Anonymous wrote:Important to follow through on whatever you agreed upon in the beginning. This is the basis of trust! If you haven't discussed it, good to discuss that plus any future holidays. Imagine if your employer suddenly decided to make you work when you were expecting to be off...

But that's not what this thread was discussing. It was discussing whether a host family that agreed to "all federal holidays" off for the au pair should give them Juneteenth off in 2021, when it became a federal holiday *with less than 24 hours notice*. So no one was "expecting to be off" that day. We aren't talking about Christmas here.

Important to follow through on whatever you agreed upon in the beginning. This is the basis of trust! If you haven't discussed it, good to discuss that plus any future holidays. Imagine if your employer suddenly decided to make you work when you were expecting to be off...

This entirely depends on your set up. Our first AP worked 25 hrs a week and asked for days off for her birthday, special travel day, etc. I gave it to her b/c she was good with the kids and would get pouty if her request was not approved. My current AP understands that she gets 2 weeks for vacation and anything else is bonus. We give her time off here and there depending on our schedule, but not last Friday b/c it came as a last minute surprise and I had not planned on it.

In your case, you have to work. End of story. APs are not entitled to federal holidays.

We did. We do not work federal holidays, and even if we did, she is not our only childcare.

Anonymous wrote:Mine hasn't asked about it, but I'm worried she'll be pissed if her friends get the day off and she doesn't. I'm not a fed, so I have to work tomorrow.

Nope. We tell them up front they will not get any federal holidays off - since we work all of them. We give six religious holidays, and every evening and weekend off. If AP wants federal holidays off, we encourage her to use her vacation leave and take long weekends. Do we occasionally say on a federal holiday around lunch - we’ll take it from here for the rest of the day? Yes, but that depends on what we have going on work-wise.

Mine hasn't asked about it, but I'm worried she'll be pissed if her friends get the day off and she doesn't. I'm not a fed, so I have to work tomorrow.