Anonymous wrote:Yes, our Au pair went to visit her home country for 2.5 weeks. Fortunately it was over winter break for college kids so I got two college women to fill in here and there. Even with that help, I still needed to take a bit of time off. It was stressful for me to balance my job and insufficient childcare but it’s temporary!
Anonymous wrote:Did she mention it during the hiring process? How long has she been with you? If you only hired her a year or less ago, she should have told you about her plans. If she works longer then she probably was taking the job in good faith, not knowing she will be abandoning you for 2 months. To those who think nannies are totally disposable: they are not! good nannies are hard to come by, so if you like her OP, get a temp nanny who may be between the jobs, from you local listserve.
Anonymous wrote:Hi, just found out that our wonderful nanny is going on a 2 month long vacation/trip to visit her family. She has given me sufficient notice so I can find a replacement for that period. Has anyone dealt with this situation? How did you handle it? Did you put ads for a temporary nanny for that 2 month period? I have a toddler who attends half day preschool and a 1 year old at home. I’m nervous because my baby is only used to us and our nanny, and I’m afraid he’s not going to go to a new nanny but I have no choice, since my husband and I both work (from home). Please share any tips!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:two months is too long. I would not hold the job for her. Find a new nanny.
I hate to say it, but +1
I don't get to take a month off at my job! We had to have a temporary nanny for four weeks recently because our nanny had a very serious health issue, and it was a PITA. We had to pay $50 a day to the placement agency (we used White House Nannies, I highly recommend, we had already paid the $350 annual fee to use them), and that's on top of what you pay the temporary nanny, so it was an extra $250 a week for us, plus, they can't send the same nanny every day (though there were a couple we liked that we had several times) so at least once a week, you're spending a half hour showing a new person around, telling them the schedule, introducing them to the kids, etc, etc. And of course they have question during the day, so you're getting texts while you're working. Plus, with a chain of new nannies who are going from house to house, we got several more colds than we usually do. So it was expensive, time consuming, and stressful.
Now, maybe if it's the summer and you have a lot of notice, you can find one person who would take those two months of work. But I would not limit my search to people who wanted a temporary gig, and if I found someone I liked who wanted to be full time, that'd be my new nanny.
Anonymous wrote:two months is too long. I would not hold the job for her. Find a new nanny.