When a job changes significantly it's fine to sit down and renegotiate the terms of your work agreement. This is the same advice I see many of you give to nannies when children are starting school, NF is having another baby, etc. Adding 14 hours a week to the nanny's work work is a signficant change in my book. Honestly I've found that a lot of nannies (I didn't say all, so please don't throw a fit) I know do not care as much about their base and OT rate, but do very much care about their overall compensation package.

The nanny here can accept the new job or leave, it's up to her. She may not even be interested in working more hours. I know a couple of nannies who work 30-40 hours a week and do not want to work anymore than that, so would turn down a signficant increase in hours like this.

Reality is that part time jobs often have to pay a higher rate in order to attract good candidates, so if this MB were to look for new nanny she may very well be able to find someone great at a lower base rate.

Oh my you all wouldn't make it in Los Angeles! It's overtime after 8 hrs a day. My nanny (and I only have one. I love her, my children LOVE her, my DH loves her. She's been with us 3 years) works 12 hours a day, sometimes 15 hours (about 2 to 3 times a week). She gets overtime after 8 hours, which is legal. My nanny works very hard. She cares for my children, helps them grow and succeed in life. Why would I not pay her?

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you don't need to do overtime which is really absurd. It was meant to protect factory workers and such but nannies have a really cushy and easy job so it just complicates our lives instead.

What I do is use a nanny during the day with the baby while my older one is in school. Then when school lets out I have an after school nanny/sitter that picked him up and drives him home and relieves the daytime nanny. I pay for 30 minutes of overlap but like you said I'm not on the hook for $30 an hour in overtime. This is your best bet. Good luck fellow MB!

You should have hired a better nanny in the first place, PP. Our son's nanny does not have a "cushy" job at all. She is constantly on the move playing with him, teaching him, cooking for him, cleaning for him and doing his laundry. She has more energy and imagination than I have ever had and she is 20 years older than I am!!!

I purposely hired an educated and experienced nanny and asked a lot of questions during the interview to make sure we were on the same page with expectations. She was the only one who believed in engaging an infant in narration and reading so I hired her. Nearly two years later and I am still happy with her work.

When I am home alone with my now toddler, the last thing that comes to mind is that this is "cushy"!


As for OP - if you truly cannot afford overtime, talk to your nanny and see if a compromise can be reached.

Yes, you don't need to do overtime which is really absurd. It was meant to protect factory workers and such but nannies have a really cushy and easy job so it just complicates our lives instead.

What I do is use a nanny during the day with the baby while my older one is in school. Then when school lets out I have an after school nanny/sitter that picked him up and drives him home and relieves the daytime nanny. I pay for 30 minutes of overlap but like you said I'm not on the hook for $30 an hour in overtime. This is your best bet. Good luck fellow MB!

If I was this nanny I would want to know what the options were.

Ie nanny works 8 hours a day with an afternoon/evening sitter (might need more than one to cover all the hours)
Nanny works 4 10 hour days and you have a one day a week sitter.
Nanny works 4 days at 9 hours and has a half day Friday where she only works for.


I would sit the nanny down and say 'I've been offered a new job but I can't afford to pay you overtime so here are some options we are considering. Let me know if you have any ideas'. I'm assuming your nannies hours will have to move slightly and she may say no thanks

Dear "stupid MBs" poster,
Everyone knows that securing less hours of a nanny results in a higher hourly rate and vice versa. USUALLY.

For example, an after school only position commands a higher RATE than a full-time 40-50 hour week position. USUALLY.

Also, your previous rate may indeed have NO BEARING on your next job or employer. A family will post what they need and have their own budget, often consulting the market, friends and agencies. It is very rarely a string of never-ending rate increases.

Finally, short-term nannies that just job hop around every 12-18 months are not the majority of the market. There are many, many real nannies who grow and work with a family on the ever-changing duties, tasks, and schedules over time.
Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was well covered in previous posts.
Just give your nanny the new job specifications and weekly pay, and ask her to get back to you on if this is still the job for her in one weeks time.
The end.

You can horse around with backing into the 40hr and overtime rate with a simple equation. Real nannies understand weekly gross income just fine.

It's true we understand gross weekly income, but I don't know any nannies who would reduce their hourly rate in order to work more hours. That's crazy! We can make up additional income at our full rates in babysitting or PT positions, there is no reason to lower it. I'd love to see you pull that in any other job; "well yes, we hired you at 65K per year but actually we need to drop you down to 50K through no fault of your own...but you'll be eligible for bonuses on the extra hours we need!" Uh huh, sure.

If OP goes that direction she should be prepared for a new nanny search, either immediately or as soon as her current nanny finds a new position.

Depends on what hours the nanny is working now. I know a nanny who works 4 days a week for her main family and has to find another family to work at least 1 day a week for to make ends meet. This nanny would jump at the chance to work 5 days a week for her main family even if it meant lowering her base rate a little bit.

OP, I'd see if your nanny would consider doing $18/hr base rate and $27/hr overtime.

Why do you all think this is okay? Seriously, how would you justify this? And then when she is job searching in the future, you've effectively screwed with her salary history too, since stupid MBs think past rate is relevant. No. The suggestion is ridiculous. It isn't my job to help you afford to make me work more hours. I second another PP that if you pulled this with me, I'd smile and agree, and you'd be looking for a new nanny the very morning you start your new job. You can't treat someone like a commodity and then expect them to view you as a human being.

Anonymous wrote:Pay her salary and don't pay overtime. It's not a legal requirement. Look at any other professional job, 50-80 hour work weeks for a flat rate. That is the professional world that nannies so desperately want to be a part of.

Nannies are classified as hourly employees, so they can't legally be on salary. They have to be paid for every single hour they work. If you don't do this you open yourself up to a lawsuit for back wages and OT that was unpaid. The law is very clear on this subject and the employee always wins these cases. You then also owe the IRS for back taxes on the unpaid wages.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was well covered in previous posts.
Just give your nanny the new job specifications and weekly pay, and ask her to get back to you on if this is still the job for her in one weeks time.
The end.

You can horse around with backing into the 40hr and overtime rate with a simple equation. Real nannies understand weekly gross income just fine.

It's true we understand gross weekly income, but I don't know any nannies who would reduce their hourly rate in order to work more hours. That's crazy! We can make up additional income at our full rates in babysitting or PT positions, there is no reason to lower it. I'd love to see you pull that in any other job; "well yes, we hired you at 65K per year but actually we need to drop you down to 50K through no fault of your own...but you'll be eligible for bonuses on the extra hours we need!" Uh huh, sure.

If OP goes that direction she should be prepared for a new nanny search, either immediately or as soon as her current nanny finds a new position.

Depends on what hours the nanny is working now. I know a nanny who works 4 days a week for her main family and has to find another family to work at least 1 day a week for to make ends meet. This nanny would jump at the chance to work 5 days a week for her main family even if it meant lowering her base rate a little bit.

OP, I'd see if your nanny would consider doing $18/hr base rate and $27/hr overtime.

Anonymous wrote:This was well covered in previous posts.
Just give your nanny the new job specifications and weekly pay, and ask her to get back to you on if this is still the job for her in one weeks time.
The end.

You can horse around with backing into the 40hr and overtime rate with a simple equation. Real nannies understand weekly gross income just fine.

It's true we understand gross weekly income, but I don't know any nannies who would reduce their hourly rate in order to work more hours. That's crazy! We can make up additional income at our full rates in babysitting or PT positions, there is no reason to lower it. I'd love to see you pull that in any other job; "well yes, we hired you at 65K per year but actually we need to drop you down to 50K through no fault of your own...but you'll be eligible for bonuses on the extra hours we need!" Uh huh, sure.

If OP goes that direction she should be prepared for a new nanny search, either immediately or as soon as her current nanny finds a new position.

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at what you can get rid of to be able to afford her overtime rate? Canceling cable TV, Netflix, Amazon prime or any extra services you have but don't need.

Have you looked around at hiring a different nanny for your 50 hour a week job?
If your current nanny has proved herself out of the market and out of a reasonable family's budget then everyone will have to adjust or move on.

This was well covered in previous posts.
Just give your nanny the new job specifications and weekly pay, and ask her to get back to you on if this is still the job for her in one weeks time.
The end.

You can horse around with backing into the 40hr and overtime rate with a simple equation. Real nannies understand weekly gross income just fine.

Anonymous wrote:The street where people know how to do math.

You mean creative finance? You know you can get reported, don't you?

Have her work four full days and hire someone else for the fifth day? Otherwise the law is the law and she'll surely walk if you try to reduce her wages.

Have you looked at what you can get rid of to be able to afford her overtime rate? Canceling cable TV, Netflix, Amazon prime or any extra services you have but don't need.