OP again. Well, all of you had much better instincts about this nanny than I did! Last night she emailed to let us know she was quitting with no notice. I emailed to ask if she'd consider finishing out the week and got no response.

On the upside, I don't need to think about how to handle her lateness. On the downside, we now have no childcare and the search begins again. Ugh!

I'm sorry but being late due to traffic is a horrible excuse unless it is rare due to an accident or weather otherwise she should already know after 5 days what traffic is like. I like to find a nearby place to park (I usually locate a place after the interview) this way I'm able to leave early and park nearby I also know how long it takes me to get from the place to their house. The only time I was late was due to an accident, bad weather I always leave earlier than my start time. Op just imagine how late she will be when the weather gets worse and traffic has to go slower I can see her being 20-30 minutes later once it starts snowing

I disagree with 9:48. It's already in the contract that chronic lateness is a fireable offense and nanny has been late every day.

You need a new nanny, OP.

Maybe she is just getting used to the drive and how long it takes - as we all know, traffic around DC can be tricky. Would just talk with her and make sure she knows that it's important she be ready to go right at the start time, and otherwise, it gets you off to a late start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I agree that this is very bad and probably a sign that you need a new nanny.

But, you could tell her that you absolutely MUST leave the house by X time, which is why she cannot be late. Adjust her required arrival time to 10 minutes before you need to leave so that you have time for a calm hand-off and just a little bit of breathing room.

But be very clear with her that this is non-negotiable and if she cannot be there on time you will have to find someone else as you cannot afford to be late to your job routinely. The only possible incentive is to dock her pay in 15 minute increments every time she is more than 5 minutes late, but if you're at that point in week 1 then you simply need to bite the bullet and start over.

OP here. Thanks everyone for your comments. We actually already do exactly the bolded--we need to leave 10 minutes after her start time, which is why her being 10 minutes late is such a problem! We had this system in place with our previous nanny for some time and it worked with no problem--but then, previous nanny was always right on time.

Sigh. I agree it's not a good sign. Any other advice is welcome.

OP, it is a VERY bad sign that she is brand new and is late every single day. At the beginning nannies put up a front that shows them as being great and then it slowly backslides. Hopefully you have only had her for a week and your children are not too attached. Find a new nanny now because I know from experience that it will only get worse.

Last quoted poster -- you sound bitter and not someone I would ever work for (in or outside the nannny world. I am a MB by the way).
Anyone --- Office, nanny, McDonalds worker will be on their best behavior or "put up a front" for the first few weeks. Its new, its nerves. We ALL become comfy in what we know and do in a routine - hence why you feel your nannies have put up a front in the beginning.

Perhaps its you and not the nannies that get worse??

Anonymous wrote:OP, tell her that the train schedule has changed and she needs to come 15 minutes before the set time. She still will be late every time, but you can leave on time.

But obviously only pay her from when she arrives.

OP, tell her that the train schedule has changed and she needs to come 15 minutes before the set time. She still will be late every time, but you can leave on time.

OP, you shouldn't NEED to be firm about the start time. I have to get to work at 8:30. My boss has never said anything to me about it after the day we talked about what my hours would be. We talked, we agreed, and I began showing up at the time we agreed upon. You should not need to say a word. You already have the right to fire her. You do NOT need (legally or morally) to give her a warning, a speech, an incentive, anything. The only thing you need to give is her final paycheck.

We had a nanny like this too - first week she was late every single day (by 10-20 minutes). We had several talks about it and she always apologized profusely, but it didn't get better. She also drove and blamed it on the traffic. After a lot of prodding, she finally admitted that she had to drop her daughter to school in the mornings and hadn't counted on how long it would take to drive in from the drop off time. She couldn't leave earlier, so basically she planned to continue to be late every single day ... It wasn't the right fit for us and we went our separate ways.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone. To answer some questions:

She drives; it's probably about a 20 to 30 minute drive for her.
We pay very well, over $20/hour, with all the usual benefits.
She is certainly paid from the time I ask her to arrive.
She has generally blamed her lateness on the traffic.

I agree with one pp who said that maybe she wasn't expected to be on time before--that seems possible. She just strikes me as unprofessional in this regard, not getting that your start time is your start time, and that we depend on her to be there at that time.

We had a really hard time finding a nanny this time around--of the five candidates we wanted to interview in person, two never showed up to the interview and never called, and one was 45 minutes late! (and told me when I finally called that she was in a traffic jam--apparently it hadn't occurred to her to let us know) Maybe we have bad nanny karma. The thought of starting to search all over again is very unappealing but it sounds like it might be necessary.

I am wondering if I have not been firm enough with our current nanny about the importance of being on time. I have not told her we'll fire her if this continues, although we do list chronic lateness in the contract as a reason for firing without notice. I'm trying hard to start off on the right foot and want to be firm but not nasty. Nannies, would you want to be told you were risking your job with this behavior before being fired for it? Or would you just assume that showing up late every day puts your job at risk, and you wouldn't need your boss to convey this?

She's been late already almost every single day. Of her FIRST week. If you keep her on, what do you think will happen? I can see things going smoothly, maybe, for a month or so. Then she'll start to be late again. And then you won't want to replace her because the kids are attached/the timing isn't great for finding a new nanny.
As miserable as the search is, I'd say she lost her chance. Find a new nanny!

Well, I tend to be on time or a couple of minutes early, but if I engaged in any type of behavior that was a firing offense I'd want to know. You can tell her she's been late 5 times, you've talked to her twice, that's two strikes and one more and she's out of the game all together. Just let her know she's on her final warning whether she's late tomorrow, next week or next month, it's the final warning.

OP here. Thanks everyone. To answer some questions:

She drives; it's probably about a 20 to 30 minute drive for her.
We pay very well, over $20/hour, with all the usual benefits.
She is certainly paid from the time I ask her to arrive.
She has generally blamed her lateness on the traffic.

I agree with one pp who said that maybe she wasn't expected to be on time before--that seems possible. She just strikes me as unprofessional in this regard, not getting that your start time is your start time, and that we depend on her to be there at that time.

We had a really hard time finding a nanny this time around--of the five candidates we wanted to interview in person, two never showed up to the interview and never called, and one was 45 minutes late! (and told me when I finally called that she was in a traffic jam--apparently it hadn't occurred to her to let us know) Maybe we have bad nanny karma. The thought of starting to search all over again is very unappealing but it sounds like it might be necessary.

I am wondering if I have not been firm enough with our current nanny about the importance of being on time. I have not told her we'll fire her if this continues, although we do list chronic lateness in the contract as a reason for firing without notice. I'm trying hard to start off on the right foot and want to be firm but not nasty. Nannies, would you want to be told you were risking your job with this behavior before being fired for it? Or would you just assume that showing up late every day puts your job at risk, and you wouldn't need your boss to convey this?

I get the impression her last employers probably were okay with her being late often so she is assuming you and your husband will be as well.

I agree with the other respondents on here.

This is her first week.
She should be at her best.
If this is her best, I hate to see her worst.

Fire her ASAP.
There are many MANY good nannies out there who are prompt and punctual.

Hire one.

Best of luck to you.

OP, sorry to ask you this...But are you paying your new nanny a decent and competitive salary?

Anyway, if it is the first week and she is late every single day, then she should be toast already.

Being on time is a critical part of having a good work ethic and she sounds like she is not respecting her job as much as she should.

I know it will put you out having to go back to square one to find someone else, but look at the alternative here. You cannot deal w/this flaky nanny for the long term.

My hunch is that she doesn't want this job + is trying to get fired.

My guess is that she takes the train and would have to take one leaving 30 mins earlier in order to not be late. While that may be a bummer for her, she needs to do it (or change whatever the problem may be) or find a position that starts later. I would have a serious talk with her to find out what the issue is and if she can resolve it.