I say fifteen in cash is a reasonable offer.

I like the idea of instilling a bonus too if she stays, but that is not necessary as I have never heard of any job that will do that.

It's great for the nanny of course, but remember....You are already paying her more than normal and on top of that a few hundred??

Now THAT would break the bank.

Anonymous wrote:For two weeks you can pay cash. $15 an hour is good for a temporary cash rate.

Agree $15/hour is the rate for 1 kid. Aim for a college kid or care.com nanny looking to fill time. OR, fly in the grandparents or cousin or someone that would like to help for a couple weeks.
FYI - if you call around daycare centers and see what kids are out when you might get a hit. Inside the beltway they charge $65-75 per kid per day. Might have a discount if you have two kids in separate age classes needing care.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:$15/hr is a great rate for one.

Are you available?

PP again. I was too lazy to do the math but if you're able to you might even up the bonus to $250 (or $300?)

If it was just one week I wouldn't suggest this, but since you need two full weeks I might even frame it in this way: we are paying a flat $13/hr, cash (no OT pay), but, upon successful completion of the full two weeks, you get a cash bonus of $200. I'd do it that way because otherwise I think there is too much potential for someone to leave you in the lurch if something better comes along (I.e. Longer term job that start immediately) or if she just doesn't feel like completing the last few days. It's such a short time frame that you don't have the possibility of holding something like a good reference over her head, so the cash bonus is a nice way to ensure they'll stick it out.

Agree you can easily find someone at $15/hr, cash under the table. You want a week-long sitter and don't need to pay premium rates for that.

$15/hr is a great rate for one.

Temps often charge more like 25-30.

For two weeks you can pay cash. $15 an hour is good for a temporary cash rate.

You are pretty much asking for a babysitter for two weeks, OP, and not needing her to form a bond with your child. $15 to $17 an hour is what we pay occasional sitters even though we pay our nanny $21 and hour (for one child and she has been with us for three years).

Sorry if this is a silly question - we need someone to watch our DD while our nanny is gone for two weeks, full time, so 8-5:30. The catch is, we are in a nanny share, and the other family will be on vacation as well. Each family pays the nanny $10/hr (plus overtime) so she gets $20/hr. But what is the rate for just watching just one? Is it still $10/hr (plus overtime)? I'm afraid of not being able to find a quality caregiver for that price. Should we offer $15/hour (plus overtime)? We don't want to be cheap, but neither do we want to break the bank. Thanks for letting me know what's reasonable!