Question About Benefits for Full Time Nanny

I don't have a nanny & never have, but I certainly used day care for a whole lot of years. I do know that both of the places my kids attended, whether there was a major holiday or not (also to include school cancellations for weather-related issues), I still paid the same amount. There were times when we as a family would take a vacation & as long as I submitted written notice to them within the time-frame they had set up, I did not have to pay for those periods.

In my mind, you can set things up however you see fit & based on whatever agreement you & the nanny reach and have in writing. I would think that would be someone you would want to keep very happy all the time, but maybe that's just me.

Do you mean that you've got to look for a new nanny because of this specific issue? Has she left, or are you feeling like you've got to replace her because of this?

We had a nanny for two years when my girls were little, and we're still in close contact with her now that she nannies for another family. We provided two paid weeks off plus a week of paid sick time, and most federal holidays. That meant New Years Eve, New Years Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We didn't provide paid time off for Martin Luther King, Columbus or Veterans - those were my days off to get things done while our nanny watched the girls. Our nanny's new family provides all of the federal holidays off, but only two paid weeks total a year (rather than the three that we provided).

I don't think that your nanny is correct in assuming that any time you take off means that she gets time off as well. But I do think it's worth giving her unexpected time off every once in a while - maybe an hour on a Friday if you come home early, or a random Monday that you decide to stay home or take the kids away for the weekend. It's a job to her, and that means it's just as exciting for her to get "free" time off as it is for you or your husband.

If you do end up hiring a new nanny, make sure the expectations are totally clear up front - the hours, the responsibilities (ie - if you're expecting her to run errands every once in a while if you come home early to spend time with your kids), time off, how much extra time off she can expect, etc.

We've had a nanny for 7 years and when my kids were younger, I'd have her work some days I took off so I could go get something done, sleep in for once in 6 months etc. But I also consider Memorial Day a major holiday, same for President's Day and Christmas and Thanksgiving are 2 days off as that's typical for most companies. As well, 2 weeks vacation isn't very much. Our nanny gets almost 3 weeks for sure but it's always worked out to be more given we pay her when we go away etc. Do you also give paid sick time? We give 5 paid days and if she doesn't take them, we pay them out at the end of the year. So overall, the idea that she works sometimes when you're home isn't out of ine but your overall time off seems low. Remember you don't want a burned-out, tired or resentful nanny... We've treated our nanny better than some families do but in return there's loyalty, she's stayed with us, done little extras etc.

We've had nannies for several years. I do not work in the financial industry...so to us...major holidays there are 8: NY's day, Memorial, july 4th, labor day, 2 for thanksgiving, along with xmas eve and day. Unless you twork in certain industries, President's day, Columbus day...those are NOT considered major holidays that companies give you off and pay you for.

I have been at my job for 15 years, so I get a LOT of time off each year. Way more than the 3 weeks we offer our nanny. So I totally expect that I will take off time and expect nanny to work at times. That said, I work from home full time so it's inherently different. Now, I will say depending on the nanny, we often are generous with paying a few extra days that we take off beyond the 3 weeks, but that depends on the nanny. We had one that kept showing up late, being lazy, etc so no...I was not generous.

With our nanny, it is 2 weeks paid vacation, sick days (maybe 5) and the major holidays. Sick days are not made up, but we really don't want to encourage the nanny to care for our kiddos when she's sick/contagious.

Major holidays include: New Years (or day after/before if on a weekend), Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas (or day before/after if on a weekend). Day after Thanksgiving depends. I've never heard of getting Good Friday off. Remember that there is a huge period between New Years and the 4th of July, so it's only fair to give Memorial Day.

Good luck!

Just a question? How many hours is your nanny working a week? Salary still means you are required by law to pay them at least minimum wage (most won't work for anything close to that), and you are required to pay overtime for anything over 40 hours for a live out nanny http://www.4nannytaxes.com/news/flsa.cfm

Maybe its just more hours than she thought getting into it and feels resentment towards you for having time off when she doesn't get to. When I was a nanny I was really well compensated for all of my time so I was OK with it. I had alot of time off and great extra perks, but I see that as a common complaint on sites I go to for nannies.

I was a nanny previously (15+ years ago I was with a family for 8 years). For these past 15 years I do home childcare and I know many in my profession now who have a thing for parents who bring their kids to childcare when they have a day off. Moral objection..jealously, resentment..whatever. I do not....I am getting paid for the day so do not care where the parents are...but can get a bit pissy if they are the last ones here when I know the parent is at home sleeping or whatever. Its human nature I suppose? (and when said parents at some point do a whine session about how I get to see their child more or see the first steps and blah blah...I get mad then...it happens! )

Best of luck with a new nanny! I was with my nanny-family for over 8 years and it was a mutually satisfying experience! The "kids" are now both adults (one graduated Stanford last year and the other is at college in Maine) and I am still in contact with all of them and hope they can come to my daughters grad party this summer! She was like a baby sister to them! We were all fortunate enough that it worked for all of us for so long! Success can happen!!

I think the standard practice is always to paid the nanny when you are away more than the agreed on vacation and holiday times. We worked at home and take days off while our nanny works five days a week for us. She has never had a problem with us being at home or not working while she is. Our understanding is that we are paying her take care of the children for the whole week regardless of what we, the parents, are actually doing ourselves. I think most nannies see this as a salaried position rather than an hourly babysitting position. Therefore, it is similar to someone who would go to the office at the prescribed times whether or not the boss is there because there is still a job for her to do (take care of the children). It probably also makes a difference what your agreement with her is on how many hours a week she works and how she is paid. If you are paying her taxes, you have to pay overtime for anything over 40 hours. However, this can easily be calculated into however much you agree to pay her per week. For some nannies, they are also uncomfortable with the parents being around. Sometimes, this may be an indication of other issues. I would say given this experience, you may want to be absolutely clear with your next nanny. Good luck.

We have the exact situation that you do...
So basically, she thinks she shouldn't have to work if you're off?

I have a mixed situation with that, and I can tell that our nanny is bothered when we're around the house and not at work (working from home, or actually off and doing other stuff), but she's not formally asked for something more. She has asked to leave early some days.

For us, we just let her know ahead of time what we expect. I'll let her know that we're off, but we are going to do XYZ while she's there...basically letting her know that I'm paying her for childcare at MY discretion, not hers.

It's a delicate balance.
Personally, I think the whole point of setting up childcare is for when YOU need it, not for particular circumstances. And I assumed that nannies would see it that way too.
I guess now you know that in your next nanny agreement, you'll need to specify that you might be around the house some days.

Well, I think of Memorial Day as a major holiday. My company doesn't give us all of the holiday's, but I've never heard of a nanny or babysitter not getting them all off.

If you take leave, that does not mean that she gets leave. If you want a day to get things done and she is being paid, she works. Maybe you can use her for less hours on days like that? Normally if I take a day off, it's to spend time with my kids. Even if the house stays a mess.

My take is that she works if she wants paid. If she gets her two weeks per year, and I assume week long vacations that you take as well, she shouldn't be expecting more. I would give her all of the Federal holidays though.