We bought our nanny a plane ticket for holiday travel to her home country for her one year anniversary, which was several months before the holidays. At the holidays, she got a cash bonus. We have not given a raise yet.

I am a nanny who works for a billionaire family. They can afford to give me a raise, but they still don't.

So then a family's financial situation also should have nothing to do with whether a nanny has earned a raise, correct? If a nanny is being paid on the mid-low range of average, but has done an exceptional job this year, and the family would like to keep her, they should be prepared to offer something and not make excuses about being able to afford it. If they can't afford it, they come to the review meeting with a letter of recommendation and prepared to make a case for her to stay, without pretending she is overpaid or doesn't deserve what she has asked for.

I think I'm the PP you are responding to. Yes, I agree with what you're saying. Good points.

Anonymous wrote:The family finances are none of the nanny's business. Just as the nanny's finances are none of the NF's business.

Why is this so hard for nannies to understand?

You get paid based on your skills and the market rates of your area. You don't get paid based on your employer's financials.

This works both ways. You would not like to be denied a benefit just because your employer thinks you can afford to do without. It would be terrible to have an MB be reluctant to offer you guaranteed hours because they know your husband makes more than enough money to support you and you don't need it. You would hate having your employer make judgments about your finances. And you would be right to hate that. Because your finances are not your employer's business.

Same thing.

I get what you're saying, but this is simply not true. We've already discussed the situation of a family stretching themselves to afford a great nanny. That doesn't mean the nanny is overpaid. It means the family likely has higher standards than they can truly afford (10+ years of experience, exceptional references, bilingual, driving, cooking cleaning nanny is going to cost more than $15/hour). If that family stretches to meet her asking rate, but can't give the raise she now desires, that's not really her fault, but is does affect how she will get paid. It may not be fair or right, but that premise goes both ways. A nanny can see if you really *can* afford a raise, but would rather take a month long trip to Europe. Just as you can see your company or firm had a great year, gave out giant executive bonuses, but then denies your raise request on the basis of not being able to afford it. Its BS, and right or not, isn't going to inspire someone to continue busting their hump for you. Its just human nature.

So then a family's financial situation also should have nothing to do with whether a nanny has earned a raise, correct? If a nanny is being paid on the mid-low range of average, but has done an exceptional job this year, and the family would like to keep her, they should be prepared to offer something and not make excuses about being able to afford it. If they can't afford it, they come to the review meeting with a letter of recommendation and prepared to make a case for her to stay, without pretending she is overpaid or doesn't deserve what she has asked for.

The family finances are none of the nanny's business. Just as the nanny's finances are none of the NF's business.

Why is this so hard for nannies to understand?

You get paid based on your skills and the market rates of your area. You don't get paid based on your employer's financials.

This works both ways. You would not like to be denied a benefit just because your employer thinks you can afford to do without. It would be terrible to have an MB be reluctant to offer you guaranteed hours because they know your husband makes more than enough money to support you and you don't need it. You would hate having your employer make judgments about your finances. And you would be right to hate that. Because your finances are not your employer's business.

Same thing.

Anonymous wrote:Every family can afford a little something "extra" to express sincere appreciation. It doesn't always need to be monetary.

Nannies can plainly see if their families are struggling financially, or not. It's impossible to hide.

Why do so many nannies think they should be paid more just because the family is not struggling financially? Most people could afford to pay more than they are paying in the sense that they could tap into the emergency funds, cease all enrichment activities and vacations, shortchange their retirement savings, etc. That does not mean they should do that.