Anonymous wrote:Someone else stated it, but I feel like it is worth repeating. If the guaranteed hours are 35 hours a week, then you should be paid for 35 hours, regardless of if your family decides they want to send you home early, have you come late, they want to take the kids to the zoo without you one day.... You and your family should work together to discuss what that means in terms of hours per day. Some people have a very rigid set of time (my nanny works M-F 8:30 - 4:30 as the standard hours and VERY rarely almost never does that change). We have a friend who has a much more variable job so nanny works 40 hours but sometimes it is 7-3 other times 10 - 6. That nanny also wanted to take long weekends in the summer but not lose personal time, so she and her family worked out longer hours on the other days to compensate.
The family should talk to you and make clear what your standard hours are. It is totally fine for them to say "You work 35 hours a week. That is 9 hours T.W and 8 hours Th." You are totally allowed to say "I am not interested in those hours" What a family can't do is say "You work M-F 8 hours" and then let you go home on Monday and not pay you for that day. They also can't say "We are going away on Monday. You need to work 9 hours the rest of the week to make up for us being away" The only time that can happen is if you have pre-determined that is your contracted hours or YOU want the day off and don't have PTO and want to get fully paid.
You and the employer need to sit down and discuss what your standard working hours are and what you are comfortable with. If you are not comfortable with 4 days a week or it being random each week, say it is not a good fit and find a new job.
But, people were right to call out that you were very intense in your responses. People are legit trying to help you and you coming at them makes it hard for people to help you. I know it is stressful, but you will come to a stronger meeting of the minds if you can remain calm.
Thank you so much! Very nice of you! Can you pls explain this part that I highlighted in simpler terms? I don’t fully understand it thank you!
My issue is that she starts giving me the days off on short notice, for example
Couple weeks ago she tells me during the day on Monday “I’m taking my child to see grandpa on Thursday”
So this automatically means for me, I HAVE to be available for her for 35h on the other days, work outside my schedule hours into the evenings, on short notice, and there’s no room for me to make my full time 40h salary for that week, unless I work 10h each days or one day 12h.
All on short notice! So let’s say that Monday instead of leaving at 4, I have to stay till 6 or longer. Doesn’t seem fair to me. PLUS imagine if I say oh but I can’t stay till 6 tonight because o have to do (whatever), then my thinking is she doesn’t have to pay me even the 35h, unless I add even more hours to another day?!?!?!?! Like how is this fair?
So I did a lot of research about “guaranteed hours”. It says it should be within a set schedule, it doesn’t mean randomly picked, randomly picked to me it’s like being on call, but not being paid for it. It also seems to be “standard practice” in the industry.
I’m new to this guaranteed hours , so I’m trying to understand how other people handle it and if I really have to work all
These extra evening hours to make up for her last minute “day off” because it sounds too crazy to me. I would have never accepted this job if she told me this is how it will be handled. She said m-f 8-4
Btw I’m always willing to change hours for the day once in a while, or run errands during my off hours when I’m already out, I’m happy to make a phone call for her at night or whatever. It’s not that I’m entitled, I feel like if you lay me for the days you don’t need me, of course I’m happy to help you with other stuff!