Low for a college graduate and really nothing special.

Anonymous wrote:How do you know what your nannies withholding will be? Just do a gross salary and have the nanny pay her income taxes (you can withhold if you want). It's too confusing otherwise. My corporate job doesn't give me a net salary, they tell me what my salary is and it's my business what the deductions are.

This. I have two employees, a nanny with 1 deduction, and a housekeeper with 4 deductions. If I guaranteed net income, both of them would be dumb to claim any deductions, and then they'd get a huge refund at tax time. Negotiate on gross income. Just raise your rate to $23/hr.

Also, the holiday is New Year's Day, not New Year's Eve. Either give both, or just Jan. 1.

How do you know what your nannies withholding will be? Just do a gross salary and have the nanny pay her income taxes (you can withhold if you want). It's too confusing otherwise. My corporate job doesn't give me a net salary, they tell me what my salary is and it's my business what the deductions are.

Op here. We will offer Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve.

The nanny will not organize or clean his stuff. We have a cleaner and we are very neat people. We want the main focus to be on the baby. She will have plenty of downtime while he naps. We just want her to wash his bottles and do his laundry twice a week.

Op here. We are paying allo of the nannies taxes ( including federal and state taxes)

Baby housekeeping will be his laundry, his towels, and his bed sheets. She will not has to clean anything besides his bottles and toys at the end of each day.
I have no issue making the babyhood myself. I still would like a nanny to put away weekly groceries or we can chabge the day and time.

We will be offering a Christmas bonus and yearly raises. We are offering two weeks paid vacation and will guarantee 45 hours per week pay. It will be $855 ( we might just do $900/week take home). Does everyone do take home or pre-tax? I thought it was take home pay.

I was a nanny throughout college and feel I know what a nanny would want. We are trying to offer a competitive package.

Anonymous wrote:We are hiring a nanny for out 3-month-old. We live in Great Falls, VA.

Logistics:

M-F, 7:30-4:30pm
$18 hour take home pay ( we pay employer and nanny taxes). 18 * 1.5 for every hour worked over 40.

$18/hour take home pay translates to somewhere around $20-21/hour gross. For one child, that's fine.

Benefits:

3 weeks paid vacation ( nanny chooses one week)
5 sick days
All major holidays paid
Paying a stipend towards monthly health insurance

Duties:

Care for baby ( hands on play and taking him to outside activities)
Baby housekeeping
Put away weekly grocery delivery
Make homemade baby food ( I will make majority of it)

Do you think this is fair? We have a nanny candidate we like but she is asking $20 per hour.

Baby-related housekeeping is normal for most nannies. Some nannies love making baby food, others would hate it, but either way, it's a short phase before the child will be eating normal food. Putting away YOUR weekly groceries is not the nanny's job.

If you want 5+ years experience, possibly with a degree, and a decent proficiency in English, your package will be competitive if you eliminate the groceries and leave the baby food as an option rather than a requirement. Any decent nanny should have current cpr/first aid, and asking about opinions on vaccinations during the interview will get more truthful responses than listing it as a requirement (unless you are requesting proof of immunization, in which case you would need to list it).

It's good that you are planning long-term. Did you mean just bonuses or did you also factor in yearly raises? Many nannies will take a package like yours if they know that you are looking long-term, so discussing how they would handle an infant with a toddler or preschooler while you interview could give you an idea of who is also thinking long-term. It would also help you eliminate any nannies who only want one charge, and you can open the discussion for being home during maternity leave, something many nannies don't like.

MB here: I think this is fine. Your rate is actually very good, since you're saying this is the "after tax" (take home) rate. That's probably going to cost you more like $21/hr base rate. You should specify that this only includes FICA taxes, not her personal income taxes.

You need to spell out which holidays are "major" (and think through whether you're really going to make her come to work the day after TG, for example), and you need guaranteed hours.

Right now, you're guaranteeing her pay for two weeks of vacation when you are out of town/don't need her. Calling that "vacation" implies that you'll schedule it well in advance, and that it will be full weeks (not a day or two here and there). In other words, she'll be able to make plans to take a trip on those days. "Guaranteed hours" means that you pay her whenever you don't need her -- come home early, take a day trip, etc., in addition to those guaranteed weeks of vacation.

Can you define what you mean by "baby housekeeping" OP?

Baby laundry (including all towels + linens too), changing crib sheets, vacuuming baby's bedroom, organizing baby closets, cleaning out baby's bathroom, etc.?

And is the homemade baby food a time-consuming chore?

Thx.

If you want this person, you need to agree to her rate. I have my established rates, so unless there's something extraordinary in the compensation package that I want, why do I give you a discount?

Or you let her go, and settle for a cheaper option who you aren't thrilled with.

Op here. What is a fair wage? We can afford $20 per hour but also want to give yearly bonuses, and keep the same nanny while adding another child in a couple of years. I forgot to mention the nanny we want. What should we offer?

What we want:

5+ years infant and toddler experience with excellent references
CPR/First Aid and vaccinations
Proficient in English
Legal and willing to work legally
Educated, ideally a college degree

I would say your package is like a 7 out of 10, with 1 being a living wage and not much else and 10 being a well-paid and professional nanny for a normal non high-profile/high-income family.

It's fine, nothing amazing but you should be able to find a good candidate. I would be hesitant to up your rate for her beyond a dollar since she will likely expect annual raises, bonuses at the holidays, etc. and that adds up fast. If you are already stretching to pay her base rate you may both end up feeling you got the worse end of the bargain.

Anonymous wrote:For your 3 month old, $20/hr is low. Your compensation package is average, nothing extraordinary.

$20 is low for one child? Most nannies only get 2 paid weeks (one during the family's vacation) and their contributing to health insurance.

Nanny here. I think with the benefits you're offering $18 is reasonable for 1 child. if you really like her and she is qualified, then maybe go $1 or explain (if this is your plan) that there will be raises in the future based on her performance.

Good Luck!

For your 3 month old, $20/hr is low. Your compensation package is average, nothing extraordinary.

We are hiring a nanny for out 3-month-old. We live in Great Falls, VA.

Logistics:

M-F, 7:30-4:30pm
$18 hour take home pay ( we pay employer and nanny taxes). 18 * 1.5 for every hour worked over 40.

Benefits:

3 weeks paid vacation ( nanny chooses one week)
5 sick days
All major holidays paid
Paying a stipend towards monthly health insurance

Duties:

Care for baby ( hands on play and taking him to outside activities)
Baby housekeeping
Put away weekly grocery delivery
Make homemade baby food ( I will make majority of it)

Do you think this is fair? We have a nanny candidate we like but she is asking $20 per hour.