Anonymous
Post 08/09/2013 23:16     Subject: Babysitting and parking

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is not customary for an employer to pay an employee's costs of commuting to or parking at work. However, this is a perk that is occasionally offered pursuant to negotiation.


Okay first, this is a babysitting job, so normal employment practices are irrelevant. And two, even by your logic, a job in which transportation/parking is especially difficult would need to make the pay attractive enough to potential candidates. If a sitter is spending half her hourly rate to pay for parking, and having to walk half a mile in the dark alone late at night to get back to your car, your job is not attractive and you will not find willing sitters. You can put it all on the sitter to negotiate it (which I agree she should) but as an employer you would do well to consider such things so as to make competitive offers.



+1000
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2013 11:39     Subject: Babysitting and parking

I would assume it would be a no brainer that the parents would automatically pay for my parking fee.

However since some parents have no brains, then it should be discussed prior to accepting a position rather than after.
Anonymous
Post 08/07/2013 03:30     Subject: Babysitting and parking

NisforNanny wrote:My policy is that I will take public transit until 11pm. If the parents return (or plan to return) after that time, I ask them to either provide parking (at their expense), drive me home, or provide me with cabfare home. If the family did not live near public transit and did not have parking available, I would either adjust my rate to cover parking or decline the job.

OP, I would check-in with the family and ask them how other sitters commute to their home.


This sounds like a very reasonable way to handle this situation, PP.
NisforNanny
Post 07/28/2013 12:12     Subject: Babysitting and parking

My policy is that I will take public transit until 11pm. If the parents return (or plan to return) after that time, I ask them to either provide parking (at their expense), drive me home, or provide me with cabfare home. If the family did not live near public transit and did not have parking available, I would either adjust my rate to cover parking or decline the job.

OP, I would check-in with the family and ask them how other sitters commute to their home.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2013 17:28     Subject: Babysitting and parking

Whenever parking has been a issue, the parents vacated their reserved spot for me. Very thoughtful of them. They didn't want me to have to look for a spot.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2013 16:54     Subject: Babysitting and parking

This is a good point. Where are you located, OP?
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2013 16:41     Subject: Babysitting and parking

Anonymous wrote:It is not customary for an employer to pay an employee's costs of commuting to or parking at work. However, this is a perk that is occasionally offered pursuant to negotiation.


Well, the cost of actually getting to work is not typically covered, but virtually every employer will provide a parking spot. The only exception would be a location where it is not customary to drive and park, so bringing a car to work is a luxury. For example, workers in Manhattan / most downtown areas typically take the subway to work, and if they drive, parking is probably not provided.

For a babysitting job, I would think that the only employers who might not offer to make arrangements for parking are ones that do not have a car / do not drive themselves.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2013 14:11     Subject: Babysitting and parking

Anonymous wrote:It is not customary for an employer to pay an employee's costs of commuting to or parking at work. However, this is a perk that is occasionally offered pursuant to negotiation.


Okay first, this is a babysitting job, so normal employment practices are irrelevant. And two, even by your logic, a job in which transportation/parking is especially difficult would need to make the pay attractive enough to potential candidates. If a sitter is spending half her hourly rate to pay for parking, and having to walk half a mile in the dark alone late at night to get back to your car, your job is not attractive and you will not find willing sitters. You can put it all on the sitter to negotiate it (which I agree she should) but as an employer you would do well to consider such things so as to make competitive offers.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2013 13:59     Subject: Babysitting and parking

Anonymous wrote:Ask the family where you should park. They will likely have a solution.


+1