more nanny q's (sorry if freq asked)

Re: more nanny q's (sorry if freq asked)

• FortMyersBride

  March 2012

  audie2goose:

  1) If you pay nanny's taxes, do you just do ss and medicare? or everything? what % of pay does that come out to? Honestly, I don't know.  Our accountant just calculates the "taxes due" for me.

  2) Do you give sick days/vacation time? We give time off whenever we are on vacation and whenever the grandmothers are visiting.  

  3) What is your policy on when your family takes a vacation? Does nanny get paid? Yes, we pay for all the vacation days we take (usually 3 wks per yr) plus any other time we don't need her.  If she takes vacation outside of that time, she doesn't get paid.

  4) If the nanny is there more than 40 hrs, do you pay time and a half? Or, if its stated in the job description, does this not matter? I haven't run into this situation yet.  Our current nanny works 32 hrs/wk.  When I worked 60+ hrs we had 2 PT nannies instead.

  5)

   

  I guess I'm confused on how legal/by the books or not everything is... for example, there is no freaking way we could afford to do health insurance as well for our nanny. But a lot of websites are suggesting this is standard practice... as well as paid time off, paid sick days, bonuses, etc. At this rate, I feel like I should've looked into being a nanny, b/c they get more benefits than I do, lol. 

  We've purchased simple policies for one, the others have either been covered by their parents or SO. 

   

  

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• MrsReb

  March 2012

  We have a nanny but we live in a very small, very southern town so what we do is probably not typical. First, no we do not provide health insurance or any benefits like that. Heck, we barely can cover our health care costs it feels like! We pay per day, not per hour. We have our set hours & if we go over I pay her our agreed upon hourly rate. As for vacation & sick time, I gave her a list of days we won't need her for the year up front. Those days are unpaid. Any other days we tell her we don't need her or let her go early are paid in full. I've also paid her for sick days, although our agreement says unpaid, only because she does a fantastic job, and I feel like it lets her know we appreciate the care she provides our child. Whew, I know that's long. If you have more specific questions, I'm happy to try to answer them!

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• Strunella member

  March 2012

  I'm not sure exactly about the taxes, but I think the SS and medicare comes out to about 13%.

  We give our nanny 10 vacation days (5 of our choosing and 5 of hers), all of our paid holidays and 3 sick days.  If we take off any additional days, we pay her.  If she takes any additional days, she is unpaid.

  Our nanny is with us 47.5 hours a week.  She is paid weekly.  Most nannies work more than 40 hours a week, so if you are going to offer OT, it would be anything over your agreed number of weekly hours.  We do not pay OT.  There are days when I ask her to come an hour early and don't pay her for this because there are far more days when I've let her go home early.   She's also had some family issues and had to leave hours early, and I don't dock her for this.  So, in the end, it all works out (more so to her advantage). 

  I don't know anyone who offers health insurance, though I guess people do. 

   

  

   

   

  

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• Kelli7025

  March 2012

  I work as a FT nanny right now so I thought I would toss in my two cents.  

  audie2goose:

  1) If you pay nanny's taxes, do you just do ss and medicare? or everything? what % of pay does that come out to? 

   I have all taxes taken out of my paycheck, except for state taxes. 

  2) Do you give sick days/vacation time?

  Here is how vacation time works for me. I receive 1 paid week off at Christmas, and 1 paid week off (of my choice) during the summer. I am paid for any and every day that the family takes of whether it is a sick day or vacation. If I ask for additional vacation days off, they are not paid. I receive 3 paid sick days per 4 month period. If I do not request any vacation days, I receive a 10% bonus every 4 months (end of April, August, December). This is 10% of my total pay for that 4 month period. 

  3) What is your policy on when your family takes a vacation? Does nanny get paid?

  Answered above.  

  4) If the nanny is there more than 40 hrs, do you pay time and a half? Or, if its stated in the job description, does this not matter?

  I have a set schedule every week. It totals 49 hours per week. Since that is my set schedule that I agreed to, I do not receive over time for the 9 hours, nor would I ever expect it. If I ever need to come early or stay late (past the 49 hours per week) the parents normally find a day when they can let me leave early so it all evens out and my pay is still the same each payday.  

   

  5)

   

  I guess I'm confused on how legal/by the books or not everything is... for example, there is no freaking way we could afford to do health insurance as well for our nanny. But a lot of websites are suggesting this is standard practice... as well as paid time off, paid sick days, bonuses, etc. At this rate, I feel like I should've looked into being a nanny, b/c they get more benefits than I do, lol. 

  I would NEVER expect my employers to pay my health insurance. I am a domestic employee, not a corporate business woman with a benefits package and 401k. The only expenses outside of my normal pay that are covered by the parents are travel expenses (gas money) for the weekly activities I take the kids to (The Little Gym, Storytime, etc.). I do receive a $40 weekly allowance for kid related expenses (lunch out, a book at the bookstore, tickets to the zoo). When we do big trips to COSI or the aquarium mom and dad reimburse me for ticket prices. 

  And yes, being a nanny definitely has its perks  

   

  

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• kar5162 member

  March 2012

  Legally you need to pay at least minimum wage, overtime over 40 hours a week and your portion of SS/Medicare (~7.65%) as well as any unemployment/state requirements. In practice, you'll need to do what the norm is in your area or else you're unlikely to find/retain a good nanny. In our area that includes vacation time, at least a contribution to insurance, etc. But not in all places.

  1) We withhold her federal/SS/Medicare taxes (no state taxes) and also pay our portion of SS/Medicare. That means we effectively pay her about 110% of her "salary". We write her a check that is her wage less her share of taxes and then send the rest to the irs every so often.

  2)/3) Yes, we pay sick and vacation time. She gets 1 week sick time, 2 weeks vacation time paid. We choose one week, she chooses one week. She needs to let us know one month in advance for her vacation time. We usually take another week or two and let her know that those weeks will be unpaid.

  4) In my experience, most nannies would prefer to make a consistent amount regardless of number of hours worked unless there's something very unusual about the period. You technically need to pay overtime, but if you agree with your nanny on an effective rate* the number of hours that is at least the minimum wage when you factor in overtime, you should be good. Just write the standard weekly/whatever rate in your contract and don't reference an hourly rate.

  We don't buy a health insurance plan, but do pay a small amount towards her purchasing her own health insurance.

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