I also think that you need to raise her salary by $1/hr, unless she gets overtime as part of her guarantees hours, then you could do $.50-.75. She is certainly not above market where she stands.

MB here. The first year with us we gave our nanny not quite an additional $1/hr (we worked with round salary numbers) and we also added a monthly contribution to her healthcare costs. The second year we gave her slightly more than $1/hr (again because of rounding) and bumped the healthcare contribution a bit.

We probably have another year or two before the $1/hr amount increases starts hitting our affordability ceiling, but adding some compensation by way of covering healthcare costs is a lower cost way to give a real benefit since neither you nor the nanny pays taxes on a benefit like that. (So if you give her $100/month that's what it costs you - not an additional amount on top in employer taxes.)

$1 is a normal yearly raise, if you can't offer that then offer an extra paid vacation week. $2-3 for another child is typical depending on the preschool situation.

I'm always surprised when individuals believe $1 is an acceptable raise for adding another human being to care for, especially one that isn't self sufficient at all.

Work on that reading comprehension, 7:20! LOL

Anonymous wrote:

With a new baby that she will need to care for I'd say $2.00 an hour - generally $1.00 an hour is standard without adding a child at an annual review. I'm getting an $1 increase for the same one child.

I'm sure the bitter MB's who read this post will say it is too much. I'm sure you could try to get away with giving her less. I'm sure your nanny could find another job.

Ignoring this bitter and ugly sounding nanny, a $1/hr raise is very generous for a yearly raise. Once you have the third child, if you have a third child, a $1/hr raise for that baby makes sense, unless the older children are in preschool.

Well, didn't you just prove the PP's point! LOL

A dollar more an hour without doubt. It is standard and if she doesn't know this by now, she will hear it from other nannies. Then, if there is another baby, you will have to consider another raise.

Since she is already at market, I would offer an extra $.50 per hour. That's about 3%, which is a pretty standard annual COLA. If you think she'll be disappointed (which I don't think is a given), you could talk to her about your plans for number three and commit to increasing her rate to something in the $18.50-$20 range at that point. Three kids under 3.5 years old is a lot of work, so you'll need to provide at least a $1 raise at that point to have a chance at keeping her. $.50 now leaves some wiggle room to do that.

Anonymous wrote:I'd try to give a buck an hour more plus a perk. A gym membership or monthly transit pass or something.

This is what I usually ask for, as a nanny. An extra dollar more per hour, and maybe an extra holiday (Christmas eve, day after thanksgiving, etc) or personal day.

I'd try to give a buck an hour more plus a perk. A gym membership or monthly transit pass or something.

With a new baby that she will need to care for I'd say $2.00 an hour - generally $1.00 an hour is standard without adding a child at an annual review. I'm getting an $1 increase for the same one child.

I'm sure the bitter MB's who read this post will say it is too much. I'm sure you could try to get away with giving her less. I'm sure your nanny could find another job.

Ignoring this bitter and ugly sounding nanny, a $1/hr raise is very generous for a yearly raise. Once you have the third child, if you have a third child, a $1/hr raise for that baby makes sense, unless the older children are in preschool.

OP here. Thanks for the advice. To be clear, I'm not pregnant and a new baby is a hope, not a definite. And we certainly don't discuss that kind of stuff with our nanny at this point since it's not concrete (and private). So what we are considering now is an annual raise.

Do you use a payroll company? If so, I'd ask them what they typically see for both annual raises and also raises for the addition of a new child in your area. You will get more realistic answers than you will from this board ...

With a new baby that she will need to care for I'd say $2.00 an hour - generally $1.00 an hour is standard without adding a child at an annual review. I'm getting an $1 increase for the same one child.

I'm sure the bitter MB's who read this post will say it is too much. I'm sure you could try to get away with giving her less. I'm sure your nanny could find another job.

That's wonderful you want to give your nanny a raise! Without knowing your own finances is impossible to say what kind of raise would price her out of your range - you'll need to think creatively about that.

Increasing her hourly rate now does not mean you're obligated to do it next year, it just means you have to be honest with your nanny as things progress. I have not had a raise in two years but 1) I know my employers are at the top of their budget and 2) they paid my full salary while I was out on medical leave for three months, which more than made up for any raises (plus saved my job for me!) I missed out on? You could also offer her a health insurance contribution instead of an hourly raise, which is tax deductible for you, or in the future offer additional PTO in lieu of a cash raise, or again, just be honest about what you can and can't afford and when. It sounds like you appreciate your nanny immensely and I'm sure she knows that - don't worry about any nasty responses from people who don't have equally positive relationships with their MBs.

All of that aside, typically $1/hr is a good annual raise for someone who is already being paid market rates. If you can't afford a raise for the third child, you could use the ideas above or even give a one-time cash bonus for the baby. There are lots of ways to make it work and no standard protocol for any of it - every family is different!

Our one year anniversary with our nanny is coming up. We would like to give her a raise. She currently makes $17/hr for 2 kids and has guaranteed hours. She gets 40 hrs regular pay and 10 hours overtime pay. She gets one week pay during the holidays, gets 2 weeks vacation and 3 sick days.

So...what is a decent raise that won't price us out of her/above the market? Our oldest is 2.5 and we plan to have a 3rd kid in the next year. I don't want to get to a point before the youngest is in school where we are priced out of her services because of annual raises, and I'd like to be market competitive.

The oldest will be in school 3 days a week next year, for half a day, if that matters.

Thanks.