Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MB here.

I would approach this as a request for a raise, in consideration of tenure and performance. If you agreed to a salaried type approach when you took the job then don't change that basic premise, just calculate out what a $1/hr increase would be equal to (factor in the amount that would increase for however many overtime hours are relevant) and present that to them as a request for a raise.

For instance: "Dear Jill and Jim, I have so enjoyed the past year. Little Bobbie and Sue are delightful, and I'm so enjoying my time with them, and with you as employers. I hope that you feel equally positive about our relationship, and I look forward to everything coming with the kids in the next year. In light of all of that, I would like to request a raise. I would ask you to consider a $X raise per week. I based this on a $1/hr increase (or whatever you want to use), taking into consideration the overtime hours that are part of my regular work."

Then see what they say. So if you have a 50 hour work week you would be asking for a $65/week raise (40 hours at $1, and 10 hours at $1.50.) You can, of course, do the math for whatever hourly increase you'd like to consider. Or you can just approach it from a pure flat dollar amount, but I'd have the hourly breakdown ready to justify it. A $1/hr raise is very reasonable in my opinion, and would hopefully sound that way to your employer. So this is an instance where couching it in an hourly amount might make the total dollar increase sound less drastic to an employer.

Good luck!

Thank you MB, I appreciate this feedback and it is most likely the approach I will take.

To respond to other questions: I have fixed hours so I am very aware of number of overtime hours. There is no consideration for suing my employers as I happen to like my job and intend to keep it. I am in a share therefore the perks of extra vacation times is non extent as the families generally take vacation at different times. Also, it is not a blended rate. And my employers may be skirting the law with regards to overtime but my hourly rate is fair.