Anonymous wrote:MB here. The trial was a half day (paid). Once we hired, the nanny was on probation for three months. If during that three months we decide it's not working out, we will fire them and not provide any severance. They also do not accrue sick time or vacation time during the probationary period.

She also has you on probation. She can quit anytime.

In my experience, a trial period is usually a few hours, for a few days.

During the first day, the Nanny follows the Mother around w/the child, going about her daily routine.
The Nanny gets a first glimpse of the child & the Mother is always available to ask any questions.

The second day may consist of the parents coming in + out of the house.
This allows the Nanny an initial bonding period w/the child.

Finally the third day allows the parents to leave the home to run errands, etc.

MB here. The trial was a half day (paid). Once we hired, the nanny was on probation for three months. If during that three months we decide it's not working out, we will fire them and not provide any severance. They also do not accrue sick time or vacation time during the probationary period.

There are (sometimes) two kinds of trial periods. #1 is a few hours to maybe a day before making a hiring decision, like a last round interview. #2 is after the nanny has started, you may have a few more weeks that is like a probation or training period, during which either side can call it quits with no notice, severance or reason in case it’s not a good match.

Trial period allows for either party to terminate at any time for any reason. Most live-out nannies seem to do 1 day to 1 week. Most live-in nannies do 1 week to 1 month, depending on the work schedule (I had a parent who typically traveled weekdays 3/4 weeks, so I wanted to see a whole month). You’re looking for not only capability, you’re looking for a good fit with your family. From the nanny’s point-of-vies, she’s looking for reasonable employers who communicate needs clearly and are a good fit.

Yes, you pay her negotiated hourly wage for any time worked in a trial. You can let her go after the set trial period which is usually one week. The nanny can leave then too. And the whole time the nanny is doing your trial week, she can continue interviewing for other positions and perhaps find one that pays more or in some other way is better than yours.

I never saw the benefit of a trial period for the employer.

We are looking to hire a nanny and would like some input on a trial period. I've seen this in some nanny ads, but am not clear how it works. Do people do it for a day, a week, a month? A nanny contract typically allows an employer to let a nanny go/for a nanny to leave with two weeks notice, so does a trial period allow you to let go/leave with much less notice (like, 1 day)? We are not looking to avoid paying a nanny, just not sure how this works. I would assume we pay for a trial, whether a few hours and most certainly for a few weeks.