Hi OP, You have a good package going on there and super considerate to also offer COVID days for your nanny. You got some pretty good answers here. i would also add that, you should consider including the inclement weather clause and what guidance you'll use in your contract (eg OPM, DCPS or MCPS guidelines on weather). It makes things so much easier as everyone knows what to expect when inclement weather comes up. You are prepared as well as you nanny and she won't feel like she has to take a risk to her safety to be at work so that she gets paid. Other people refer to them as snow days or random off days as above. Either way they don't come out of her PTO or vacation time because she did not necessarily plan or request to stay home & not work.

From my experience, this is something that falls under guaranteed hours to cover inclement weather or weird unforeseen circumstance like city shut down or something. I've worked for families where it was mutually discussed as part of the contract and honestly it made me feel valued as not just a person but a nanny especially in situations where parents are not essential workers & the commute is NOT within safe walkable distance, roads are too dangerous to drive or take public transportation on.

If she is live in or lives within a 5 minute walk or so, perhaps that is a different scenarios where you can both agree for a work day. As for parents who are essential workers, I know some families who mutually worked out for their nanny to spend the night over so that she is safe and they are guaranteed child care. But you have to take into consideration if this is a nanny who is single/married, has children etc and also bear in mind that her spending the night is benefiting the job as well. Perhaps those who have experience with this can chime in.

All the best

Anonymous wrote:As a nanny I have to say you’re a very caring mom and the benefits you offer shows how much you value your nanny. When I got exposed to Covid by the family I work for and got sick they didn’t pay me a dime and I’m constantly having to remind them of paid holidays, sick days etc. I felt like I had to hurry and get better or I won’t have a job. It’s parents like you that a nanny should go all out for because you value your childcare provider.

What OP is offering is pretty average/standard. Start looking for a new position bc you can easily find a nanny job that offers what Op is offering.

We do not tie snow days to when the school is closed (the school district has to manage thousands of kids and hundreds of busses, which is a lot more difficult than a single person driving in to the office). We tie it to OPM closures and delays. If OPM is two hours delayed, same with the nanny re: her start time, if they are closed, she is off and it is paid.

I think it makes sense to have in your contract that you follow X -- be it OPM, or your local district, or your child's school or whatever.

But on top of that, any day your nanny is scheduled to work and you tell them not to come in, you pay and it's not deducted from their leave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should have an inclement weather policy. We follow OPM status. If closed, nanny doesn’t come and it PTO. If it’s open and nanny is unable to come, she’ll use her PTO or take unpaid leave.

+1 Exact same here. To clarify, it doesn't come out of her PTO when OPM is closed - it's just a random paid day off, like an extra holiday.

yes, that’s right! I was saying if OPM is closed, nanny doesn’t come in and it’s paid time off. I know others go by school closures/delays.

You told her to stay home so you pay her. If she says she can’t come to work then she should use her vacation time.

Anonymous wrote:If our local school district is closed (our kids are not in school yet but it was a solid point of reference) she has the day off and paid.

This.

It’s great that you have a contract. Bu you need to account for Snow Days/ when the government is closed - if the nanny is required to work etc.
update your contract. And have a discussion with your Nanny. I would pay her for snow day on Monday. Conditions were very horrible. And thankful you and her were home and not stuck for hours on the roads

Anonymous wrote:You should have an inclement weather policy. We follow OPM status. If closed, nanny doesn’t come and it PTO. If it’s open and nanny is unable to come, she’ll use her PTO or take unpaid leave.

+1 Exact same here. To clarify, it doesn't come out of her PTO when OPM is closed - it's just a random paid day off, like an extra holiday.

You should have an inclement weather policy. We follow OPM status. If closed, nanny doesn’t come and it PTO. If it’s open and nanny is unable to come, she’ll use her PTO or take unpaid leave.

We wrote snow days into the contract. It’s not PTO or sick time. We define snow days by when the schools close. C

There are several ways to handle it:

1. If you have to work, nanny has to be there, take a paid day or take an unpaid day if there are no paid days accrued.
2. If the commute is 30+ minutes and your school system is closed, nanny has the option to not come in if roads are too bad.
3. If you absolutely must have your nanny work regardless of weather, you need someone with a <5 minute commute or a live-in.

As a nanny I have to say you’re a very caring mom and the benefits you offer shows how much you value your nanny. When I got exposed to Covid by the family I work for and got sick they didn’t pay me a dime and I’m constantly having to remind them of paid holidays, sick days etc. I felt like I had to hurry and get better or I won’t have a job. It’s parents like you that a nanny should go all out for because you value your childcare provider.

If our local school district is closed (our kids are not in school yet but it was a solid point of reference) she has the day off and paid.

Hi! Our nanny has what I think is a good/standard PTO package: 5 days paid sick leave, 2 weeks paid vacation, all federal holidays, 10 "covid days", for any testing/isolation after an exposure. (Plus it wasn't in her contract, but when she got Covid a couple of weeks ago we still paid her for the 2 weeks she was recovering/isolating, even though she'd used all her sick leave and Covid days.)

The weather today is wild and she has a long commute, so we told her to stay home today if it didn't feel safe to drive. How do I account for that time? Is it vacation time? Or do other families offer a set number of days for inclement weather--and if so, how many? Seems prudent to have some system for tracking and accounting for this in case it comes up again this winter.