Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bank hrs at my nanny job and I don't mind. When my bosses need me I work. My life is put on hold for this job as I am available to them when needed. Most nannies don't want that arrangement.

You're right. Any good nanny is a nanny by choice, meaning she probably values her life outside of work. She doesn't want to have to leave her weekends available on the off chance her employers want to screw with the schedule.

So because this is the way my job is and my personality is fine with it I'm somehow not a good nanny?

That's not what I was trying to say, apologies. "Any" should be "Most". There are of course some, likely very few, great nannies who live for the job. You may be one. But most good nannies have chosen this path for a reason, and if we were live for the job type of people, we'd be in a different industry. Amazing nannies that live for the job, with no life outside of it, no family or friends, are probably elite nannies working 24hour schedules, with the salary to go with it. I'm sorry, but if you're making average nanny money, but your constantly available to your employers, and you allow them to screw with your schedule, you probably aren't all that special. You're probably a little more desperate than most, or can't stick up for yourself and get taken advantage of.

It means you're a pushover and if you are such a good nanny, why don't you have a job with better terms?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bank hrs at my nanny job and I don't mind. When my bosses need me I work. My life is put on hold for this job as I am available to them when needed. Most nannies don't want that arrangement.

You're right. Any good nanny is a nanny by choice, meaning she probably values her life outside of work. She doesn't want to have to leave her weekends available on the off chance her employers want to screw with the schedule.

So because this is the way my job is and my personality is fine with it I'm somehow not a good nanny?

You can also offer something in the middle if you really think you wont use 45 hours most weeks or all weeks.

For example, you could guarentee 40 hours a week with the understanding that you need an hour's flexibility for the end time of each day. And, of course, pay OT for each hour you need.

You could also request regular babysitting, say the first Saturday of each month, and pay OT if those hours put you above the 45 for the week.

The main thing, I think, most people are after is a job that's predictable and fair. But it doesn't have to be the exact model everyone else has.

I think it's part of the job to be flexible as a nanny but I would run from a job if they mentioned making up hours at night/weekend because employers decided to stay home or come home early. I am a very scheduled person so mixing up hours would frustrate me. I think younger nannies without the experience may take you up on this offer but nannies with more experience would not consider this arrangement. If you know ahead of time that hours will vary from week to week them by honest about that in interview and you won't have any future problems.

Anonymous wrote:I bank hrs at my nanny job and I don't mind. When my bosses need me I work. My life is put on hold for this job as I am available to them when needed. Most nannies don't want that arrangement.

You're right. Any good nanny is a nanny by choice, meaning she probably values her life outside of work. She doesn't want to have to leave her weekends available on the off chance her employers want to screw with the schedule.

I bank hrs at my nanny job and I don't mind. When my bosses need me I work. My life is put on hold for this job as I am available to them when needed. Most nannies don't want that arrangement.

another working mom here, and I agree with the other posters. if your job requires you to work from 8 tp 5, would you be happy if your employer one Wednesday morning tells you that after 12pm that day you can go home because it does not need you, but you are welcome to come back to the office the next Sunday between 10am and 3pm to make up the time you did not work? I guess you will not be thrilled. guaranteeing hours makes your offer good for a nanny precisely because you guarantee the hours 8 to 5 five days a week or whatever other arrangement you have. if you plan not to pay the hours when you do not need to nanny, you are not guaranteeing the hours. banking the hours for use during the week end or everning would probably not be palatable to most good nannies, who have their private lives and maybe do some week end babysitting to increase their salaries

I have to agree with the PP's

Guaranteed hours mean that I know exactly what my paycheck with be and I have the security of knowing that I can pay my bills.

I would not accept a job where the family wanted to "bank" hours - it means my life essentially has to revolve around work andI'm not okay with that.

Hi OP. As a nanny I would find a job without guaranteed hours unappealing -- I have my own bills and expenses to pay so if you decide to take hours away from me then I am left with less money than I expected. Essentially I am being penalized by no fault of my own, and that can be incredibly frustrating if it happens often.

As for making up hours on the weekends, I would not even consider a job that has that stipulation. While I babysit my charges on occasion (usually for free or in exchange for some weekday hours), it is rare and not a requirement -- I do it because I enjoy my NF and want to go the extra mile to make things work on both our ends.

Some nannies might consider this job, but I would say it is an unattractive offer.

Yes. That is exactly what guaranteed hours means. You pay a set amount for the regular schedule, even for the odd week where you need less hours. You can do what you're suggesting (banking hours), however legally the makeup must occur within the same pay period, but keep in mind this is something that would make your job very unnattractive to most professional nannies. What you will get instead is a less experienced nanny, perhaps someone used to working part time with no benefits, who will accept that arrangement.

If you went forward with the idea of banking hours, what would you do if you wanted to make up hours on the weekend and she had plans? Would she be expected to cancel her plans because you had plans when she usually works? Would you be bitter if she always had plans, and never wants to make up hours? Are you frequently going to need less hours than you would guarantee? Just things to consider.

Yes, that is what guaranteed pay is.
No, you cannot ask the nanny to make up the time on the weekend. Do you want her to have any time off during her week?

Hello
I am a first time mom, and is just starting to look for a full time nanny, we will need for about 45 hours a week, from 8 to 5.. If we guarantee the nanny 45 hours a week at the above stated time, does that means we have to pay the nanny for 45 hours even if we did not need her the entire period? And next question, can we have her come in on a weekend to make up the hours she did not work?
Thank You