?s about nanny pay, responsibilities, etc.

Re: ?s about nanny pay, responsibilities, etc.

• lindseyb624 member

  February 2014

  Should the nanny get paid for

  Holidays - We give our nanny paid holidays for the holidays we get off work.  So that's basically banking holidays.

  Snow days - We don't have those so no we don't give those off.

  Sick days - We didn't outline sick days specifically.  I'm actually not sure how to handle that.  her reference said that it never really happened so I didn't put a ton of thought into it.  Most likely if it was random here and there we'd just pay her.

  Vacation - We gave 2 weeks.  One week is our choosing and the second week is her choosing with plenty of advance notice so we can have a backup plan.

  Mileage for driving the kid(s) around - this isn't applicable because we live in NYC.  I know some people just have the nanny drive their car so this isn't necessary, but if you drive your car/cars to work that's obviously not applicable.  I would say you dont need to reimburse this unless they are driving far.

   

  Should the nanny help with

  Light cleaning and if so, just the kid stuff or other household cleaning - We agreed to light cleaning of our daughter's stuff only.  She will unload our dishes because we wash everything together in the dishwasher.  We didn't ask her to, she just sort of does it to be nice.

  Laundry (just the kids') - Yes, she does DD's laundry.

  Cooking - Only for DD though it's not really an issue because she's only 5 months.

  Any errands - yes, if they involve the baby (diapers, wipes, etc.) but we try not to have her do them.

  Feeding the dog or letting him out - Not applicable for us, but I think it probably makes sense to do if she's home all day.

   

  Also, would you agree to a predetermined annual raise for the nanny upfront or not? I would not agree to this.  I would agree to have an annual meeting to discuss performance and as long as I was happy with her I'd probably give a little increase.  I wouldn't agree to the increase, but just the review/discussion.

  Report1 Reply
• Loading the player...
• mae0111 member

  February 2014

  We give our nanny 5 "flex" days to use as she needs them - sick, last minute appointment, etc.  We give 2 weeks vacation on top of that, and ask that one if of our choosing - so we pay her for our family's planned summer vacation.

  Holidays - I'd say that if the holiday fell on a scheduled work day, it would be nice to pay it.

  Snow days - we don't get snow days at work, so we don't offer them.  Our nanny lives close by, so usually makes it even if the weather is bad.  If she doesn't come, it's a "flex" day off for her

  Sick days - see above - 5 flex days

  Vacation - see above - 2 weeks, one coincides with our vacation.

  Mileage for driving the kid(s) around - we don't offer, but no one has ever asked.

   

  Should the nanny help with

  Light cleaning and if so, just the kid stuff or other household cleaning - we ask that she clean up after activities they do during the day, and empty the dishwasher (so that she can load it during the day as needed and we can run it at night).

  Laundry (just the kids') - yes

  Cooking - here and there.  Last night, she had to stay a bit later than usual because DH was out of town.  She cooked dinner for the kids and herself.  Actually, she cooked enough for me, too.

  Any errands - rarely.  Just if I'm really stuck (out of milk or something)

  Feeding the dog or letting him out - No pets, but I don't think it would be a big deal.

   

  Also, would you agree to a predetermined annual raise for the nanny upfront or not? No way.  Things are unpredictable, and I wouldn't want to agree to a raise.  What if there are minor performance issue?  Or something happens with your or DH's job?  Like PP said, I would agree to the review, but not the raise.

  Good luck!

  Report1 Reply
• *sparky* member

  February 2014

  Great info - thank you!!  Some of the requests the one nanny made are reasonable - some seem a little much.  I tried to word my question in a way that was unbiased.  But, for example, we have a dog and one of the things in her agreement is that she will not handle feeding or walking of pets.  But if she is here all day I don't know why she could not do this.  The other thing was that she stated she gets a 6% raise every year, which seemed high to me, and it also seemed unreasonable to demand that upfront.  In my job I have to earn my raises - they are not a given. 

   

  Report0 Reply
• Iblamethebeer member

  February 2014

  *sparky* said:

  We are looking into having a nanny and have started speaking to a couple of potential nannies.  One is a woman who has been a nanny for quite a few years and she has a formal agreement that she sent to us.  The agreement covers what she will and will not do for the family and what kind of paid time off she would like.  Then there is another person we are speaking to, who is much less formal and I have a lot of negotiation room with her.  So here are my questions:

  Should the nanny get paid for

  Holidays

  Snow days

  Sick days

  Vacation

  Mileage for driving the kid(s) around

   

  Should the nanny help with

  Light cleaning and if so, just the kid stuff or other household cleaning

  Laundry (just the kids')

  Cooking

  Any errands

  Feeding the dog or letting him out

   

  Also, would you agree to a predetermined annual raise for the nanny upfront or not?

   

   

  IMO, this is a good fences make good neighbors sort of situation.  Each time I've hired a nanny, the contract has gotten longer/more specific.

  
  

  We do a set number of holidays (not all of them), vacation, and then flex/personal/sick days.  We also do snow days when colleges in our area are closed, which is a lot less frequent then public schools.  (Informally, I often will text and say "you don't need to get here until ___" if the roads are bad in the morning, but I don't promise to do that, because sometimes we really do need coverage at normal time).  If you're in a snow area, this is one of those things that you really should address up front or you will regret it later.

  
  

  As far as nanny chores, I think it's all negotiable and it just depends what you want and what your nanny is willing to do.  IMO, if you are paying a nanny to be home with a baby taking multiple naps per day, you're better off paying an extra dollar or two per hour for someone who will do things like simple dinner prep, laundry, disinfecting toys, loading/unloading dishwasher, etc.  We do also ask our nanny to run some errands, because she's out doing preschool drop off/pick up already.  I know some nannies are insulted by the idea that their role might overlap with anything housekeeper-y.  Which is fine, because there are people that want nannies like that.  I'm just not one of them -- I expect my nanny to do the things I would be doing if I was a SAHM.   

  

  Report0 Reply
• VOR member

  February 2014

  Walk the dog or let it out? You said two different things and they are quite different. I too can't imagine giving the dog some food and letting the dog out in the backyard. BUT I can fully understand her not wanting to walk the dog. In general, though, what I've kind of learned is that many nannies see their job as being KIDS. Not chores or errands that are unrelated to the kids. ANd some nannies get offeneded at being expected to do things that they see as being more "maid" like.

  Report0 Reply
• *sparky* member

  February 2014 edited February 2014

  @VOR - her agreement has a list of things she is"not available for" and it includes "care for pets i.e. Walks, feedings, etc.". Our dog is 12 and needs to eat regularly or he gets sick, so I need whoever is here to feed him mid-day. He also needs to be let out in the yard during the day. I think this would be reasonable to ask but can understand why she would not want to have to take the dog for walks.
  
  I agree that our LO's should be the Nancy's primary focus and am ok with the cleaning, cooking, etc. being limited to anything directly related to the kids. Her agreement states that she will not do dishes from the night before or unload the dishwasher, etc. which I can understand but there are times I will start the d/w in the morning and if she is not emptying it then I guess she either hand washes the kids' dishes or just lets things pile up. I guess I just think there are times when the lines get a little blurred and I am wondering if your nanny tends to be a little flexible with these things or not.

   

  Report0 Reply
• VOR member

  February 2014

  Well, at least w/ this nanny, you know the level to which some go about their duties and will hopefully give you good questions to ask so that you can make sure you're on the same page. Does she seem flexible at all? I'd at least ask her about the dog. That might be a general ruel, but if you explan the situation - see if she's flexible. If not, I wouldn't want to hire her (not to mention the raise bit!!)

  Report1 Reply
• fitmom82 member

  February 2014

  I agree it seems like this nanny has been taken advantage of in the past and is trying to prevent negative situations in the future.  If you're interested in her I would talk to her about what your needs are and see if she can accommodate them.

  Report0 Reply
• emberlee3 member

  February 2014

  We hashed out most of the specifics in our contract meeting. The nanny agency sent a blank contract with most of these items. We paid federal rate for mileage reimbursement, and based our sick/holiday/vacation numbers on federal rates. We agreed nanny was only responsible for taking care of LOs, but she offered to help with stuff a lot. I never left dishes unwashed, but she emptied the dish rack and dishwasher if I couldn't get to it before I left. Being flexible is really important for a nanny, IMO, so I would try to assess that in any candidate before offering her a job.

  DS born 8/8/09 and DD born 6/12/12.
  

  Report1 Reply