out of shelters, and couch surfing before I got myself together. She may be a bad employee, but she doesn't deserve to be homeless.

We have had a new live-in nanny for about a week now. Our last one went very well and I was excited about the new one coming in (our old one moved). In the span of a week, she has cancelled with zero notice and been over an hour late to watch the kids twice with zero explanation. This is not going to work, clearly. What do I do in terms of getting her out? Are eviction laws in place? I don't know how to handle this. I also do NOT want her in my home after she has been fired.