Hi Moms! I'm opening my own business and have found the most wonderful babysitter/nanny for my kids. She works 23 hrs a week with my 19 month old and my 4 year old when he's not at preschool. Do those of you who have a sitter come to your home pay her when she calls in sick and/or when you cancel because your kids are sick? What about vacation time - like Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas...?
that's me, i pay weekly, but i don't pay when she or her mom calls in, but if I CALL her out, i'll still pay her. holidays that i need her to watch my daughter, i pay her a little extra, but i don't pay HER vacation time
I have actually taken care of the same families little girl for 2 and a half years now. They don't pay me if I have to cancel at the last minute, as it tends to put them in the inconveniencing spot, but if they cancel on me with less then 24 hour notice then they pay me. If they give me enough notice (which she usually gives me about a week for anything besides being sick) then she won't pay me. She doesn't do holidays unless I come over and actually watch the kids. So ya basically, if I'm there or was planning to be there and they cancel, I get paid. If not, I don't. I tend to think that it's fair and works out well for me. I can still budget myself around it.
We have a babysitter come into the house as I work from home. We do not pay for holidays. I don't cancel if the kids are sick, because if they require a dr visit, I leave the other kiddo home. I do pay if we cancel on a day. I figure that is only fair...how can she budget if we randomly give her days off because we don't need her.
I don't have a babysitter in my home, but I do have a housekeeper three times a week, so same concept. Our agreed-upon arrangement is basically- if I can cancel or change the schedule b/c of our family plans/issues, I pay her. If she cancels b/c of her family plans/issues, I don't pay her.
As for paid holidays... we pay her weekly, but do not expect her on federal holidays, if that is her regularly scheduled day (ususally a Monday, which is one of her days). We also give her a generous cash gift at Christmas and Easter, so she has never questioned our agreement.
The best rule of thumb is to err on the side of generous. Because mum's POACH the good ones.
This means things like:
- Paying when YOU cancel
- Paying a certain number of holidays (like: "Hey Jen, H and I *really* appreciate how wonderful you are with Johnny B & Suzie Q, so we discussed it and want to add a weeks worth of paid vacation to what we ordinarily pay you. What would work better for you: having 7 days that you pick throughout the year like Halloween or Valentines day or a sick day, or us just giving you a week paid vacation at some point?")
- Xmas bonus (even if it's just $50)
- Adding her to your bday & xmas shopping list.
For ours we paid her when she was there but not when she wasnt', it was an hourly paid job and I didn't claim her on my taxes.
She didn't work on holidays or school vacation days, I taught at the time.
If you plan on claiming her as a salaried employee, then I would pay her for days you cancel , no hilodays, and not when she calls in sick.
I think it's best to negotiate a weekly salary, you pay that salary regardless of the number of hours worked. The only thing you may want to consider is not paying vacation time.
However, if you're the one who cancels on her last minute for whatever reason, she should receive some type of compensation. If not for the full day, at least half.
Ideally you should have your policies written down and have her sign it prior to beginning working with you. When we had full time or almost full time help we paid for holidays and vacation. I also payed when she was sick. Part time help we only pay hourly, so no holidays or vacation. Why would you cancel when your kids are sick? That's the advantage of having help in your house. You can still work. Maybe it's easier for you to rearrange things for a sick kid than it is for me. I work in a hospital, so if I don't go to work my co-workers have to work harder. I have always paid if I cancelled for some reason. I figure the person is counting on a certain income. If the person doesn't feel like they can count on that income from you, why should they work for you?
I think it super important to sit down and hash out all the details at the start of employment. Once a situation happens it can be awkward to talk about it.
What ever you decide, it should be fair to both of you. Figure out a sick day policy and what happens when you decide to take a day off - she is still ready and available, so you should still pay her, for example.
