Paying Nanny while on Maternity Leave

Karenin · October 2013

I need some input. I have a nanny share with my two year old and another family's one year old. I'm having my second child in late January. while I am on maternity leave the other family will still use the nanny full time but I will only use her part time.

Is there a standard for how people usually handle that? The options we have come up with are just paying her our full normal rate, or asking the other family to pay her one child rate when we are not using her and we will split the two child rate the hours we are using her (we would have a standard amount of hours set so the nanny would know how much she is getting each week under that scenario).

Obviously the second scenario depends on the other family agreeing and also the nanny agreeing to a smaller paycheck while I'm on leave, but I'm wondering how others have handled paying nannies when you're on leave, either on your own or with a share. Obviously paying our normal full rate is not ideal especially since I am only paid for my first 6 weeks of leave, but I also want to be fair to everyone involved.

TIA!

djm31012 · October 2013

i dont think the other family will agree to pay anymore (at least i wouldnt unless I was getting more time out of it or something)..so really its probably about the nanny being ok with a smaller pay check. You could always suggest it....and if she pushes back just pay the full rate..just gauge and see how she takes it. I am thinking you are very happy with this situation so dont want to risk the nanny looking for another family...so while its annoying...i think you just need to bite the bullet and keep paying her as is.

FemShep · October 2013

I think you should pay the nanny her full rate. She didn't choose for you to have a child and shouldn't be penalized because of it. You may also find that you use her more than planned during your maternity leave. I know it's tough to swallow to pay for extra hours, but think about the time and expense involved in finding a new nanny if she were to leave because she needed the income she usually makes.

SoMoNY · October 2013

I agree with both responses.

I have #2 arriving soon and nanny will get usual pay during maternity leave no matter how few hours I need her.

NicoleWI · October 2013

I definitely think you need to talk to the nanny. Maybe she would take partial pay while you are on leave and be fine with it. or maybe not.

Karenin · October 2013

Thanks everyone- I basically assumed we'd need to pay the full rate, but was hoping maybe it's common to adjust it.

tarynh75 · October 2013

I agree with everybody too- it's not far for her to have to take a pay cut and its not worth messing up the situation, if its a good one.

Iblamethebeer · October 2013

I know nannies who have agreed to work part time (for the same hourly rate, so reduced total compensation) during their employers' maternity leave.

I don't think it would be crazy to ask her if she would be okay with you reducing the number of hours she watches your LO and only being paid the one child rate for that time (with you covering the difference between that amount and the other family's share of the nanny-share rate). She might say no, but you could ask.

RachieTK · October 2013

If I were the other family, I would not agree to pay more because you're on leave. If you plan to use the nanny post- baby you need to pay her rate while on leave or expect that she will find another position/ share.

ccam · October 2013

I would expect to pay the nanny the full rate if I intended on going back full time after my leave. If you have a good thing going with this other family, I wouldn't mess with it. Would you agree to pay more if the other mother went on leave?

sillygirlio · October 2013

I don't know why your decision to have another child should equal higher bills for the other family or lower income for the nanny... be responsible and keep paying your regular share through maternity leave.

FemShep · October 2013

Iblamethebeer said:

I know nannies who have agreed to work part time (for the same hourly rate, so reduced total compensation) during their employers' maternity leave.

I don't think it would be crazy to ask her if she would be okay with you reducing the number of hours she watches your LO and only being paid the one child rate for that time (with you covering the difference between that amount and the other family's share of the nanny-share rate). She might say no, but you could ask.

I really think this is a terrible idea. Imagine how you would feel if your boss did this....

"Hey, @Iblamethebeer, your workload is going to be lighter for a few days each week for two months or so. You still have to come in to work, but you won't have as much to do, so we're going to pay you half of what we do on the other days. You're totally cool with that, right?"

Of course you're not cool with that. And to even ask puts the nanny in a terribly awkward situation.

ebp913 · October 2013

sillygirlio said:

I don't know why your decision to have another child should equal higher bills for the other family or lower income for the nanny... be responsible and keep paying your regular share through maternity leave.

Completely.

FemShep said:

Iblamethebeer said:

I know nannies who have agreed to work part time (for the same hourly rate, so reduced total compensation) during their employers' maternity leave.

I don't think it would be crazy to ask her if she would be okay with you reducing the number of hours she watches your LO and only being paid the one child rate for that time (with you covering the difference between that amount and the other family's share of the nanny-share rate). She might say no, but you could ask.

I really think this is a terrible idea. Imagine how you would feel if your boss did this....

"Hey, @Iblamethebeer, your workload is going to be lighter for a few days each week for two months or so. You still have to come in to work, but you won't have as much to do, so we're going to pay you half of what we do on the other days. You're totally cool with that, right?"

Of course you're not cool with that. And to even ask puts the nanny in a terribly awkward situation.

I also agree you shouldn't even pose it to the nanny. She's going to feel like she has to say yes even though she shouldn't. It's just so awkward.

mommymegan831 · October 2013

I see both sides, it's not really fair to the nanny to ask her to take a pay cut, it's definitely not fair to the other parents to ask them to pay more, but it stinks having to pay for a service you're not using. Where does she normally watch the kids? Maybe you could ask if they days you have her watch your DD if she can come to your house and help out with some of the cleaning or cooking. I think if you're paying her full rate for p/t hours, it's not unfair to ask her to do a little more when she is working with you. I also assume you'll be using her to watch your baby, so it sounds like she'll have a raise in her future and she may be willing to be flexible.

cecilyandgautam · October 2013

You can offer the nanny an income guaranty - you'll help her find a sub family to fill your spot during your leave. If that doesn't work out, you'll pay her the full rate so either way, her income doesn't change but you're asking her to work with you. It will be on you to find the sub family and to get that family approved by the other family you already share with and the nanny - basically you're looking for a family still on the waitlist for a center that needs spot gap childcare for the next month or two. In my area, daycare waitlists are long and lots of families do a couple months of a nanny share to cover them while they wait to get in.

You would need to get this idea green-lighted by both the other family & the nanny but if you have been flexible with accommodating them in the past, they should want to accommodate you now and this is a reasonable solution and you'll be doing all the work to make it happen. Good luck!

sillygirlio · October 2013

cecilyandgautam said:

You can offer the nanny an income guaranty - you'll help her find a sub family to fill your spot during your leave. If that doesn't work out, you'll pay her the full rate so either way, her income doesn't change but you're asking her to work with you. It will be on you to find the sub family and to get that family approved by the other family you already share with and the nanny - basically you're looking for a family still on the waitlist for a center that needs spot gap childcare for the next month or two. In my area, daycare waitlists are long and lots of families do a couple months of a nanny share to cover them while they wait to get in.

You would need to get this idea green-lighted by both the other family & the nanny but if you have been flexible with accommodating them in the past, they should want to accommodate you now and this is a reasonable solution and you'll be doing all the work to make it happen. Good luck!

I think this is a really good idea if that's something that would work in your area, but I would be a little afraid that the nanny and the other family would decide they like the new set up better and leave you out in the cold... obviously I don't know any of these people, but I've seen situations like that happen, so it's something to consider. Also, the nanny might not love the idea, it could be a major headache for her! Watching random kids for 8 weeks is not the same as watching kids you've had for an extended period, it's a lot more work.

cecilyandgautam · October 2013

sillygirlio said:

cecilyandgautam said:

You can offer the nanny an income guaranty - you'll help her find a sub family to fill your spot during your leave. If that doesn't work out, you'll pay her the full rate so either way, her income doesn't change but you're asking her to work with you. It will be on you to find the sub family and to get that family approved by the other family you already share with and the nanny - basically you're looking for a family still on the waitlist for a center that needs spot gap childcare for the next month or two. In my area, daycare waitlists are long and lots of families do a couple months of a nanny share to cover them while they wait to get in.

You would need to get this idea green-lighted by both the other family & the nanny but if you have been flexible with accommodating them in the past, they should want to accommodate you now and this is a reasonable solution and you'll be doing all the work to make it happen. Good luck!

I think this is a really good idea if that's something that would work in your area, but I would be a little afraid that the nanny and the other family would decide they like the new set up better and leave you out in the cold... obviously I don't know any of these people, but I've seen situations like that happen, so it's something to consider. Also, the nanny might not love the idea, it could be a major headache for her! Watching random kids for 8 weeks is not the same as watching kids you've had for an extended period, it's a lot more work.

You're right, that's the risk OP would be taking on. My current DCP held a spot for another family (first kid moving onto preschool, second kid enrolling 3 months later) because she knows that the family is solid business for 2+ years. My DCP was willing to put up with the uncertainty and inconvenience of having a temporary client for a few months because she knew it would mean she didn't have to think twice about how to fill that spot for at least another two years and the family always pays on time, doesn't give her any trouble, etc. If OP doesn't want to take on any risk, then she should be ready to fully pay her share for service she doesn't need.

Iblamethebeer · October 2013

FemShep said:

Iblamethebeer said:

I know nannies who have agreed to work part time (for the same hourly rate, so reduced total compensation) during their employers' maternity leave.

I don't think it would be crazy to ask her if she would be okay with you reducing the number of hours she watches your LO and only being paid the one child rate for that time (with you covering the difference between that amount and the other family's share of the nanny-share rate). She might say no, but you could ask.

I really think this is a terrible idea. Imagine how you would feel if your boss did this....

"Hey, @Iblamethebeer, your workload is going to be lighter for a few days each week for two months or so. You still have to come in to work, but you won't have as much to do, so we're going to pay you half of what we do on the other days. You're totally cool with that, right?"

Of course you're not cool with that. And to even ask puts the nanny in a terribly awkward situation.

Eh. If the nanny is being paid her full rate through the whole maternity leave, then presumably every day she will show up with the expectation that she is going to have both kids.

I don't think it's terribly awkward to say to the nanny something like "would you prefer we agree to never bring LO to nanny share on T/Th and in exchange you'll be paid the one child rate on those days?" because it may well be that she's okay making less (not half, right? there's a special one child rate she's negotiated for times when she only has one kid?) on those days if that means she really does only have the one kid.

I think this is the sort of thing you have to judge based on the specifics of the situation. If the nanny is teetering on the edge of poverty and always says yes to extra hours whenever they're offered, then it probably isn't worth asking. A married grad student supplementing household income by nannying might be inclined to take it (especially if the one kid is a better napper/easier to deal with/those parents get home earlier/whatever).

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