What is your arrangement with your care provider re: days off and holidays?

*sparky*

DD is with a sitter in her house.  She has two boys who are in school.  I also have a son in school, and unfortunately they are in different schools and days off do not always mesh.  She normally watches DD three days a week.  This week on one of her days her boys are off of school and they have parent conferences.  On another day one of her boys has a dentist appt.  So I took off both days because I did not want DD dragged around to all of this.  She has watched DD before when her boys are off school and it went ok but they stayed at home.

We have a somewhat informal arrangement but I was going to pay her for one of the days she did not work this week but not the other.  But we need to sit down and come up with a plan for the future.  SO how do you work it when (1) you take vacation (2) your sitter takes vacation and (3) someone is sick?  WHat about holidays?  I was going to pay her for holidays that fall on her normal work days.

Also in the situation we ran into this week does that sound unfair to you?  I don't want her to be upset but I also don't want DD to have to go to her kids' parent-teacher conferences, etc.

 

[Deleted User]

I think you need to formalize your arrangements in terms of when you pay her, etc.  I have no idea what the norm would be for last week's situation.  I know that doesn't help much.

mae0111

I agree - you need to solidify the arrangement.

We have a FT nanny, so we give her basically 3 weeks off - one of our choosing, one of her choosing, and one of "flex" time to take care of doctor's appointments, sick time, etc.  She is really great about giving us notice, and rarely calls in sick because she knows that it puts us in a bind.  So in turn, we cut her slack if she has a "down" day with the kids, and they watch a few shows.

We also give her 9 or 10 paid holidays that really revolve around what we get off.  So Christmas Eve and Christmas, Thanksgiving and the day after, etc.  Some holidays, I have her work and I take the day for myself - like Good Friday.

emberlee3

I have a full-time nanny.  She gets 10 paid vacation days, 3 sick days, and several paid holidays. 

In your situation, I would make a formal agreement and also come up with some backup care options beyond taking time off myself.

TheBorg7of9

We have a nanny share. She gets 6 paid holidays. An additional week off paid at Christmas. Plus she gets 5 vacation days of her choosing and 5 sick days. Time to formalize your arrangement! It's so nice that everyone understands and agrees. And with a nanny share, that's especially hard!

TheBorg7of9

To add: if I take a vacation, I still pay her. Basically, unless she were to exceed her alotted sick or vacation time, I always pay her the same. If I ask her to stay an hour late or something, i pay extra, but I don't dock her pay if I come home early.

*sparky*

Thanks everyone. We do want to formalize things which was why I was wondering what others' arrangements were. This was only going to be a temporary arrangement as my job was supposed to end last Friday but it looks like I will be working for the foreseeable future so we do need a formal agreement.

I do have a back up person but she was not available this week.

djm31012

We are in some what of a different situation because we are in a center 2 days and my SIL watches DS the other 3 days.  When she watches him she gets paid, when she doesnt (our choosing or hers) she doesnt get paid.  It works for us all. That being said a few things. When she cant watch him for whatever reason, my center is awesome about letting us add a day (For example he will be there all week this week because my brother and SIL and the kids are on vacation).  So back up care for me is easy unless DS is sick and cant go to daycare. The other thing is, because she watches him at her house, she treats him as though its her own child. He goes to school pick ups and drop offs, he food shops and runs other errands, etc. I am not going to tell her she has to sit home all day just because shes watching my child. He goes where she needs to go, and I am fine with that. I guess its a little different because its family. 

If you are making a more formal contract, which sounds like its necessary, I like what PP said above. 3 paid weeks, one week of your choosing, one week of hers and then 5 other days to allot for drs appts, etc with ample notice....

Jills83

When we used an in-home provider we had an arrangement where we received 5 days off per calendar year in which we did not have to pay her, plus no paid holidays.  Any time she needed to take a day off for her own reasons we did not have to pay her, but if we needed a day off beyond the 5 days mentioned above, we did have to pay her. 

An example of when she took a day off and we didn't have to pay her is when her son got strep and also another occassion when she wanted to attend a school function with her son.  She never took DS places in a car, only walking distance, so it was not an option for her to bring my son to the school function.

*sparky*

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I am talking to her about this tomorrow so seeing what everyone else is doing is extremely helpful.

I really don't want her taking my DD to her sons' school or to the dentist so I feel like if she has those things scheduled on a day she is supposed to watch DD and I have to find alternate care then I should not have to pay her. But I will have to hash that out with her along with paying for some vacation time

WLJ2

Agree with previous posters!

When I used an in home day care she had two weeks paid vacation and I had one week of vacation that my son could use where I wouldn't have to pay. Plus she had paid federal holidays. If I chose to keep him home I would have to pay for those days. But she never took him places other than to pick older kids up from school.