Canadian here- It's pretty much standard in other countries to have 4-6 weeks vacation per year. Americans are so weird about vacations. I always take 2-4 weeks at a time, my boss hires a temp.

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny is from another country and she prefers to take much longer vacations also. Two weeks is her minimum, last summer she left for 6 weeks when her mother died.

It's tough OP. If you have a clear contract and vacation policy then she has to know that this request will seem out of the bounds of that.

Whether or not you choose to allow it is your prerogative of course. There are ways to do it (we used an agency for short term coverage and it actually worked pretty well.) But it creates work, and probably additional expense for you. So it's no small thing.

I think you need to calm down first, and then think carefully about whether she is good enough for you to try to find a way to allow this. Alternatively you can plan to replace her (or accept that she may leave if you say no.)

Either way it's crummy. Sorry.

OP here ....Thank you for the sage advice. Can you tell me which agency you have had success with? I have looked into White House Nannies before, but the reviews I found online were mixed. Thanks again.

Anonymous wrote:Next time hire an American and you won't have this issue.

OP here.....I don't let someone's ethnicity factor into my hiring decision and neither should you.

Next time hire an American and you won't have this issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's not uncommon for foreign nannies to want to take longer vacations.

However, if this nanny signed a work agreement that clearly spelled out the vacation leave and didn't raise this issue, then I would be more annoyed that usual by the request for "at least one month".

Did your nanny acknowledge the contractual benefits when she asked OP? How she approached me on the issue would likely have a significant impact on how I received the request.

You seem to have zero awareness that many nannies are intimidated by these so-called agreements, especially the foreign nannies.

?

So employers are to presume that the adults they hire are incapable of understanding an agreement they signed? What kind of stance is that?

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's not uncommon for foreign nannies to want to take longer vacations.

However, if this nanny signed a work agreement that clearly spelled out the vacation leave and didn't raise this issue, then I would be more annoyed that usual by the request for "at least one month".

Did your nanny acknowledge the contractual benefits when she asked OP? How she approached me on the issue would likely have a significant impact on how I received the request.

You seem to have zero awareness that many nannies are intimidated by these so-called agreements, especially the foreign nannies.

I agree it's not uncommon for foreign nannies to want to take longer vacations.

However, if this nanny signed a work agreement that clearly spelled out the vacation leave and didn't raise this issue, then I would be more annoyed that usual by the request for "at least one month".

Did your nanny acknowledge the contractual benefits when she asked OP? How she approached me on the issue would likely have a significant impact on how I received the request.

I have a similar arrangement with my nanny regarding vacation (2 weeks vacation - 1 chosen by us), and agree I would be in a tough spot if she requested to take a month off - especially since my 1 yo has a difficult time with new people.

However, I did want to address your question about if it's normal to take a month off. My family is originally from India, and it's pretty common for Indian immigrants to take a month-long vacation back to India. Even my mom, who is a private-practice doctor (and thus had major issues with coverage whenever she went on vacation), went back for 4-6 weeks every 4 years or so when I was growing up because my grandparents still live there (she can now afford to just take shorter trips a couple times a year). The journey takes so long - cumulatively about 3-4 days of travel time round trip, especially if you don't live in a major city- that if you're visiting your immediate family that you haven't seen for years, a 2 week vacation isn't much.

I agree that the 2 weeks paid, 2 weeks unpaid sounds like a fair compromise, and hope this gives you some perspective.

What she's asking for is common in other countries. She may not realize MANY American workers only get two weeks of paid vacation.

It's very typical for the foreign nannies to take a month to reconnect with their families at home. They don't earn enough to take shorter, more frequent trips throughout the year.

I hav noticed that most foreign nannies prefer 4-6 weeks to go and visit their home countries each year.

As long as the month isn't during the school year when I really need a known & trusted driver, then the hassle of hiring a temp nanny for 2 weeks is the same as hiring one for four weeks. If I otherwise loved the nanny, I'd let her go for the whole month with two of those weeks as unpaid, but I'd make it clear I can't accommodate such a long absence two years in a row.

Our nanny is from another country and she prefers to take much longer vacations also. Two weeks is her minimum, last summer she left for 6 weeks when her mother died.

It's tough OP. If you have a clear contract and vacation policy then she has to know that this request will seem out of the bounds of that.

Whether or not you choose to allow it is your prerogative of course. There are ways to do it (we used an agency for short term coverage and it actually worked pretty well.) But it creates work, and probably additional expense for you. So it's no small thing.

I think you need to calm down first, and then think carefully about whether she is good enough for you to try to find a way to allow this. Alternatively you can plan to replace her (or accept that she may leave if you say no.)

Either way it's crummy. Sorry.

Don't be mad she asked. Just calmy tell her she can take 2 weeks And maybe if you can work it out another week unpaid. Be prepared she may end up quitting though

This morning, my nanny requested "at least one month off" during the Summer to visit her mother in another country. Our contract states that she receives 2 weeks paid vacation, we choose one week and she can choose the other week. I love our nanny and know all too well how difficult it is to find a quality nanny, but I'm alittle flabbergasted that anyone would expect to take a month off from work. I, truthfully, think 2 weeks for an overseas trip is adequate.

Do people really take that much time off work nowadays and am I being unreasonable to feel pretty pissed off that she even asked?