We had guaranteed hours in our contract with our nanny of 6 years and were fairly strict about it the first year. However, she started asking if she could take extra days off (beyond the vacation days of her choosing) and make them up with overtime/weekend hours and we agreed that we would accommodate those requests when we could IF she would extend us the same courtesy (to a reasonable extent). Thus, if we took extra vacation beyond the one week that was to be at our choosing, we'd sometimes ask her to work a Saturday night or give us 10 overtime hours. Our nanny really prized extra time off, so this worked out as an incentive for her -- not sure if it would work in every situation.

It sounds like your contract is not detailed enough. My contract stipulates that I have guaranteed hours of 55 hours per week. If I work additional hours, I am paid at my overtime rate. I have 2 weeks of paid vacation. One week is at my employer’s discretion and the other is my choice, with the requirement in both cases that we let one another know with 3 months’ notice when we plan to use those dates. I also have a specific list of holidays that are paid, as well as 5 paid sick days and 3 inclement weather days to be used based on a specific agreement listed in the contract about what constitutes inclement weather.

In you case, my employer could choose to designate their week of travel as my vacation week and would pay me my guaranteed hours, or they could choose a different week as my designated vacation but they would still pay me during the time they are traveling, but could then require me to do relevant tasks (such as take in the mail, water the plants and reorganize the playroom) during their vacation.

We travel a ton. We let our nanny pick two weeks holiday and then we pay her in full when we travel on additional weeks. She has bills to pay and need a regular income. It’s a cost of having reliable care.

You probably should have specified that one of the weeks would be of your choosing, and how much notice you/she will give so the other party can make appropriate plans. You should also "accrue" vacation and sick time (#hours/pay period) , so that your nanny doesn't burn through it all in the first few months.

You should look at the cost of a nanny as an annual cost and not try to nickel and dime a few hours here or there. Yes, you pay your nanny 52 weeks a year, barring very rare circumstances. If you offered her two weeks of vacation then she chooses when to take that vacation time. And no, nannies do not make up hours that you don’t need them. If you want her to stay outside of her regular hours then you pay for that, even if you didn’t use her the week prior. A professional nanny expects to be treated as such and not like a babysitter. You could have offered one week of her choosing and one week of yours, but it is too late for that now.

Anonymous wrote:This should have been explicitly covered in your contract. Many families have it so the nanny chooses one week of vacation and the family gets to choose the other. So say you, as the employer, choose February, and nanny chooses a week in April; if you decide to go away again in August, yes you still pay the nanny her full wages. And no, you can't require her to "make up" the hours at another time.

If you’re in this area, guaranteed hours are also expected. Your contract should read that the nanny gets paid whether you need her or not, and that unless you state (in the contract) that your travel is her vacation, those weeks are separate.

I’m another nanny that hardly ever takes my weeks separately, because my employers travel so much, which means tons of vacation for me. If I travel with them, it’s still work, but I’m compensated more than normal. And I always make sure I have one week written into the contract as my choice, even if I choose not to take it, that way I can make sure I don’t burn out.

This should have been explicitly covered in your contract. Many families have it so the nanny chooses one week of vacation and the family gets to choose the other. So say you, as the employer, choose February, and nanny chooses a week in April; if you decide to go away again in August, yes you still pay the nanny her full wages. And no, you can't require her to "make up" the hours at another time.

Guaranteed hours means you pay for the week even if you don't use the nanny. The nanny still has bills to pay

Anonymous wrote:You asked if you should pay her for the vacation time you take, yes, you should pay her, and not have her make up the hours. And yes, she should be allowed to take her vacation when she chooses.

+1

Usually contracts specify if both weeks of vacation are of the nanny's choosing, or if one is the nanny's choice and one is the employer's choice.

If your contract doesn't specify, I'd pay her for this Feb trip, and then have a discussion future trips.

If you'd like one of her weeks to be at your choosing, give her as much notice as possible so that she can make her own plans during that time.

You asked if you should pay her for the vacation time you take, yes, you should pay her, and not have her make up the hours. And yes, she should be allowed to take her vacation when she chooses.

Anonymous wrote:If she has guaranteed hours, you pay her for all hours, 52 weeks a year. She shouldn’t be penalized just because you take more than two weeks of vacation a year.

What does our two weeks (or more, or less) of travel (which is not always vacation but we do take baby) have to do with it? We don't dictate the timing of her two weeks so it would seem that even if we did take exactly two weeks it would still be the same situation, no?

My employers take between 4-7 weeks of vacation per year. I’m paid for all of them and don’t have to make up any of the hours. In exchange I don’t take my week of choice, I figure I already get so much of their vacation time.

If she has guaranteed hours, you pay her for all hours, 52 weeks a year. She shouldn’t be penalized just because you take more than two weeks of vacation a year.

New parent and new nanny employers here. We offered what we think is a nice package of paid holidays and two weeks paid vacation plus sick days to our new nanny, who just started.

We travel a fair amount and will be going away for a full week with the baby mid-February. Do we pay for all the days we are gone without asking her to make up part of the hours elsewhere? Perhaps that's not appropriate? Do her two weeks paid vacation happen anytime PLUS she gets paid for all the time we are gone? I assume this is the case but just want to make sure.

For more context, it's one pretty easy 4 month old baby who naps a lot at an hourly salary of $22 with lots of opportunity for overtime.