nanny and holidays

[lmh2402]

i'm looking for "expert" advice

up until sept we never used a nanny on a regular basis - my mom would watch g twice a week while i worked

since sept, my mom is watching him one day and we've got a nanny for the second day (thursdays)

i'm now left to wonder, what is etiquette for holidays and vacations? and does that change at all if this arrangement is only one day a week versus full time?

obviously, thanksgiving is next thursday. do we pay her for the day?

and what happens if we opt to go on vacation for a week at christmas or during the summer?

i plan to discuss with her directly, but would love some feedback from others maybe in the same position??...

thanks

[weech]

We have a full-time nanny who works 4 days a week. If a holiday falls on one of her regularly scheduled work days, she gets paid for it. We also pay her if we go on vacation. She gets two weeks (8 days) of paid time off, and one week has to be taken between Christmas and New Years. The others are at her discretion. She'll also get a week's pay for a holiday bonus and a small Christmas gift from our son.

If I had a nanny for only one day a week, I wouldn't do any of that. I know this is my nanny's main source of income and the way she supports her kids, so I treat it like my employers treat my job. However, if she was only working one day a week, I'd be more likely to figure that it was just for extra cash - more like a babysitter.
HTH!

[lmh2402]

ok, thanks. hmm...

she's actually a full time nanny. she works for another family every mon, tues, wed & fri

it was PURE LUCK that she happened to have a hole in her schedule on the exact day i needed coverage

we totally plan to give her a holiday bonus

and i guess we can even pay for a few days vacation. it's just...i don't know. it seems so part time. but i don't want to screw her. nanny-ing is her job and source of income.

[hillview]

If you like her and want to keep her. Pay the days off.
/hillary

[tylersmama]

I have a nanny, but our situation is kind of unique. Her schedule is totally dependent on my school and clinical schedule, which means she could work 3 hours one week and 40 the next. I also am unfortunately not in the position to pay a minimum number of hours per week or pay her when I'm off over break. I was fortunate to find someone willing to work with me. My plan for the holidays is to give her a "week's" pay (probably 30ish hours worth) as a bonus, and then a small physical gift as well.

[infocrazy]

I was fortunate to find someone willing to work with me. My plan for the holidays is to give her a "week's" pay (probably 30ish hours worth) as a bonus, and then a small physical gift as well.

Our arrangement is that we pay hourly, so if she doesn't come one day, we don't pay her. I do give good bonuses and we work around her school schedule so it is a trade-off.

I would just make sure that you tell her what your plan is and come to a compromise in advance so that she knows what to expect and doesn't feel slighted for anything.

[tylersmama]

Oh, I made it clear in the job posting and in interviews that my school holiday times are off (unpaid). It made the search difficult, but I knew that was going to be the case...I wish I could afford to pay someone when I'm not in school, but I don't have an income. I just can't do it.

[Momof3Labs]

If you like her and want to keep her. Pay the days off.
/hillary

:yeahthat:

Sounds like you were very lucky to find someone who fit your schedule, and you want to keep her happy. If so, pay her for holidays and vacations (unless they are unpaid for you - then I think it might be okay to explain to her that you don't get paid for time off and unfortunately are unable to pay her for those days off).

[AnnieW625]

We do daycare full time and we pay for all holidays if daycare is closed and two to three weeks of vacation per year which I think is fair, however if we only had a nanny one day a week I would just pay her one day for the day that she is not being paid for the holiday and I would think it would be a nice gesture to pay her for the one day that she isn't working while you are on vacation, although I don't think she would think it would be required.

[elektra]

I honestly don't have a great system for this so take it for what it's worth.
I do pay for holidays.
I also pay for days that I have to cancel- for instance if I have a day off work but our nanny would have still worked I pay her.
But if she needs a day off and I have to pay someone else to watch my kids I don't pay her.

[vonfirmath]

But if she needs a day off and I have to pay someone else to watch my kids I don't pay her.

This is how I think daycare OUGHT To work. It's hard when you are with someone and do not have a paper/written down contract to know what everyone expects.

I know when my business does not have work and sends people home -- they don't get paid for the time they don't work. This to me is like when we don't need care for our kiddo.

We do otherwise get vacation -- but have to get approval to use it. We don't get to decide "I'm going to take this week off" We ask our boss and they let us know if they can afford to have us gone at that time.

I'm willing to pay a childcare worker either for my vacations or for theirs -- but not for both -- esp because I also need to pay someone else to take care of my kid when they are gone. My work RARELY pays anyone else to do my job when done. They just do without and I have a bunch of work to catch up on when I get home. That could end up being an entire month out of a year I am paying for time that is not being used!

[theriviera]

I honestly don't have a great system for this so take it for what it's worth.
I do pay for holidays.
I also pay for days that I have to cancel- for instance if I have a day off work but our nanny would have still worked I pay her.
But if she needs a day off and I have to pay someone else to watch my kids I don't pay her.

This is how it works for us too. I also pay her when we are on vacation.

It kind of sucks b/c I am a contractor right now so I don't get paid for holidays or if I'm not in the office. However, she takes great care of our DD and it's worth it.

[lmh2402]

This is how it works for us too. I also pay her when we are on vacation.

It kind of sucks b/c I am a contractor right now so I don't get paid for holidays or if I'm not in the office. However, she takes great care of our DD and it's worth it.

me too. that's kind of why i was asking

but DH is firmly in camp of paying and thinks we should treat it like a full-time situation, meaning paid paid vaca & holidays (if they fall on the day in question)

so that's what we'll do

we were very lucky to find her and we definitely want to keep her

thanks for the feedback ladies.