Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does this go if you have decided that the nanny just isn't a good fit for your family? No danger to the kids, no performance issues, you just don't get along with her like you should. Would a month's severance be good?

A month? I wish I could afford to do that for mine.

I wish parents would stop hiring undesirable sitters for their children. It's not fair to innocent children.

Anonymous wrote:How does this go if you have decided that the nanny just isn't a good fit for your family? No danger to the kids, no performance issues, you just don't get along with her like you should. Would a month's severance be good?

A month? I wish I could afford to do that for mine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, MB here. We no longer use contracts in our house for nannies. We find the nannies with contracts always made it some sort of mission to extort more from us, by bypassing some wording, and we are both lawyers. It became tiresome. We want someone here who wants to be here. We are a kind, generous family that pays above market. We don't need someone who doesn't want to be here.

Interesting. I don't believe your story.

+1 Me neither.

Almost all of the families I've worked for had at least one lawyer in the pair and they have all LOVED the detailed contract I provide as it leaves no room for miscommunication or misunderstanding. And yes, I have had excellent relationships with all of them - the reason for a contract is so neither side can "extort" anything additional/unfair!

Anonymous wrote:OP, MB here. We no longer use contracts in our house for nannies. We find the nannies with contracts always made it some sort of mission to extort more from us, by bypassing some wording, and we are both lawyers. It became tiresome. We want someone here who wants to be here. We are a kind, generous family that pays above market. We don't need someone who doesn't want to be here.

Interesting. I don't believe your story.

OP, MB here. We no longer use contracts in our house for nannies. We find the nannies with contracts always made it some sort of mission to extort more from us, by bypassing some wording, and we are both lawyers. It became tiresome. We want someone here who wants to be here. We are a kind, generous family that pays above market. We don't need someone who doesn't want to be here.

Anonymous wrote:How does this go if you have decided that the nanny just isn't a good fit for your family? No danger to the kids, no performance issues, you just don't get along with her like you should. Would a month's severance be good?

If you don't have a contract you CAN do whatever you want, but yes, a month's pay (or notice) is appropriate in the situation you've described (in my own contract I am entitled to either four weeks notice - plus a little flexibility for scheduling interviews - or a month's severance pay).

How does this go if you have decided that the nanny just isn't a good fit for your family? No danger to the kids, no performance issues, you just don't get along with her like you should. Would a month's severance be good?

OP: UPdate! New nanny LIKED the more explicit contract. She said something about knowing how we liked things done and that we were open to her suggestions. And she asked some questions that were not outlined in the contract which I really appreciated. thought I'd share. Good luck. BTW: I started with Care.com's....looked at my old one and added some stuff that I found on here like bad weather policy...see related thread.

If it's not legally enforceable, it's not a contract, much to our dismay.

OP here. thanks for all the responses. lots to think about. Actually the reason I asked is bc I have not written a nanny contract and the one on care.com is very vague.

car seat! should be in the second sentence above.

I'd like to add that I did fire a nanny for cause. She drove my child in an un-safely installed 3 times after 2 warnings. We gave her two weeks notice of the firing (like is outlined in our contract) but told her that we didn't need her to work for those two weeks.

I did not have a "for cause" clause in my contract and don't now because I don't think we can foresee all causes. I do have vague language like "preform all duties as outlined by the parents verbally and in writing".

Finally, because I had a bad nanny situation, my new contract is much more detailed/explicit. I know it doesn't hold water on either side but I want new nanny to know my expectations b/c I only want one more nanny for the rest of my life!

Wish me luck and good luck to you OP. I feel your pain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All -

What do most families do with a nanny that is not performing well but there is a contract in place?

How does that work? I can't find anything on this? Sorry - so new to contract stuff, that I feel like hiring a nanny is like doing a contract for LeBron James. Sheez.

I just had a bad experience with a nanny but kept her for a year. And as I'm hiring the next one, I dont want to commit to a year. I 'd like to do a trial. but Not sure how you bring that up

Thanks - always appreciate nanny "reasonable" responses also

An annual contract is a fantasy. It holds no water. She doesn't know how you'll be in 3 months either.

Whether or not a contract would hold up in court, or whether it would be worth taking it to court, or not, a contract is a good faith agreement between the parties and allows the parents and nanny to be clear and on the same page from the beginning. A nanny can use a contract to ask about nanny cams, performance reviews, raise review scheduling, clarify whether or not she can run personal errands at work, or if shr needs to bring her own lunch - all in the safe, non-confrontational framework of a contract.

MB often promise the world, and even put it in the contract. Changed her mind? Too bad. "You can quit if you don't like it."
Isn't that how it works for many people?

Why should the nanny want a contract when MB can still do whatever she feels like?

It's not any different than a contract for any other job. Just because something is in a contract doesn't mean any employer won't decide not to follow it and often times that means the only alternative is to quit. Just to be clear a contract does have legal merit but that doesn't make it worth it to go to court because MB said you didn't have to do laundry and now she wants you to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All -

What do most families do with a nanny that is not performing well but there is a contract in place?

How does that work? I can't find anything on this? Sorry - so new to contract stuff, that I feel like hiring a nanny is like doing a contract for LeBron James. Sheez.

I just had a bad experience with a nanny but kept her for a year. And as I'm hiring the next one, I dont want to commit to a year. I 'd like to do a trial. but Not sure how you bring that up

Thanks - always appreciate nanny "reasonable" responses also

An annual contract is a fantasy. It holds no water. She doesn't know how you'll be in 3 months either.

Whether or not a contract would hold up in court, or whether it would be worth taking it to court, or not, a contract is a good faith agreement between the parties and allows the parents and nanny to be clear and on the same page from the beginning. A nanny can use a contract to ask about nanny cams, performance reviews, raise review scheduling, clarify whether or not she can run personal errands at work, or if shr needs to bring her own lunch - all in the safe, non-confrontational framework of a contract.

MB often promise the world, and even put it in the contract. Changed her mind? Too bad. "You can quit if you don't like it."
Isn't that how it works for many people?

Why should the nanny want a contract when MB can still do whatever she feels like?

Get rid of her, you say? Bump her off, have her whacked, disappear her. She can sleep with the fishes.