She needs to earn at least her regular wages. Put yourself in her shoes. Can you imagine doing your boss a favor, traveling and giving up a week of your time and your boss saying “you’re working reduced hours on travel so I’m going to reduce your pay!” Come on. No.

If I went on vacation with my employer, I expect to still be paid for the time I would usually work no matter the hours I actually am working. She is not at home and free to do whatever she wants when she wants, she's on work time even if she's having regular breaks from the kids

Set a travel rate. The nanny will not be on vacation and is there only because she’s working. We do $400 a day (24 hour period) and any part of the last day.

OP here. Thanks for the feedback everyone. I should have specified that we will definitely be paying our nanny her normal salary for the week in addition to flight, room (we got a 3 bedroom suite with a room for her, a room for the kids and a room for us), and all food for the week. We always pay her when we're on vacation whether we use her or not, so it would seem unfair to pay her less just because she's coming on vacation with us. I was just wondering if we need to structure the pay differently since she'll be working different hours. Our nanny is absolutely wonderful and she is the type to tell us that she doesn't want any money for the trip. She routinely shows up early (uncompensated) to clean (not part of her job description), buys my kids things with her own money (even though she has my credit card and I tell her never to use her own cash), etc. She is very grandmotherly and acts as though we're her own family. I don't want to take advantage of her in any way, so I was looking for feedback to see what others do in this situation so I know when I have the discussion with her.

Your nanny must receive her usual paycheck regardless of how little you may use her. This is your vacation, not hers - and she is leaving her family and life to go with you. You need to pay her regular salary (her guaranteed hours) and then pay her for any additional evening hours she might work for you.

I, personally, HATE traveling with my employers and it doesn't matter where we go. The kids are off their schedule, my employers are around all the time, and the kids are generally over-stimulated -- basically nothing vacation-like for me. I am working.

I say a regular weeks pay but be very clear what hours she is expected to work while she is there so no confusion.
I would try and do a schedule with her when you arrive so its all spelled out. Then she knows that all the other times are her own and she is free to do what she wants during those hours.

I go on vacation with my employers. I have guaranteed hours so I get my 50 hour a week salary 52 weeks a year. We do a modified schedule but I still get 50 hours paid + a daily stipend for food or costs that are necessary while traveling. At the minimum you should pay her the normal weekly salary.

I say just pay her normal weekly salary and have her track her hours just in case she does end up going over her normal hours. You sound like an awesome boss by the way! I went on a cruise with a previous NF for 5 days and ended up with the kids every day from 7am when they woke up until 7pm at night when they went to bed. It was an awesome experience but it would have been nice to have a couple of hours to explore by myself but MB/DB spent the days by the pool and nights out to dinner and the casino with DBs work friends.

Anonymous wrote:Ha! I'm a nanny and I would do it for free. A trip to Hawaii in exchange for under 40hrs of work while there? This is a no brainer. What is the other option? Sticking in butt ass cold DC and making no money?

I think that the other option is to get paid her normal wage for doing no work since the family is on vacation and she has guaranteed pay. Although I agree. I would go too.

You are paying her ticket and room?

If so, and if I were your nanny, I would think that a regular's week pay in addition to the ticket and room is great! That evens out the nights and weekend time.

Ha! I'm a nanny and I would do it for free. A trip to Hawaii in exchange for under 40hrs of work while there? This is a no brainer. What is the other option? Sticking in butt ass cold DC and making no money?

I think you should pay for all hours used outside of her normal work days as well as any evenings/overnights. It would be nice for her to have transportation if public transportation isn't easy. It would also be very nice to give her the following Monday off.

You really need to talk to her about it and see what she's willing to do. As long as she's not working more than a normal week it's fine to pay her normal pay, plus a overnight fee. I charge a flat fee of $75/night as long as I'm not expected to wake up in the middle of the night to care for the kids.

I suggest you discuss it with her not us. You need to be in agreement so she doesn't resent you for low pay and you don't sit there wondering if you grossly overpaid. Tell her exactly what you said here, you will cover everything and you only need her for a couple hours each day. You want her to have many hours of free time to explore and tan on the beach. Ask her what she thinks is fair.

I don't think she would need any extra money above and beyond her normal guaranteed salary unless she expects compensations for Saturday/Sunday. That is something you need to hear from her.

My nanny usually works 40 hours/week minimum (sometimes 50). We're taking her with us on a family vacation to Hawaii for 7 days (Sunday-Sunday). I expect that she will spend some time with the kids during the day, like during nap time, but certainly not 40-50 hours. She'll also watch the kids at night a few times, primarily while they are all asleep. She has her own room and all travel, room and food are paid for, obviously. How do you think we should structure her pay? It's difficult to calculate how much she'll be "working" in advance because I just don't know how it will all break down. I want to spend time with my kids during the day, too, and I want nanny to have time to herself to explore the island. Do I need to pay her an hourly wage in addition to her usual salary? What if she ends up working less than 40-50 hours?